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GOODi 7 o economy. - The lesson from the victories we have scored and the advances we have nude is that, in future, our objective must be that wherever a struggle erupts — be it mine or factory, i farm or a building :ite, a shop or a service centre — we must emerge from such struggles with stronger workers’ organisations, a higher level of political consciousness and a greater deter- mination to fight on as a united force, whatever the cost to ourselves as individuals. The organised workers formed the core of the historic Transvaal stay-at-home which paralysed Industry and commerce in the economic heartland of the country and cora- • pe'led the capitalist owners of property to speak out. In an unprecedented move, the organisation of the leading capitalists drew the attention of the ruling group to the fac' that the continued use of the old methods of repression would only serve to inspire the workers to in- tensify their offensive. During this massive struggle, we achieved a level of united action among all sections of the oppressed, and the democratic forces as a whole, which must serve as a basis for the fur- ther escalation of the united people’s struggle for the victory of,the national democratic revolution. We warmly salut£ all the workers and trade unionists who, in action, affirmed the correctness of the perspective we put for- ward last year, and the offensive of the work- ing class is, and must be, an integral part of the national liberation struggle. The Youth, the Pride of our Nation The student and working youth of our coun- try have once more confirmed their place in our hearts" as the pride of the nation. These relentless fighters for a South Africa that we can proudly call our own have, throughout this past year, swelled the ranks of the mass move- ment by joining the struggle La hundreds of thousands. Despite the'campaign of murder and terror unleashed by the racists against them, including the very young, they have stood firm in their demands. They have refus- ed to break from the ranks of the struggling masses. In saluting ourttudents and working youth, we can truly say that they have tamed for themselves the honour of being called the Young Lions. Through their action, supported and rein- forced by the workers ar.d the parents, they have forced the apartheid regime to give ground on many, issues. To build on these ad- vances, we must ensure that the Education Charter bccomes the common platform of. teachers, parents' ana students' in the mass struggle for a democratic system’o? education. iW * v-J 5

v-J€¦ · Young Lions. Through their action, supported and rein forced by the workers ar.d the parents, they have forced the apartheid regime to give ground on many, issues. To

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Page 1: v-J€¦ · Young Lions. Through their action, supported and rein forced by the workers ar.d the parents, they have forced the apartheid regime to give ground on many, issues. To

G O O D i 7

o

economy. -The lesson from the victories we have scored

and the advances we have n ude is that, in future, our objective must be that w herever a struggle erupts — be it mine or factory, i farm or a building :ite, a shop or a service centre— we must emerge from such struggles with stronger workers’ organisations, a higher level o f political consciousness and a greater deter­mination to fight on as a united force, whatever the cost to ourselves as individuals.

The organised workers formed the core o f the historic Transvaal stay-at-home which paralysed Industry and com merce in the economic heartland o f the country and cora-

• pe'led the capitalist owners o f property to speak out. In an unprecedented m ove, the organisation of the leading capitalists drew the attention of the ruling group to the fac' that the continued use of the old methods of repression would only serve to inspire the w orkers to in­tensify their offensive.

During this massive struggle, we achieved a level o f united action among all sections o f the oppressed, and the dem ocratic forces as a whole, which must serve as a basis for the fur­ther escalation of the united people’ s struggle for the victory o f,th e national dem ocratic revolution. We warmly salut£ all the w orkers and trade unionists w ho, in action, affirmed

the correctness of the perspective we put for­ward last year, and the offensive o f the work­ing class is, and must be, an integral part of the national liberation struggle.

T he Y ou th , the P ride of o u r Nation The student and working youth o f our coun­try have once more confirmed their place in our hearts" as the pride of the nation. These relentless fighters for a South Africa that we can proudly call our own have, throughout this past year, swelled the ranks of the mass move­m ent by joining the struggle La hundreds o f thousands. Despite the'cam paign of m urder and terror unleashed by the racists against them , including the very young, they have stood firm in their demands. They have refus­ed to break from the ranks o f the struggling masses. In saluting ourttudents and working youth, we can truly say that they have tam ed for themselves the honour o f being called the Young Lions.

Through their action, supported and rein­forced by the workers ar.d the parents, they have forced the apartheid regime to give ground on many, issues. To build on these ad­vances, w e must ensure that the Education C harter bccom es the common platform of. t eachers, parents' ana students' in the m ass struggle for a democratic system’o? education.

iW *

■ v-J

5

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i— I

A special responsibility devolves on our youth during 1985. Dy its decision to observe the International Year of the Youth, the racist regime has thrown down the gauntlet to the youth of our country. Among the num erous crimes this regim e has com m itted and con­tinues to commit against our people, som e of its mcst heinous have been specifically against our youth and children.

On the shoulders of the apartheid regime rest such crimes as the scandalously high infant mortality rate amongst Black children; the stunting of their growth through the use of child labour; the warping o f their intellectual development through Bantu Education.

apartheid regime in 1976 and in the subsequent years. This self-same regim e, which bears responsbility for these crim es, has, with great impudcnce, decided to observe the Interna­tional Year o f the Youth, whose motto is: Par­ticipation, Development and Pcace! We call upon the youth to u i e this year as their own and to use it as a means to advance our own perspectives of youth participation in society ( in development and in the struggle for peace.T he gains we have scored in youth mobiiisa-_ tion and organisation provide, a basis for greater progress'tow aid tlie emergence of a 11

society which will defend and promote the gc* I nuine interests o f our youth.

