p1.2.2 protests and action (SA) Flashcards
rights and protest: case study 2 (apartheid in south africa)
what were the 1949 durban riots?
the causes of these riots, which resulted in the deaths of 142 people, has been attributed to africans accusing indian shopkeepers of exploiting them by charging high prices for food. wholesale prices kept rising - tea, for example, had been 5p in the pre-war era, and was now 20p. in the disturbances, 58 stores mainly belonging to indians were destroyed
some people argue that the real reason behind the riots was the shocking conditions in which africans were forced to live-indians just happened to be the unlucky victims of their anger because they lived in close proximity.
an official inquiry into the unrest acknowledged that living conditions in african areas were dreadful, but stated that africans, with their low standards and expectations, were happy to live in them
what was the approach to non-violence in different groups?
the ANC and the SAIC were influenced by the tactics of gandhi in india. the idea of non-violence was crucial - the theory was that most authorities cannot win their case by using violence against protesters who do not retaliate
for the ANC, non-violence was more of a tactic. it was prepared to adopt it so long as it seemed to have a chance of success. if the authorities kept responding to peaceful protest with violence, the ANC was prepared to rethink the policy
what was the 1950 may strike?
-> organised by the SAIC and the SACP - one day strike to protest against apartheid legislation
with the authorities notified of the report, the actual day was only a partial success - there were reports of employers locking their workforce in overnight to ensure they couldn’t strike and security forces escorted people to work. 66% of africans stayed at home to attended protest meetings
how did communism link to the may stayaway?
the government was always prepared to blame african protest on communist agitation. the suppression of communism act of 1950 defied communism as any scheme aimed at ‘brinding about any political and socio-economic change within the union by the promotion of disturbance and disorder’. communsim was therefore a euphemism for any form of unrest, and this act could be used to imprison anyone for anything the authorities deemed subversive
what was the day of protest 1950?
this was arranged in response to the banning of the communist party in 1950. it was a joint action by the SAIC, ANC, APO and SACP. many urban africans refused to go to work and there was a large protest of 5000 people in the location of bethel, in the transvaal. it was truly the first cooperative protest between all the opposition groups
what was the ANC youth league?
-> created in 1944, but from 1949 pushed for more militant
in 1944, mandela was one of the founders of the ANCYL, with the aim of turning the ANC into a mass movement based on direct action. it was more radical in scope than the ANC and drove a more militant agenda. it was born out of the frustration that peaceful parliamentary protest did not work
why was the defiance campaign launched?
the authorities had shown no inclination to engage the ANC in lawmaking, so it was obvious that the ANC simply had to find a more effective response to the apartheid laws being passed.
earlier demonstrations organised by the ANC, most notably a series of one day strikes, had failed to provide sustained popular resistance to the regime. the old approach had to be replaced by a more cohesive and rigorous plan of action, one which would instill a sense of discipline in the people and inspire them to rally and persist in the face of the inevitable government backlash.
the ANC risked losing credibility among the masses unless it proved capable of providing a more effective response to government brutality. the defiance campaign confirmed the ascendance of of the youth leaders, who advocated for a mass based activism, over the conservative guard of the ANC
what was the NAC?
the national action committee was created in june 1952 to organise a joint action with civil disobedience at its heart. the NAC consisted of representatives of the ANC, the SAIC and the franchise action council (FRAC) - a coloured organisation created to protest the NP government’s decision to remove coloureds from the voting roll
what was the goal of the defiance campaign?
the official goal of the campaign was to force the government to repeal six ‘unjust laws’ that had recently been introduced: the pass laws act, the group areas act, the suppression of communism act, the bantu authorities act, the separate representation of voters act and the stock limitation act
what were the methods used in the defiance campaign?
it was decided that the defiance campaign would be non-violent and divided into two stages:
-> an initial stage of local protest in which participants would break the law by not carrying passes or by staying in urban areas after african curfew and inviting themselves for arrest - the intention being that the numbers arrested would overwhelm the prisons and the authorities ability to cope, and also demonstrate the height of opposition
-> a second stage based on mass defiance which would extend the campaign by strikes and mass protests throughout the country
