Rights and Protest: SA Apartheid - Protests and Action

National Day of Protest (21st October 1950)

• Mandela and ANC leadership called for National Day of Protest (26/6/1950)

• In cooperation with political organisations representing:

  • Coloured = African People’s Organisation (APO)

  • Indian = South African Indian Congress (SAIC)

• In cities, most black businesses closed and a majority of workers stayed home

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Suppression of Communism Act (no.4) (1950)

• Outlawed Communist Party → didn’t form a significant threat to the government

• Any criticism of government = communism

• Empowered the minister of justice to list members of such organisations

  • ‘Ban’ them usually for 5 years from public office, attending public meetings, being in any area of SA

• Minister of Justice could investigate any organisation, declare it illegal, liquidate its assets and ban any gatherings deemed likely to further the aims of communism

Defiance Campaign (April 1952)

• ANC + SAIC organised mass rallies and stay-at-homes for 6th April and 26th June → thousans of men and women supported it

• Aimed to repeal:

  • Pass Laws Act

  • Group Areas Act

  • Suppression of Communism Act

  • Separate Representation of Voters Act

  • Stock Limitation Act

    • Made it compulsory for Africans to cull their cattel = unpopular in rural aras and included in campaign to broaden support to African peasants

• Government reacted by banning leaders and newspapers under Suppression of Communism Act + arresting participants

• December 1952: approx. 8500 people had been arrested → Defiance Campaign largely come to an end with no real change in laws

Successes of the Defiance Campaign (1952)

• For first time, ANC coordinated extended national campaign against Apartheid

  • Leadership proved capable of discipline and sacrifice

• Thousands of ordinary SA people demonstrated readiness to be involved → as volunteers and supporters

  • Stage had been set for development of true mass movement

• Broad coalition of interest groups involved in planning and execution

  • From communists and trade unions to members of Indian community and ANC Women’s League

• Hardly anyone in party (including members of emerging Africanist faction) objected in principle to working alongside non-African groups

• National and global profile of ANC grew as a result

Failures of the Defiance Campaign (1952)

• ANC failed to achieve any of its main political objectives = not a single one of the six laws was repealed

• Government emerged with even stronger repressive powers with passage of Criminal Law Amendment Act and Public Safety Act (also introduced during the campaign)

• Anticipated wave of general strikes that would herald climax of campaign + cripple SA economy never materialised

• Campaign viewed with hostility by many in the white community → viewed it as revolutionary challenge to their interests particularly after outbreak of riots

• English language press unsympathetic → liberal whites sought to distance themselves from campaign they believed to be radical + confrontational

Congress of The People (25-26th June 1955)

• 3000 delegates met near Soweto

• Represented:

  • African = ANC

  • White = The Congress of Democrats

  • Indian = SAIC

  • Coloured = The Coloured People’s Congress

  • South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU)

• Goal to develop a new vision for a future South Africa

• Main document discussed = Freedom Charter → drafted several weeks previously

Government Response to Freedom Charter

• Charter ratified by Congress delegates when police surrounded the meeting

  • Announced treason was being committed

  • Took the names of all those attending

• Following year using this information = police arrested 156 leaders

  • Put on trial for next 5 years

• Passed 2 censorship acts:

  • Customs and Exercise Act (1955)

  • Official Secrets Act (no.16) (1956)

    • Established Board of Censors to censor books, films and other material produced/imported into SA

Treason Trials (1956-61)

• 156 people representing nearly 50 organisations → mix of Africans, whites, Indians, coloureds

  • Included Nelson Mandela and almost every other significant figure in the anti-apartheid movement

• Government claimed the Freedom Charter was a communist inspired document = charged with treason

• Trial had several phases:

  • Phase 1: most of those charged had their indictments dropped

  • Final phase: remaining 30 defendents all members of ANC had charges dropped

• ANC declared to be non-voilent and not a communist-front organisation

Alexandra Bus Boycott (January 1957)

• Not the first bus boycott in SA, used frequently before and some were quite large in scale

• Alexandra: bus company raised prices from the township into the city

• Hundreds of thousands took part in protests + generated symphathetic coverage in the white media

• How did it get so large?