. W e designated 19.54 as 'T h e Year, o f the W om en ' with the express purpose o f concen­trating our efforts on the mobilisation o f our

Y outh M ust T ak e th is Y ea r •South Afrie* is littered with the graves o f young patriots who w ere m assacred by the

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womenfolk as active participants in the strug­gle waged by our national liberation m ove­ment. The response to our call, 'W om en Organise and Unite for People** Power* has te e n commendable. New democratic women's organisations have emerged. Greater numbers o f our womenfolk have been drawn into struggle.

W e observed historic days livle the 30th an­niversary o f the Federation o f South African W om en at impressive rallies. National W o­m en’s Day — August 9th — was turned into a w eek o f campaigning against the fraudulent Coloured and Indian parliamentary elections. In this manner our womenfolk further p ro­moted the unity o f all the oppressed and dcmocm'.ic forces, transcending the barriers o f race, colour, sex and creed.

Intensive grassroot mobiiisation o f women as equal participants in the overall national struggle has laid the basis for the creation o f a national women's organisation which could be.founded on the principles contained in the

historic W om en’s Charter.

W om en F ight In the F ro n t R anks O ur women were active in all the battles which confronted our communities during the Year. In many o f these, as in Sebckeng, they fought in the front ranks. A s parents, mothers and w orkers, they stood firm ly beside their m en­folk and children against forced removals, star­vation wages, increased rents and taxes, in­ferio r education and health services, dem an­ding fill! citizenship rights for all our people in a unitary, ncn-racial society.

T he encouraging response o f our women to the call to jo in Umkhonto W e Sizwe, which has resulted in m ore women joining the peo­p le’s army during the course o f the year, has • been one o f the best ways of observing the Year o f th e Women.

T h e reaction to o u r appeal by the interna­tional community in genera], and w om en’s organisations in particular, in practically all ■ the continents o f the globe, was most outstan­d in g in mobilising m ore m oral and m aterial support fo r o u r struggle. This support was crow ned by the presentation o f the Eugene

Cotton Award by the W om en's International Democratic Federation to our dear sister and m other, Albertina Sisulu.

We call on our women to build on these im­pressive achievements. We urge other sections o f our people to continue to give their support and concrete assistance to our heroic women, mothers and sisters, so that they can play their rightful role as co-fighters and co-liberators

.^of cur motherland.

T ra d e U nion U nityDespite all the achievements we have so far m ade, we are still faced with the necessity o f accom plishing other tasks we have set ourselves, particularly the unity o f the democratic trade union movement. 1985 is the 30th anniversary o f the founding o f SACTU. During this anniversary year, let us consolidate the gains we have thus far registered. W e need to intensify ou r efforts to- form one united dem ocratic trad e ' union federation. No democratic trade union should be excluded from such a federation.

. • The working class o f our. country has ^demonstrated its combativeness in the un­precedented num ber o f strikes that took place during the past year. So that this militancy will not be dissipated, we should now strive towards one union for each industry, the organisation o f the unorganised and the unemployed, and the launching o f a m ass of­fensive against the reduction o f our living stan­dards. W e should treat the injury done to the6 500 SASOL w orkers as an injury to all workers, and to all o f us.

W e must harness the collective strength o f

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the working class not merely to improve the imm ediate economic conditions of that class, but to bring about dem ocratic change in our country. The ANC jo ins those trade unionist! who call for greater involvement on the part o f worker? and their unions in the struggle for dem ocratic change.

»1985 falls on the centenary o f Way Day. Ia . recognition o f the bonds that link the w orkers. o f South Africa with those o f Other lands. May Day was marked in a number of industrial cet> trcs throughout South Africa during 1SS-4. We call on ail our-w orkers to ensure by their ac­tions that M ay Day is recognised as a paid public holiday.

In a unique show o f international solidari­ty , the Black mine w orkers . who are amongst the lowest paid and most brutally exploited o f our w orkers, dipped into their over-leaa pockets and made a modest donation towards the strike' fund o f the British m iners, who are waging a life and death struggle to save their jobs. W e take this opportunity to commend this exem plary action on the part o f our miners.

P eople’s R igh t to th e L an d • -,The dispossession o f our people of the land that is theirs rem ains one o f the most burning na­tional grievances. The gross injustice o f this historic crim e has been compounded by the racists’-arrogant attempt to deprive the African majority Of their icalienable.'birthright as citizens' o f the ir country, South Africa. M illions o f our people in the niraj areas are brutally exploited as agricultural workers .on farms carved out o f their ancestral lands.Their daily lives a re dom inated by the dictates o f tS? racist W hite-farm er* and agricultural com­panies against w hom they have absolutely no . redress, because they are the least organised and mobilised. T he land question must be

• reso lved ,.If needs b e , the hard way., • : J -In the m eantim e, w e repeat our call to ocr people to give serious attention to the organisa? ' tion and mobilised on o f our nn(a] masses. Bas­ing ourselvet o n the needs o f the people, and taking du* account o f the concrete conditions o f their existence, must devise suitable organisational structures and mechanisms to

reach our rural masses and provide them with the organisational an political tools to defend themselves against exploitation and to assert their right to ;he land. As wx said last year, we must £>li.e the perspective o f seizing the land from the dispossessor in front o f our rural masses and educate them to understand that this is a task that calls for dedication, determina­tion and sacrifice. *

T he solution to She land question is inex­tricably tied to the struggle against the Ban- tustahs, where the puppets, not content to do the dirty w ork of the Pretoria racists, have taken it upon themselves to Impose even greater burdens on our oppressed people. ■ Some o f these Bantustan puppets have taken firm ’positions on the side o f their masters in Pretoria and against the oppressed people and their'o rganisations. W henever the popular m asses rise and deliver^elling blows against the apartheid system their puppet voices are heart! above the din o f battle, denouncing the people and defending the people’s enem^.

