Arms Embargo

South African Defence Minister P W Botha visited the Ministry of Defence on 10 June 1971 for talks with his British counterpart Lord Carrington. Protesters threw tomatoes and smoke flares as he entered the Ministry. Botha was seeking assurances that Britain would supply warships to South Africa. The 1970–74 Conservative government announced that it would lift the arms embargo against South Africa, but because of public opposition the only weapons it supplied were seven Wasp helicopters.

In 1974 the newly elected Labour government authorised joint naval exercises with the South African navy. The AAM accused it of failing to honour its election manifesto commitments and campaigned for pressure from Labour supporters against all military and economic links with South Africa.

Anti-apartheid campaigners called on the recently elected Labour government to stop all British military collaboration with South Africa and end the Simonstown naval agreement at a demonstration in Whitehall on 31 October 1974. Two months later the government cancelled the agreement.

In December 1974 the Labour government announced it would end the Simonstown naval agreement, but stated that there would be no ban on British ships using South African naval facilities. This leaflet advertised a demonstration on 23 March 1975 calling on the government to end all military collaboration with South Africa.

AAM demonstrators marched through central London on 23 March 1975 to call on the Labour government to stop all military collaboration with South Africa. The government ended the Simonstown Agreement, but continued to supply spare parts and hold joint training exercises with the South African navy. In the photograph is Nigeria’s UN Ambassador Edwin Ogbu, Chair of the UN Special Committee Against Apartheid.

This leaflet was distributed on the AAM demonstration held on 23 March 1975. It argued that changes promised by Vorster and Smith were a sham and that the Labour government was collaborating with the white regimes.

AAM demonstrators marched through central London on 23 March 1975 to call on the Labour government to stop all military collaboration with South Africa. The government ended the Simonstown Agreement, but continued to supply spare parts and hold joint training exercises with the South African navy.

This memorandum showed how the Labour government elected in 1974 was failing to honour its election pledge to end military links with South Africa. It asked trade unionists and Labour Party members to press the government to end military co-operation and to take action on Zimbabwe and Namibia.