  • Context - Sophiatown removals amongst others affecting the area

  • 1956 decision to issue compulsory passes to women

  • Lack of other protests against the government thanks to ANC crackdowns

  • Economic pressures of the time → already spending more than a month’s salary annually on bus fares → could not afford the 1p increase

• Boycott spread to Sophiatown and surrounding townships of Pretoria: other cities staged boycotts in solidarity

• Eventually the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce intervened = old fares restored and government subsidised the transport company

  • Success

Why did the ANC split after the Alexandra Bus Boycotts?

• Because of ANC’s failure to achieve any practical success in campaigns led to major split by 1959

• Critics said had made too many compromises + failed to represent African interests

  • Mainly due to its alliance with the white Congress of Democrats

• Africanists led by Robert Sobukwe → called on the ANC to represent African interests first and take more action

  • Forced out of ANC → formed Pan-African Congress

Pan-African Congress (PAC)

• Nationwide campaign against the pass laws

• Called on Africans to assemble outside police stations without their passes and challenge police to arrest them

• One demonstration - Sharpeville

Sharpeville Massacre (21st March 1960)

• Sharpeville: ‘Native’ township of around 37,000 people in industrial area of Vereeniging, south of Johannesburg

• Suffered from high unemployment + resentment towards local factories which relied on cheaper imported migrant labour

• Up to 20,000 people gathered to protest pass laws

• Plan was to go to police station, show they had no passes, demand to be arrested = they couldn’t arrest them all

• However, seems that a policeman was pushed over by the crowd so they opened fire

  • In minutes, 69 dead, almost 200 wounded

• Investigation later found that 70% of those killed had been shot in the back

Effect of Sharpeville Massacre

• Economy suffered as foreign investors pulled money out amongst international outcry

• 2000 political leaders arrested

• State of emergency declared → army reserves mobilised to help put down disturbances = public meetings banned

• White emigration surpassed white immigration → whites began arming themselves in increasing numbers

• Some Afrikaner politicians started questioning apartheid policies as being too heavy-handed

• ANC + PAC banned under new  Unlawful Organisations Act → 7th April 1960

• 18,000 people arrested and often beaten

How did the ANC’s stance change post-Sharpeville Massacre?

• Calls for end to apartheid = ignored

  • Clear to leadership of ANC that all this energy, time, money was wasted → now they’re banned as a group too = time for something different

  • Mandela justified change in ANC stance by saying that violence was inevitable

• Military branch of ANC formed -→ ANC secret meeting: Mandela suggested they should sponsor armed wing

• Albert Luthuli opposed this and wants to commit to non-violence

  • Luthuli later suggested → military branch should be separate but under ANC leadership

Government Response to ANC’s Armed Struggle

• Little significant military damage from ANC = small scale attacks

• Sabotage Act (1962)

  • Those charged with acts of sabotage faced death penalty, presumed guilty until proved innocent, security forces could use torture

• General Laws Amendment Act (1963)

  • Authorities could arrest anyone for 90 days, after 90 days passed could charge and hold for another 90 days → continue indefinitely

• Bantu Laws Amendment Act (1964)

  • Authorities could deport any African from any urban/farming area for any reason

Rivonia Trial (1963-64)

• Post-government Raid on Liliesleaf Farm

  • Seized 17 MK members, weapons + documents → clearly stated Mandela’s role

  • All arrested, faced death penalty

• 20th April - Mandela spoke to the court which included local + intl. press

  • Spoke for 4 hours, turned charges against him into an indictment against apartheid

  • Mandela and others pled not guilty

• Judge Quartus de Wet took 3 weeks to decide

• Prosecutor had been pushing for death penalty → everone sentenced to life in prison except for Denis Goldberg (22 years as the only white)

  • Lots of intl. Pressure to avoid death penalty but unsure why he decided to do so

• Mandela sent back to Robben Island with 6 other defendants → there for the next 27 years