W hile opposing the revolutionary violence .of the national liberation movement, they have not hesitated to unleash system atic violence against the fighters for the people’s cause. They.’-have banned the trade unions and bristalised trade union activists. They are fan-. ning fratricidal conflict amongst our people in o rder to ensure’the perpetuation o f the apart-

• held system from which they benefit. Some have gone so far as to ban the U D F and other dem ocratic organisations..This situation can no lo n g e r 'b e countenanced.: The offensive against the apartheid system must be extend­ed to reach the Banrustans'and other apartheid institutions in all com ers o f our country and am ong all population groups. •

' ' -The plight o f the thousands o f our peo p le^* whose homes are regularly bulldozed to ’he

ground, and who arc regularly bundled up ani"! .’ transported to distant and inhospitable parts of '' o u r country , requires our full attention and ■concerted actions o f solidarity. W c must . elaborate organisational methods and forms o f ic d on to halt this crim e against our peopleand

. to express, in a concrete manner, our solidarity

. w ith them. A s we have said, we must organise

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the unemployed into organs o f struggle, enabl-• ing them to engage in a determined offensive

fo r jo b s and adequate unem ploym ent allowances.

P re to ria P lots %%ith tb e W est W c have just gone through what was definite­ly one o f the most trying periods in the ex­perience o f our m ovement and struggle. W e have survived one o f the most lethal attacks on our movement. O ur courage and tenacity as a people during the difficult days’c f 1954 enabled us to w ithstand a fiercc enemy onslaught and proceed to launch the biggest of­fensive that has inspired our allies and friends, to greater supportive action and so lidarity ..

Effectively exploiting unprecedented natural calamities, the historical legacy o f colonialism and by using its own puppet forces, the regime sought to impose conditions on the neighbour- • ing states which were intended to paralyse the ANC and cripple the liberation struggle. A plot was jointly hatched between Pretoria, the United States and som e countries o f W estern Europe w hich, in a bid to drive a wedge bet­ween ourselves and the rest o f the people o f . Southern A frica, sought to coerce their governments to turn against the ANC and the liberation Struggle. This plot was equally in­tended to sow divisions among the Front Line States themselves and to 'distance them from the rest o f A frica.

A t great cost to them selves and their peo- pi e /th e F ront Line States have borne the brunt o f overt racist aggression, deliberate acts o f econom ic disruption and political destabilisa­tion. T o their great cred it, they have stood united and resolute in their commitment to the cause o f African freedom and independence, and especially in their total support for the A N C an d S W A P O .

The Kingdom o f Lesotho, completely sur­rounded by' racist-coetrolled territory, has, w ith singular courage and determination, per-' sistently rebuffed the aggression, bullying and blackm ail o f the P retoria regim e. •; These countries o f our region have cow bern •reinforced in th e irs tsn d b y the decision o f the. 20th Summit M eeting o f the OAU to give.

priority ancntion to the struggle in Southern Africa. Under the current Chairm anship of President Mwalimu Julius N yercre, Chairman of the Front Line States, the OAU is poised to intervene effectively during the current year.

A s we stated last year, our struggle consists o f four interlinked and m utually reinforcing elements. These are, first, the vanguard role o f the underground structures o f the A NC; se­cond, the united mass political action o f the people; third, the armed offensive spearhead­ed by Umkhonto we Sizwe; and fourth, the in­ternational.cam paign to isolate the apartheid regime while winning w orld-w ide moral, political and material support for the struggle. With regard to the second o f these elements, there can be no doubt that we have registered great successes in raising the united mass ac-

*t|on o f the people to higher levels. •* It is equally undeniable that we also achiev­ed new victories as regards the fourth element, ^iamely, the drive to isolate the apartheid regime and to win world-wide m oral, political and material support for our struggle. In this regard, we should, mention a few salient successes.

The efforts o f the apartheid regim e to b reak . out o f its isolation have ended in dismal failure. Botha’s visit to Europe ended as a severe rebuff for the racists. The new governm ent o f New

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Zealand adopted firm positions against the apartheid system, forcing the Pretoria regime to withdraw its diplom ats from that country. T h e w id esp re ad and u n p reced en ted dem onstrations in the USA against apartheid and the Reagan A dm inistration’s policy c f . 'constructive engagem ent' are an accurate barom eter o f the m ounting isolation o f the apartheid regime as well as o f the increasing scopc and depth o f support for the cause of liberation in South A frica and Namibia. ^

Likewise, the attem pts o f the apartheid regim e to project itself as reform ist have been . exposed and condemned by the international community. Accordingly the UN Security Council has rejected B otha's amended apart­heid Constitution as null and void, and o f no forcc or effect. It affirm ed the need for major­ity rule in a united, dem ocratic and non-racial South Africa.

And yet these achievements are not suf­ficient. W e need to intensify our international offensive in the New Y ear, further to isolate the apartheid regim e, strengthen our own tics o f solidarity with progressive humanity and thus further com plicate the situation o f the apartheid regim e w ithin our country.

