Browse the AAM Archive

In its front page lead, this issue exposed a projected deal between BP and Anglo-American which would give South Africa access to North Sea oil. It carried the full text of Nelson Mandela’s message to the world and an interview with ANC leader Victor Matlou, kidnapped by South African police. A centrespread featured the war in Angola, where South Africa was fighting SWAPO guerrillas and supporting UNITA against the forces of the MPLA government. In the run-up to the British TUC annual meeting, civil servants union official Chris Easterling called on British workers to show solidarity with striking black workers in South Africa.

ANC freedom fighter James Mange’s reprieve from hanging was the front-page story in this issue. AA News called for intensified action in support of other political prisoners currently on trial in South Africa. It reported on a SWAPO conference held in Paris mobilising support from all over the world for international action to expel South Africa from Namibia. It also exposed child labour in South Africa and forced removals of black South Africans dumped in rural areas. 

In an exclusive interview with AA News, SWAPO President Sam Nujoma stressed the importance of SWAPO’s armed struggle in ending South Africa’s illegal occupation of Namibia. Abdul Minty analysed Western countries manoeuvres in the contact group set up by the UN to try to negotiate with South Africa on Namibia. AA News profiled the new South African ambassador to the UK and reported on material aid projects and action by British trade unionists in support of the Southern African freedom struggle.

This issue exposed NATO collaboration with South Africa in contravention of the UN arms embargo. It carried an interview with South African trade union leader Thozamile Botha and an appeal for the release of veteran trade unionist Oscar Mpetha. It reported on the clampdown on South African trade unions. A new pamphlet showed how the multinational Philips Group was supplying electronic equipment to the South African military. The issue reported on one of the best ever attended annual general meetings of the AAM, which endorsed an ambitious programme featuring trade unions, action on political prisoners, women’s solidarity and the campaign for independence for Namibia.

The campaign to save the lives of young South African and Namibian freedom fighters sentenced to death by the apartheid government was the front page story in the January-February issue. The newspaper also exposed manoeuvres to readmit South Africa to the World Medical Association and reported on the campaign to elect Nelson Mandela as the new Chancellor of the University of London. It examined the implications for the anti-apartheid solidarity struggle of the election of Ronald Reagan as US President, and of meetings between NATO and the South African government.

The March issue highlighted South African aggression against the frontIline states and carried eyewitness reports of the fighting in Angola and Mozambique. It exposed the apartheid government’s attempts to develop a nuclear bomb and publicised the World Campaign Against Military and Nuclear Collaboration’s conference on ‘South Africa: A Threat to Peace’. The centrespread made the case for ‘Sanctions Now’, outlining the AAM’s sanctions and boycott campaigns. The issue also carried an interview with SWAPO West European representative Shapua Kaukungua.

AA News again focused on the need to counter the UK government's support for the apartheid government by campaigning for sanctions, and South Africa's threat to the frontline states. It highlighted the campaign to end British imports of uranium from Namibia and reported on new moves against independent trade unions in South Africa. It reported on the formation of the Wales Anti-Apartheid Movement and on protests by the Scottish Committee of the AAM against plans to merge the Royal Bank of Scotland with Standard and Chartered Bank, which had big investments in South Africa. The centrespread publicised the AAM's 25 April National Day of Consumer Action.

The May issue headlined US subversion of the UN plan for Namibian independence, and the stand taken by African and non-aligned states in opposition to US policy. It exposed apartheid government support for UNITA in Angola and the build-up of South African armed forces in Namibia. It announced plans for a month of protest action against the involvement of oil companies Shell and BP in South Africa, and publicised a UN ‘black list’ of sports people who had broken the boycott against apartheid. The centrespread featured the UN arms embargo against South Africa and exposed companies which were still collaborating with the South African military.