Democratic Palestine : 11 (ص 30)
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- Democratic Palestine : 11 (ص 30)
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South Africa
Fighting Apartheid
In May 1945, the African National Congress, the Communist Party of
South Africa and the Council of Non-European Trade Unions
organized a march in Johannesburg, under the slogan «Finish the
Job - Smash Fascism in South Africa.» This year, the 40th anniver-
sary of the victory over fascism, the Black masses in South Africa
have mobilized on an unprecedented scale to further this end which
is synonymous with their achieving liberation and democracy.
It is now over a year since apartheid
President P.W. Botha toured Europe,
waving promises of «reform» in hopes of
returning South Africa to international
respectability. Predictably, Botha’s «re-
form» movement has already fizzled out
without any reforms being made.
Instead, on July 21st, the apartheid
regime declared a state of emergency in
36 districts, granting near absolute
power to the security forces. This was
followed by Botha’s mid-August speech
which had been much anticipated by
capitalist states seeking to avoid sanc-
tions against South Africa. In fact, Botha
outlined no concrete reforms. Even the
Reagan Administration dared not laud
this empty talk, though its own «con-
structive engagement» has been a
major factor supporting Botha's no-
reform policy.
Botha is truly «fiddling while Rome
burns». The real movement to watch is
that of the Black masses who are
becoming increasingly militant and overt
in their support to the goals of the libera-
tion struggle spearheaded by the ANC
For over a year the African majority has
been in a state of constant revolt. Ongo-
ing mass protests, funerals turned into
political manifestations, workers’
strikes, school and consumer boycotts,
and armed resistance show the people's
refusal to have the claw of apartheid
clamped even tighter in the name of «re-
form». Their experience has shown that
«reforms» proposed by the apartheid
rulers are but a cover for harder repres-
sion: Since the popular uprising began in
August 1984. over 650 persons have
been killed by the police, in addition to
massive arrests. This escalated to new
heights with the imposition of martial
law. Over 1000 people were arrested in
the last week of July alone. Most were
community leaders and activists, many
from the United Democratic Front,
seized in their homes in line with prepre-
pared police lists. This pattern continued
with 152 persons arrested on August
17th alone. A few days later, 500 school-
children were rounded up in Soweto for
boycotting classes. By the first of August
well over 2,000 had been detained
under the state of emergency, whereby
they are held incommunicado without
specification of charges or access to
‘awyers.
«Reform» under apartheid
The connection between «reform»
and repression was put in a theoretical-
historical perspective by Joe Slovo,
leader of Umkhonto We Sizwe, the
ANC’s military wing, in a lecture deli-
vered in August 1984: «The Botha - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 11
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