During this past year we aJ^o took our strug­gle forward by beginning to carry cut another strategic task we had set ourselves. As you will recall, last ycar w e said we must begin to uso our accumulated strength to destroy the organs o f government o f the aparthr.d regim e..

W e R eject HI e s t im a te R uleV»'e have now set out upon this aath. W cI uvjl.taken impressive strides to wards rendering the_

. country ungovernable. T~h'̂ has not only meant the destruction o f the community councils; our, rejection o f the apartheid ennsntuuon was, in its essence, a reaffirm ation o f QULrc jc a i oflJPf the illegitimate rule o f the Botha regimc._Other_ ■struggles, including those around the issue of education as well as the stav-at-home. them-' selves pitted our dem ocratic power against the

: pow er o f the forces o f oppression, racism and counter-revolution, for the defeat o f the latter and Its replacem ent with popular pow er,

j In this com ing period, we shall need to pur­

sue, with even greater vigour, the task of reducing the capacity o f the colonial apartheid regime to continue its illegal rule o f our coun­try. The destruction o f the organs o f govern­ment weakens the regim e and is a necessary part o f our continuing mass offensive.

The victories we scored during the year have plunged our opponents into an even deeper political crisis. Apart from denying them the •chance to expand their social base, they fur­ther sharpened the contradictions and conflicts within the ruling group, and exposed the utter bankruptcy and failure o f the overall politir.il programme o f the racists. These are impor­tant successes as they help further to weaken the enemy and shift the.balance o f power in our favour.

T he Regim e K nocked OfT B alanceThrough struggle, we have forced the &P2 Tt-_

heid regime into a situation o f confusion, in­decision and an inability to define for itself ar.y consistent direction o f stale policy. This siusa- tion has arisen because the efforts o f this . regime to project itself as a representative o f the so-called forces o f moderation, gradual end peaceful reform, have ended in failure. Accor­ding to this tactical m anoeuvre, the racists sought to present themselves as a reasonable • and acceptable alternative to the revolutionary alliance headed by the A NC, on one hand, and the fascist coalition o f the H N P and the Con­servative Party on the other.

Knocked cu t o f balance by the intensity o f • our offensive, the W hite m inority regime lur­ches from side to side, fumbling for an ■ equilibrium it can no longer regain. O n one

L day it pretends to be concerned about the con­dition o f the Black m ajority and, on the next, pledges itself to the maintenance o f W hite minority domination.

_ At the same tim e, the posturing o f this . regime has angered large sections o f the

diehard racists among the W hites who see the _ . maintenance o f the apartheid system as a holy

crusade. M oved by their attachm ent to the benefits that accrue to them from the system o f national oppression and the super- exploitation o f the Black majority, the political

Page 7: v-J€¦ · Young Lions. Through their action, supported and rein forced by the workers ar.d the parents, they have forced the apartheid regime to give ground on many, issues. To

• representatives o f this tendency in White politics are challenging the Botha regime for the allcgiance o f especially the A frikaner population. ,

The disarray In the enem y camp has com ­pelled som e to • exam ine the fundamental premise o f the entire system o f racial oppres­sion. The realisation has begun to dawn on some o f Botha’s out. supporters that no solu­tions to the problems confronting our country are possible without the participation o f the Black and democratic majority, and the leaden o f this majority. .

There are yet others from among our W hite countrymen w ho, m ore far-sighted than oth­ers,have decided to break with "a system that is so patently crim inal. These have joined the dem ocratic m ovem ent. W e are confident that the num bers o f such W hite com patriots will grow as an integral part o f the forces o f libera­tion which are destined to defeat the apartheidregime and liquidate the crim inal system it upholds. In order to hasten the advent o f tha t.

i day, we m ust give the enemy no resp ite: _no ( time to regroup and recover lost ground. It re- i quires that we m ust stay r»n the attack.

Role o f the M assesW e are entering the second h a lf o f the 19S0s. W hen we cast our m inds back to the Y ear o f the Charter — 19S0— and the subsequent years, the one feature that stands out is the" ever-expanding and visible ro le o f the masses o f our people in the m aking o f this history. As we enter this second h a lf o f the Decade o f

"Liberation, it is necessary that we examine not only our striking pow er, but, even more im ­portant, the direction in which to strike and how to deliver the blow . In particular, it is necessary that we ask the question: at what pace — bow fast — are we advancing towards the conquest o f pow er?

• T he pace o f our forw ard m arch depends on our success or failure to s te rg th e n the first and the third o f the four interlinked elements we

.have referred to, namefar. the all-round activity o f the underyrraryj structures o f the ANC and file arrrvH spearheaded by Umkhonto we Sizwe. " ‘ * . *

W ith regard to these two decisive elements ' o f our revolutionary struggle, wc should

neither dramatise our shortcomings nor blind ourselves to the reality that we have not ad­vanced on these two fronts at a pace corrcspan- ' ding to our advance on the other two.

To move forward to victory with the greatest speed, we must pay particular attention this year to the task o f building a strong • underground presence . o f w ell-organised

* revolutionary cadres, drawn from the fighting masses and integrated among them . Such » . body o f cadres constitutes the dynamising fac­tor in our situation — a force capable o f bring­ing together the various strands o f our strug­gle. and assisting in the further development and consolidation o f all our political and m ilitary combat forces into a m ighty arm y o f liberation.

