Anti-Apartheid News

‘Labour must stand by its pledges’, declared this issue. It reported on Vorster’s crackdown against SWAPO in Namibia and on the forced removal of whole villages in Zimbabwe. Vella Pillay exposed how international oil majors were circumventing the Arab oil boycott of South Africa. Paul Fauvet analysed the difficult path ahead for the liberation movements of the Portuguese colonies in moving to independence. Jean Middleton examined the manpower shortage faced by the South African Defence Force.

The October issue attacked the Labour Government’s decision to take part in naval manoeuvres with South Africa and called for an end to the Simonstown Agreement. It celebrated the imminent independence of Mozambique and Guinea Bissau. Hugh Bayley reviewed the NUS-AAM student campaign to pressure British universities to disinvest from South Africa. In a special feature, AA News reported on the growth of independent unions in South Africa. Leading trade unionists critiqued the report of the TUC’s South African delegation. 

This issue called for an end to all military links with South Africa. It reported on a recent NUS-AAM student network conference and on action by students in Manchester, Bristol and Oxford. Labour MPs Jo Richardson, Ioan Evans and Robert Hughes argued the Labour Government must implement Labour Party policy on South Africa and Namibia. John Lawrence examined the activities of the pro-apartheid Club of Ten. A centrespread warned that South Africa was mobilising against newly independent Mozambique.

AA News announced a visit to London by Angela Davis to speak at a meeting calling for the release of Southern African political prisoners. A feature on the Zimbabwean economy showed how South Africa and Portugal had helped it circumvent international sanctions. A special correspondent argued Nationalist Party plans for a ‘settlement’ in Namibia were a device to perpetuate South African control. Abdul Minty exposed Labour Government plans to continue military co-operation with South Africa after the ending of the Simonstown Agreement. 

The February issue reported on the Black Renaissance Convention organised by black consciousness groups in Natal, inspired by the victory of the liberation movements in Portugal’s African colonies. It exposed the sham elections held in northern Namibia. It printed extracts from Angela Davis’s speech calling for the release of Southern African political prisoners. A round-up of AAM-NUS network student news included reports from Durham, Salford, Glasgow and Nottingham. A special feature set out the case for an academic boycott of South Africa.

This issue led on the AAM’s demonstration against British military collaboration with South Africa called for 23 March. It asked for solidarity action with the black consciousness activists detained for organising pro-FRELIMO rallies. It revealed new death sentences on Zimbabwe guerrilla fighters and reported on the parliamentary debate on Rhodesian sanctions. An interview with SWAPO leader John Otto told of brutal repression in Namibia. A special correspondent warned of the threat of famine in Mozambique and Cape Verde.

A photo spread of the AAM’s 23 March demonstration showed banners declaring ‘End Labour Government’s Military Collaboration with Apartheid’. The issue reported on the latest developments in Zimbabwe and Namibia. It carried an account from a special correspondent in Mozambique of FRELIMO’s first steps in government. AAM President Bishop Ambrose Reeves examined Prime Minister Vorster’s attempts to win friends in independent Africa.

The May issue led on a report of an OAU summit which asked member states to step up support for the Southern African liberation movements. It carried extracts from ANC President Oliver Tambo’s speech to the meeting. It featured the trial in Pretoria of 13 black consciousness activists under the Terrorism Act. David Davis reported on the doubling of South Africa’s defence budget and Paul Fauvet reviewed the latest developments in Angola. SWAPO women’s leader Magdalena Shamena told how SWAPO was working to change the lives of women in Namibia.