1970s

South African lawyer Joel Carlson exposed the sham of South Africa’s legal system at a meeting at University College, London on 31 May 1973. Also on the platform were Labour MP Michael Foot (left), who said the Labour Party was considering calling for an end to new British investment in South Africa, and the Chair and Hon. Secretary of the AAM, John Ennals and Abdul Minty.

AAM supporters picketed the headquarters of the mining company Rio Tinto Zinc (RTZ) in St James’s Square, London on Namibia Day, 1 June. RTZ operated the Rossing uranium mine in Namibia in defiance of a judgement by the International Court of Justice that South Africa’s rule there was illegal.

In 1973 the low wages paid to black workers by the South African subsidiaries of British companies hit the headlines with the publication of a series of articles by Adam Raphael in the Guardian newspaper. The AAM submitted this memorandum to a House of Commons sub-committee tasked with enquiring into the operations of British companies in South Africa. The memorandum argued that all British economic involvement in South Africa supported apartheid and that British firms should pull out. The government rejected this argument and instead instituted a code of conduct for British companies operating in South Africa.

Poster for a meeting calling for a boycott of official celebrations of the  600th anniversary of the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance in July 1973. The main speakers were Oliver Tambo and FRELIMO Vice-President Marcellino dos Santos. Labour MP Judith Hart called for Portugal to be expelled from NATO and for an end to British support for the ‘unholy alliance’ of Portugal, South Africa and Rhodesia. The meeting was attended by over 1,500 people.

In July 1973 Portuguese dictator Marcelo Caetano visited London to mark the 600th anniversary of the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance. The AAM joined with other groups to oppose the visit. On 15 July over 12,000 demonstrators marched through central London calling for an end to British support for the ‘unholy alliance’ of Portugal, South Africa and Rhodesia. They included trade unionists and a delegation from the Black People’s Freedom Movement.

In July 1973 Portuguese dictator Marcelo Caetano visited London to mark the 600th anniversary of the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance. This leaflet called for an end to British support for the ‘unholy alliance’ of Portugal, South Africa and Rhodesia. The AAM joined with other groups to organise a 12,000-strong march through central London on 15 July to protest against Caetano’s visit.

In July 1973 Portuguese dictator Marcelo Caetano visited London to mark the 600th anniversary of the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance. The AAM joined with other groups to oppose the visit. On 15 July over 12,000 demonstrators marched through central London calling for an end to British government support for the ‘unholy alliance’ of Portugal, South Africa and Rhodesia. They included trade unionists and a delegation from the Black People’s Freedom Movement.

In July 1973 Portuguese dictator Marcelo Caetano visited London to mark the 600th anniversary of the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance. The AAM joined with other groups to oppose the visit. On 15 July over 12,000 demonstrators marched through central London calling for an end to British government support for the ‘unholy alliance’ of Portugal, South Africa and Rhodesia in Southern Africa. They included trade unionists and a delegation from the Black People’s Freedom Movement.