The call we are making to all the dem ocratic and patriotic forces o f our country is that this year we must take it as our special task to * strengthen and reinforce ou r vanguard organisation, the African National Congress. . A lready wc have made great strides in this * regard. And yet the imperatives o f ou r strug­gle demand that we do not any longer postpone ' execution o f the task we elaborated last year— to strengthen and expand the underground structures o f the ANC, ensuring the active

■ presence o f our movement everywhere in the country. •

W ho A re the C adres?W ho are these revolutionary cadres about whom we speak? W here are they? They are • not special people. It is we — men and women,

V young and old. Black and W hite — w ho are “ ' involved in daily struggles, making sacrifices

in pursuit o f the people’s cause. It is w c, the . workers in the factories, the mines, the farm s, the commercial establishments and offices o f ' various kinds; we, who work in health and . educational services as well as those o f us oc­cupied within the residential areas. ’ -

The distinctive feature o f the revolutionary ' cadre is a high level o f discipline, dedication • and courage in carrying out the tasks assigned by the movement. Such cadres are guided by *

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our goal o f a united. non-racial and democratic South Africa. They light for die immediate release of Nelson M andela end all other lea-er* and political prisoners. They accept that our path to victory lies in a combination o f the all- round activity o f the A N C. united mass political action, arm ed struggle and interna­tional solidarity and support. ...........

It is now 25 years since the illegitimate regime in our country proscribed the represen­tative and leader o f our people — the African

. National Congress. The apart-.eid regime banned the A NC exactly because it wanted to, remove from our m idst this .dynamising fac­tor in our struggle. Frightened by the .a c t 'that we have nevertheless defeated its efforts to destroy o u r m other body, this regime has now made m ere mem bership of the ANC a treason­able offence. H ow ever, through our relentless, daring and death-defying actions, we have compelled the enem y to sdm it that, as before, the ANC is central to the solution of the South African problem . W e must b u i ld l « > achievement to ensure that in this second half o f the Decade o f L iberation, the ANC emerges more powerful than it has ever been.

ANC th e A lte rn a tiv e P ow er'W e further chaxge the ANC and all other patriots to continue to shift our posture to the Offensive a n d , as w e said last y ear, to cultivate the spirit o f rebellion and the fram e o f mmd which puts the politics o f revolutionary change to the fore- T h e program m es o f action t a t we plan and carry cu t should result in the initiative passing further ’into our hands. Our mass dem ocratic and revolutionary m ovcnent should em erge ever m ore forcefully es.the.

• • alternative pow er in our country. . \ Through struggle and sacrifice, we nave

planted the seeds o f people’s war in our coun­try. .teat is. a w ar waged by all the people against the W hite minority regim e. One o f ourcentral tasks in the com ing penod is - to

• transform the potendal w e have created .into the reality o f people 's wa?. .

Guided by that perspective, w e must built! up the m ass com bat forces that themselves in m ass political action for sharper

battles and for the forcible overthrow of the racist regim e. The mass combat forces of our revolution arc the same political forces that axe and have been engaged in the popular offen­sive. These death-defying patriots must nowbecome part of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the vitalcutting edge o f our onslaught.

■ ]t is in this way that w c will ensure that the people's arm ydcepens its roots and grows in­extricably among the popular masses. It is in

• this way that we will ensure that it grows in size, in the spread and quality o f its operations

and the weight o f every blow h 'delivers.In the course o f our mass offensive, we have,

from time to tim e and with increased frequen- . cy, created the situation in various localities such that the democratic forces,challenged the apart-heid authorities for control o f these . areas, emerging as the alternative power. With regartjto the perspective o f people's w ar,th is means that we forged the conditions for us to • transform these areas into m ass revolutionary bases from which Umkhonto w e Sizwe must grow as an arm y o f the people.

In all the struggles that we waged in the past year, regardless o f how peaceful they were, the enemy confronted us with its armed might.In Sebokeng and other areas, the apartheid regime deployed thousands o f regular troops . In an attempt to crush thepeop le’s resistance.* At such moments who among us did not feel

the urgent need for us to talk to the enemy in the language he understands best? W ho has not seen that wx too must take up arms as did our fo re b e a rs , as d id B am b ata , Solom on Mahlangu, and as did Clifford Brown, only lastyear! •

All we are saying,.therefore, Fellow Com­batants, is that we have it withir. our means to increase our capacity to hit back at the enemy, arms in hand. No one but ourselves will a t - complish this task. W e m ust all take it as a priority task to build up the popular armed forces, to transform the armed actions we have thus far carried out into a people’s w ar, by helping to root U m khonto we Sizwe' firmly among the people and actively drawing the masses into the prosecution o f a people’s war.

^ 0 0 2 4

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Furtherm ore, t i l the oppressed need to •em ulate the example o f the areas where the

dem ocratic moVement has emerged is the alternative power. W herever we are, we must transform our locality into a mass revolu­tionary base. In such areas, we should also use the democratic pow er •we have accumulated through struggle, to defend ard advance the interests o f the people. W e' must use our organised mass strength and, by attacking, consolidate our victorious cmergcnce as the alternative power.

