South Africa 1984-94

Question 1

What was the UDF

Answer 1

An umbrella organisation made up of people from all races, groups and political organisations who believed in complete democracy

Question 2

Where and when was the first UDF rally, and how many people from how many organisations attended

Answer 2

Mitchell’s Plain in Cape Town, August 1983.

It was attended by 10,000 people from over 500 organisations

Question 3

What was significant about the site of the first UDF rally

Answer 3

It was a huge coloured township, emphasising the non-racial beliefs of the UDF, which had suffered from government forced relocations

Question 4

Who became the largest affiliate of the UDF

Answer 4

COSAS

Question 5

What is the ‘Vaal Triangle’

Answer 5

A triangle of land formed by the cities of Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark and Sasolburg. These include many townships and impoverished areas such as Sharpeville and Sebokeng

Question 6

Describe the Vaal Triangle Uprising

Answer 6

An uprising on the 3rd September 1984 against the NP, led by the Vaal Civic Association (UDF affiliate). It was supposed to be nonviolent but the VCA lost control and government councillors were murdered across the Vaal Triangle

Question 7

How did the Black SA population and ANC react to the Vaal Triangle Uprising

Answer 7

They used secret communication and radio to protest all around the country in a bid to make it ‘ungovernable’

Question 8

What change to protest did the ANC make after the Vaal Triangle Uprisings and in what year

Answer 8

They called for a ‘people’s war’ resorting to full violence in 1984, allowing the MK to use any violence necessary

Question 9

Name an example of an attack on the public by MK and an attack on MK by the government

Answer 9

• A bomb detonated at a supermarket in Amanzimtoti in 1985 killed 5 people
• A black policeman called Joe Mamasela went undercover, giving 8 COSAS members rigged hand grenades which blew each COSAS member up

Question 10

Name a township that completely revolted in 1986

Answer 10

Alexandra, Johannesburg

Question 11

Describe the events of Alexandra in 1986

Answer 11

• There were already tensions but it boiled over when a youth activist called Michael Diradeng was shot dead by a guard In January 1986
• night going into 14th February 1986, a night vigil went around the town petrol bombing shops, burning policemen houses and stoning cars. They also stabbed a policeman
• 6,000 people attended Diradeng’s funeral in the morning of the 14th February 1986, however police decided to tear gas and shoot the mourners leading to outrage
• 40,000 citizens rallied at Alexandra Stadium and went to war with the police and army for six days, creating the ‘Six Day War’, leading to many police fleeing or leaving, with around 27 citizens shot by the police
• Although the army ended the Six Day War, Alexandra continued to rebel throughout most of the 1980s and early 1990s