Responses to Resistance 1978-90 Flashcards
Who was Bishop Desmond Tutu?
- General secretary of the South African Council of Churches (SACC) from 1978
- Patron of the UDF from 1983
- Linked with the ANC through efforts to spread awareness globally
- Sent letter to PM Vorster to ask for National Convention to discuss apartheid - the government rejected it as political propaganda
- Travelled extensively to raise awareness and money for anti-apartheid issues and causes, especially bringing the likes of Mandela and Tambo to US audiences
- One of the best known global apartheid protestors
- Jailed in 1980 for taking part in a protest against imprisonment of a fellow clergy member
- Awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1984
- Elected Bishop of Johannesburg (1984) and Cape Town (1985) then archbishop of Cape Town (1986)
- Used his pulpit to criticise apartheid
Who was Reverend Allan Boesak?
- Chairman of the Alliance of Black Reformed Christians in SA (ABRCSA) from 1981
- Elected president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) in Aug 1982
- Proposed the motion to WARC of declaring apartheid a heresy in Aug 1982
- Called for UDF in Jan 1983
- Helped launch UDF in Aug 1983
- Called for boycott of the 1984 elections
- Organised a march in 1985 on Pollsmoor prison to demand the release of Mandela
Who was Frank Chikane?
- Involved in the activities of the South African Students Organisation (SASO, all black, set up by Steve Biko)
- Vice President of the Transvaal region of the UDF 1983-85
- Elected general secretary of SACC in July 1987
- Forced to leave uni in 1974 due to repeated detention for his activism
- Published an autobiography in 1988
- Poisoned whilst on a visit to the US in 1989, survived
Who was Oliver Tambo?
- Met with Vietnamese activists in 1978
- Visited MK camps to help address cadets from 1983
- Called for people to “render SA ungovernable” during a speech on 8th Jan 1985
- Oct 1985 gave evidence to the Foreign Office Committee in the House of Commons on the state of SA
- Campaigned for alternate education system and the unbanning of the Congress Of SA Students (COSAS) in 1986
- Suffered a stroke in 1989 resulting in a loss of speech
Who was Reverend Bayer Naudé?
Succeeded Tutu as secretary general of SACC in 1983
Who was P.W.Botha?
Leader of the National Party and PM 1978-84 then President 1984-89
What did Botha propose?
The idea of total onslaught, total strategy. SA was facing ruthless and relentless attacks from Communist forces assisted by the USSR and China operating both inside and out of the country. The government fight this onslaught aboard and in SA with every possible means: political, military, economic and psychological
How did Botha fight a propaganda war?
Saying that SA was fighting against Communism on behalf of freedom, democracy, Christianity and free enterprise
How did Botha improve military strength?
- Set up a State Security Council in 1982 including army generals and police chiefs
- This became like a parallel government
- It divided the country into security units to combat resistance
- By 1981 the South African Defence Force (SADF) numbered over 250,000
- Made 2 years of compulsory military service for all white SA males
- Set up SA’s own arms industry (ARMSCOR)
- Increased military spending
What was the result of Botha’s military changes?
SA became a major military power
What did Botha do in neighbouring countries?
- In Angola he backed the anti-government guerrilla movement and raided MK bases
- Set up anti-government forces in Mozambique triggering civil war till in 1984 an agreement was made to withdraw if they stopped supporting the ANC
- Fought a “dirty war” against ANC leaders in exile, assassinating many including the parcel bomb of Ruth First (Mozambique, 1982)
What did Botha do with international opposition?
Played on Western fears of Communist threat to great success with Margret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan resisting pressure for sanctions from the UN, Commonwealth and worldwide public opinion
What did Botha aim to do within SA?
- Placate white business leaders concerned about the economy by lifting some restrictions on movement
- To create a “black middle class”
- To counter unrest with limited reforms
What did the 1979 Wiehahn Report do?
Legalised trade unions
What did the 1981 Lange Report do?
Recommended a single education system and more money for black schools. Spending tripled by 1990 but they remained separated
What did the 1979 Reikert Report do?
Allowed black SAs to move more freely and buy homes in townships
How did Botha deal with “petty apartheid”?
- By relaxing the colour bar
- Repealing mixed marriages
- Desegregating some parks, shops etc
- Relaxing then abolishing pass laws in 1986
What did the 1983 political reform do?
Created a new tricameral parliament with the “coloured” and “Indians” to vote for their own representatives proportional to population
What was a result of the Wiehahn report?
Trade Union activity increased with more strikes
When was the UDF formed?
20th Aug 1983
What was the UDF formed from?
565 different apartheid groups coming together including: student organisation, trade organisations, women’s group and church groups
What did the UDF do?
- Called for a boycott of black local authority elections in Nov/Dec 1983
- Launched a million signature campaign on 22nd Jan 1984
What was the Congress of SA Trade Unions (COSATU)?
- Congress for various unions to come together and plan strategies
- Most powerful member union was the National Union of Miners led by Cyril Ramaphosa
- Heavily linked with the ANC especially from 1989
- With the UDF called for a National Defiance Campaign in July 1989
- Supported the National Union of Miner’s strike in Aug 1987 with around 3.5 million workers striking
- Enacted May Day (1st) strike in 1986 where 1.5 million workers went on strike. It then became a paid holiday
What were the causes of increasingly violent protests in 1984-87?
- The 1983 Constitutional Reforms had given more power to local counsellors meaning that they became responsible for collecting rent
- Few black SAs were prepared to be councillors for they were despised
- Mass protests in the Vaal triangle in Sept 1984 after the government forced councillors to raise rent
- Violence spread with the army going into towns
- On the 25th anniversary of Sharpeville in 1985 the police killed people at the funeral
- Increasing black vs black violence e.g. UDF vs Inkatha in Natal. The police secretly helped Inkatha