. The cultural workers — artists, w riters, musicians, poets, sportsmen and sportswomen— have the capacity to enrich the overall ef­fort o f our people in otir quest for national liberation. ,

W e charge our re tu rn ! workers with the task o f using their craft to give voice, not only to the grievances, but also to the profoundest aspirations o f the oppressed and exploited. In our country a new social and political o rder

■ is being born. Our artists have to play,an even bigger role as midwives o f this glorious future. Let the arts be one o f the many means by w'hich we cultivate the spirit o f revolt among the broad m asses, enhance the striking power o f our movement and inspire the millions o f our people to fight for the South Africa we envisage.. ’ •• vA p arth e id Econom y In C risisThe continuing and deepening crisis r.f the

apartheid economy confronts all o f us with the task o f defeating the efforts o f the apartheid state and the bosses to shift the burden o l this crisis on to our shoulders. This crisis is not o f oiu making. It is the result o f the exploitative capitalist system as well as the huge state ex­penditures to maintain and strengthen the enem y army and police and to finance the

' political and administrative structures o f the apartheid system, i ". ’ *

W hy then must .we finance the com m ission’ o f a crim e against ourselves by paying an dver* rising General Sale* T ax, Increased food prices^ rents, fares and to on! Why m ust we

• continue to lose our jobs,’adding to the millions '•already 'unem ployed, w hile the apartheid

regime and the em ployers recruit skilled workers, especially from W estern Europe!.

W e should therefore unite in action to de­mand food and not guns, jobs for the unemployed, and the diversion of resources to improve the lives o f the impoverished masses.The wealth we create with our labourshould not go to enrich a ^mall clique and oil the m achinery o f apartheid, while millions suffer from starvation. In this struggle we expect the organised w orkers to play a centra! role, both to fight o ff the attack on our living standards and to help bring about the dem ocratic socie­ty in which the wealth o f our country will become the patrim ony o f the people.

ite to o u r H eroes W e salute and pay tribute to the many heroes and heroines o f our country w ho have laid down their lives in our struggle for liberation. • We extend our greetings to the leaders and ac­tivists o f the. dem ocratic movement who, despite arTests, detention, and every form o f persecution by the enemy, have stood firm a n d ' persisted in the common struggle to defeat and destroy the racist regim e. Once m ore, we pledge to our leaders incarcerated on Robben • Island, Pollsmoor and other prisons that we shall not rest until the cause for w-Jych they have sacrificed emerges trium phantG he very • fact o f the arrest and detention o f U D F and other leaders, some o f whom have bechwharg- ed with treason, emphasises the continuing im­portance o f the struggle for the im n^diate and unconditional release o f all political prisoners.

We take pride in the fact that the interna* - ; tional conscience, expressing itself through the ' Js'obe! Peace Committee, has decided to award • the 1934 Nobel Peace Prize to i Black South African — Bishop Desmond Tutu. This is the . second instance within 23 y c s n that our peo­ple, and A frica, have been given this honour. Bishop Tutu walks in the steps o f ou r beloved C hief A lbert Luthuli.• There is ao doubt that this is a tribute to our * • selfless dedication and o u r resistance to one o f the m ost cruel and inhuman systems the world has ever known. The award does g rea t' . credit to the role o f our religious communities

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in the struggle for liberation and should be an inspiration to til o f them to get the heresy of apartheid e xpunged from the statute books and from our lives. It once more emphasises the Lti7 0 ."tance our people and the rest of the world attach to the contribution the rcligiouslcaders

■ and masses of our country must continue to make in the struggle for justice, peace and life itself.

S is te r N ations, S ister M ovem ents W e greet the fraternal people o f Namibia and especially welcome among fighting ranks of our sister movement, SW APO, the new Sec­r e ta ry General o f SW APO. Comrade Andim- ba Herman Toiyo jaT o iv o and his colleagues, w hom the apartheid regim e was forced to release from long term s of imprisonment. T heir release and continued involvement in struggle will bring closer the day of freedom and independence for Namibia. In this regard w e, the people o f South Africa, demand the imm ediate and unconditional withdrawal of South African racist troops from Namibia and Angola.

W e pay tribute to the Front Line States and the Kingdom o f Lesotho for their firm and

■■ principled actions.in defending our right o f struggle and upholding the legitimacy and du- tv o f Africa and the '.world to support ourstruggle. . . . •

W e recognise the important contribution made by the OAU End various international organisations including the United Nations and its Agencies, the Non-Aligned Movement,.the W orld Peace C ouncil, the Socialist interna- _ tional — to m ention but a few. They are large- * ly responsible for ensuring that aparthcid- remains at the centre o f world attention as a .crime against hum anity. • , .

W e congratulate our Palestinian brothers and sisters for successfully overcoming at; tempts to liquidate the Palestinian struggle. W e support the call by the PLO for an international conference in furtherance o f the struggle for a sovereign Palestinian homeland.

W e condemn the continuing efforts o f the US Administration to destabilise and over* throw the popular government o f Nicaragua

and express our Hrm and militant solidarity with the fraternal people of that hcroic country.

W e express our solidarity with the people o f Grenada whose right to self-determination was grossly violated and continues to be circumscribed, following the naked aggression by the US arm ed forces.

We salute all people engaged in struggle for national liberation, especially El Salvador and East Tim or. W e pledge solidarity with all those struggling to defend their sovereignty, in­cluding the peoples o f Southern Africa, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, the Mid­dle East, Afghanistan and Cyprus. We wel­come the successes o f the dem ocratic forces in Latin A m erica, and are confident that the foothold c f the apartheid regim e in the A m erican sub-continent will be totally elim inated. * .

O u t people have com e to appreciate and • value the consistent solidarity and growing

support for our struggle given by the socialist countries, the N ordic States and othercountries. . •. *

O ur ties with various governments, political parties and parliam entary groups in W estern Europe and Australasia have grown stronger and wc look forw ard to ever-closer relations and greater co-operation with them in the struggle against the apartheid system.

W e pay tribute to the millions o f people in­volved in the ever-expanding w ork within the w orldwide ’anti-apartheid movement. They constitute a solid base o f support for our strug­gle internationally. It is through their daily, and sometimes unknown, efforts that governments and peoples are kept elive to , and mobilised

.in action against, the numerous ploys o f the South A frican racists to whitewash apartheid. In this context we welcome the momentous cam paign undertaken by the people o f the U nited States, which involves legislators, judges, bishops, trade unionists and other outstanding personalities and government of­ficials, and w hich is targeted on pressurising the Reagan A dm inistration to reverse its sup­port for the Pretoria racist regim e.

W e salute all these supporters and unsung heroes w orking for the cause o f world peace

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end c io ser fellow ship w ith in ihc h u m an ra c e .

• V*’e lake th u opportunity once more to dip our banners in memory o f that outstanding friend of our struggling people and m ovem ent, the late Indira Gandhi. W e are certain that her successor as Prim e M inister o f India, Rajiv Gandhi, will continue in her footsteps further to extend much appreciated all-round support to our struggle.

Y ea r of the C ad reR um ours, emanating from the South African mass media, have been circulating about ‘talks' between the African National Congress and the Botha regim e. There have been no such talks. Your organisation at this juncture is concern­ed to improve our capacity to accomplish the tasks we have set for ourselves in the unfolding year. In this respcct we shall, as you know, be holding a National Consultative Conference this year, from which we shall em erge united End doubly strengthened to carry our struggle forw ard; ■_

T he strength o f any organisation lies in the calibre o f its individual m em bers and units. In o rder to advance in keeping w ith the m om en­tum o f our struggle w em ust improve the quali­

ty and expand the quantity o f our membership. W e need cadres of unquestionab le loyalty, dedication and understanding of our struggle.In order to achieve such a high standard and spur our nation into a greater onslaught on the enemy and its institutions, we declare this year, 1985, the Y ear o f the C adre!

Let this year see us take big strides in fur­ther strengthening the organised underground structures of the A NC. Let it see greater mass political actions in all the provinces and districts o f our country. Let it see us extend people’s war to all com ers o f our land. Let it see the fastest and furthest possible co ­ordinated advance on all fronts towards the goal o f people’s power.

There is no going back. F o rw ard Always is our battle cry. The enemy cannot stop us.

• Our future is in our hands.

F o rw ard w ith the Y ea r o f the C a d rt!M obilise and M arch F o rw ard to People’sPower!Am andJa N gaw ethulM atra ke A Rona!Pow er to the People!

AFRICAN NATIONAL

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Events in our country are moving with astonishing speed. In our January 8th m essage w e issued a call for the intensification of our liberation offensive on all fronts, the transformation of more and more localities into mass revolutionary bases, and the need to take further strides towards rendering the country ungovernable.

Only three months have passed since that call was made and already the surge of peo p le ’s resistance and active defiance have reached new heights. The face of our country is changing before our very eyes.* In the black ghettoes of the urban areas the legitimacy of authori­

ty of all types is not just u nder attack, it has been largely destroyed. Most of those who served white rule in so-called ur­ban councils have suffered the wrath of the people . But many have resp ec ted the dem ands of the peop le by resigning.

* The tri-cameral parliament has exposed its com plete impotence in the present crisis and continues to be shunned. The Ban:ustans are universally held in contem pt. »

* W ell-organised stay-aways in localised areas have cnce again drawn attention to the potential of the organised workers to bring the ruling class to its knees. ,

* The peop le , by their actions, are teaching black police and soldiers that there is no p lace in our com m unities for those who w ear the uniforms of apartheid and who carry cut orders to kill, maim and torture their brothers and sisters.

* All attem pts to tame our fighting students have failed and more and m ore schools and universities are becom ing flashpoints for freedom .

* The continuing street confrontations with the enem y's arm ed forces show that our peop le , in massive num bers, not only want a new o rder in our country but are also prepared to sacrifice life, if need be, to bring it about.

* Fired by the heroic exam ple of Umkhonto we Sizwe, more and m ore of our youth are searching for w ays to organise themselves

' into effective com bat units to defend the peop le , deal with the collaborators, and to hit back selectively at the enem y's arm ed personnel. ■ ~

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* The people, undaunted by massive stale repression, are openlydemonstrating over and over again that the ANU is theirlegitimate and overall leader on the road to People’s Power.

On the side of the people the conditions for a revolutionary leap fcrv/crd are b&ginning to mature. On the side of the ruling class the economic and political crisis has re a d ie d new heights.

It i= clear that the racists cannot continue to rule in the old way. The bankrupt and dying regim e is being kept alive by those who carry arms in its defence. All attem pts by it to find alternative solu­tions have landed cn the rocks. All Botha’s reforms, designed to d ifu se the developing revolutionary assault, trigger off even inora vigorous raass opposition. The prom ised alteration of tho sex laws is the latest pathetic manoeuvre. It is another gesture to help the external allies of apartheid to stem the mounting international tido for the total isolation of South Africa. There will be real love across the colour line only when South Africa is completely ire s .

Tha growing ferment from below and the deepening crisis from above darn an a the urgent attention of our whole liberation front and ali sectors of our struggling peoples.

The historic conditions which are necessary to ensure the col­lapse of the aparthc-id system and the creation by the people of a new social order are beginning to take shape in greater measuro than ever before in our history. Yet much more remains to be done. It is the urgent tack of our liberation movement and of all patriots to stimulate the further growth of those conditions which could bring the day of the people’s seizure of pow er within our sight.

I; is against this background that v/e once again call on all sec ­tions cf our people to make the apartheid system more and more unworkable and the country less and less governable. At the same time wc- must work endlessly to strengthen all levels of m ars and underground organisation and to create the beginnings of popular power.

Moro particdaily:

J Wo call cn our nationally oppressed working class to strengthen and unite tho trade union movement and to sharpen tho w eapon cf w orkers’ power at the point cf production in the struggle for na­tional liberation. A long-lasting national work stoppage, backed by cur oppressed communities and supported by arm ed activity, can break the backbone of the apartheid system and bring tho regime to its kr.ces. All patriots active in industrial organisation must ex­amine tho lesson of the recent successful stay-aways in the Transvaal ar.d Eastd-m C aps and must set their sights on combining national

stay-away action with countrywldo mass popular actions, o We call on our communities In tho black ghettoes to replaco tho collapsing government stooge councils with people's committees in every block which could becom e the embryos of people’s power. 1 • ’ 1 ’ * " • ’ ’® Wo call on our people and, more especially, our fighting youth in every black community, school and university to find ways of organising themselves into small mobile units which will protect the people against anti social elements and act In an organised way in both white and black areas against tho enemy and its agents. Every black area must becom e a ’no go area’ for any isolated in* dividuals or pockets of tho enemy's police or armed personnel. The people must find ways to obtain arms by whatever means from the enemy and from any other source. Appropriate forms of combat tactics must be developed for situations in which the enemy is on the rampage against the people. The proliferation of such units ar.d their functioning in accordance with all the rules of underground secrecy will add inestimable power and strength to the armed wing of our liberation movement — Umkhonto we Sizwe. o We call on all those among tho black oppressed who servo in the machineries of apartheid to resign now. Tho Bantustans, the so- called parliaments for the Coloured and Indian people, tho com­munity councils and other organs of racist power must cease to function. They must find fewer and fewer participants as patriots join in the bitter struggle for power. At a time when so many have fallen and are falling to racist bullets, those who continue to sell their people's birthright will be shunned and made to feel tho anger of the masses in both town and countryside, o We call on the unemployed blacks now sitting in uniform to stop shooting their brothers and sisters in defence of white rule. They must refuso to cany out 6uch orders. They must organise secretly to turn their guns against their masters.o V/e call on those in the white community who have been con­scripted into tho army to refuse, in their own interests ar.d those of their children, to be used os Instruments of massacres arid military domination over their black fellow citizens and over the people of Namibia, Angola and other parts of Southern Africa, o We call on all social institutions, religious, cultural, civic and sporting, which retain a beliuf in the true brotherhood of man, to side even more vigorously with the cause of people's liberation and stand firm 2gainst racist intimidation.

We call on the people everywhere to defy, in an organised way, the imposition of laws founded on race discrimination, to resist all

3

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attacks on their living conditions and to promote united resistance and action against the apnithev.d system and its agcncies. o We call on the wliite cor.inninity in whose name racist barbarities arc being perpetrated daily cyainst the black majority, to mo^e away trom its support of apartheid and to increase the ranks of tne growing num ber of democratic whites who aia participating in cur liberation struggle'.o W e call, in this Year or the Cadre, on all political and military activists to work unceasingly to strengthen the ANC s underground p resence and to reinforcc our leadership core in e v e r/ pari of the country. The ANC-led liberation m ovem ent is the indispensible guide to the whole revolutionary process.© W e call on Umlchonto we Sizwe to intensify the arm ed struggle with all the means at its disposal and, more particularly, to concen­trate m ore and more on actions against the enem y arm ed forces and police. W e also call on our underground to help make such an intensification of arm ed activity possible by woildng^day and night to create and strengthen our internal political revolutionary bases. • .

The period ahead presents all of us — whether in cr out of the ilNC — with an awe-inspiring challenge. Under the leadership of cur liberation movement we can and must answ er this call of history. Let the blood of cur martyrs who arc frilling before the enemy bullets nourish our baiile for

fr&cdoo. Let our watchwords be:Unity in M ass Hcticn! Confront tha Enemy on all Fronts!

• AfiAKE APARTHEID UNWORKABLE! AfiAKS m Z COUNTRY UNGOVERNABLE!

Fc-rwssrd PeespSe's Power! . Long Live- ths AWC — t5:o Vcrsgucrd

of onj r Revolution!

ISSUED BY TH= NATIONAL EXECUTIVE CO.YW.ITTEE OF THE ANC PO COX 31791 LUSAKA ZAT.’.BIA 25/4/35

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Collection Number: AK2145 KRUGERSDORP RESIDENTS’ ORGANISATION AND 4 OTHERS v. THE MINISTER OF LAW AND ORDER AND 2 OTHERS 1986 PUBLISHER: Publisher:- Historical Papers, University of the Witwatersrand Location:- Johannesburg ©2012

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