Anti-Apartheid Movement
in South Africa
By Ben Morse and George Venables
Apartheid South Africa
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Segregation laws instituted from early C20th;
• General Pass Regulations; 1905
• Land Act; 1913
• Colour Bar Act; 1926
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1912: African National Congress established, challenges apartheid laws through
courts.
1948: National Party elected and begins introducing Apartheid programme
institutionalising segregation;
• Population Registration Act; 1950
• Reservation of Separate Amenities Act; 1953
• Suppression of Communism Act; 1950
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1949: ANC youth wing led by Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo takes
control of ANC. Calls for active resistance against Apartheid.
1951/2: Defiance Campaign by ANC.
1960: Pan-Africanist Congress established as breakaway from ANC, organises national
protests. Peaceful protest in Sharpeville township fired on and 69 protestors killed.
1961: Government declares State of Emergency to repress ANC and PAC, 18,000
arrests. Resistance moves underground and launches violent campaign by Umkhonto
we Sizwe (MK).
1962: Nelson Mandela arrested for terrorism and 1964 sentenced to life
imprisonment.
1970: Black Homeland Act established semi-autonomous black homelands
(Bantustans).
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1970’s: Black Consciousness movement formed at universities led by Steve Biko.
1976: Soweto protests by students, met by police and between 23 and 600 killed.
1977: Steve Biko arrested and murdered in police custody.
1983: United Democratic Front founded as alliance of anti-apartheid
organisations calling for nonviolent action.
1985: Congress of South Africa Trade Unions established to lead industrial action
against apartheid. State of Emergency declared increasing repression, 30,000
arrested, ANC respond with new military campaign.
1980’s: International pressure increased with trade sanctions and disinvestment.
ANC, UDF and COSATU form alliance.
1989-1993: National Party under de Klerk begin apartheid reforms and open
negotiations with ANC.
1990: Mandela released.
1990-1993: Apartheid regime dismantled.
1994: Universal elections, ANC wins in landslide.
THE ROLE OF VIOLENCE
Why was it used?
• Initial attempts at Nonviolence had proved
unsuccessful e.g. Sharpeville Massacre
• It had been successful in other countries e.g.
Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Vietnam
• An armed struggle could rely on support,
training and resources from neighbouring
countries and other foreign nations e.g. the
Soviet Union
Methods of Violent Resistance
• Methods of violence took a number of different forms and were
carried out by a number of different groups. They varied in
organisation, levels of discipline and brutality
• Groups included the ANC’s armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear
of the Nation) and Amabutho (Comrades)
• Tactics:
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sabotaging railway lines,
attacking police stations,
bomb attacks on power plants, military bases and recruiting offices
car bombs
attacking policemen
attacking councillors/ conspirators with the Apartheid government
Why violence failed
• Strength of the South African Army and bodies of
civil control
• The armed movement lacked the adequate
resources and numbers to pose a serious threat
• South Africa’s landscape not suitable for guerrilla
warfare
• Rather than attracting support for the cause, it
often alienated large numbers of both white and
black South Africans
The Role of Violence
Stephen Zunes on the role of violence in the fall
of apartheid,
‘A violent strategy would have led inevitably to spiralling escalation, with the state
having the strategic edge at every turn in the foreseeable future. Even had the
blacks eventually won, it would have probably left millions dead and a ravage
country…Armed resistance would probably have attracted many of the least
disciplined elements from African society under apartheid, thus blurring the
distinction between revolutionary actions and hooliganism. This would have
resulted in a widespread debasement of morals of an entire generation of South
African needed to rebuild their country, a problem which had proved to be difficult
enough, even with the relatively limited revolutionary violence that did occur.’
Stephen Zunes in ‘The Role of Nonviolence
in the Downfall of Apartheid (Oxford, 1999)
Role of Nonviolence
Nonviolence - Background
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Long tradition of nonviolence activism against racism in South Africa eg Gandhi’s
campaigns in 1910’s for equal right for South African Indian population.
Gandhi influenced early ANC leaders eg Albert Luthuli and John Dube to believe in
nonviolent action.
ANC’s Defiance Campaign of 1951/2 was first attempt at mass nonviolent action
against apartheid. Based on protests and non-cooperation with unjust apartheid laws.
Failed due to government repression in reaction to outbreaks of black violence.
1970’s return to nonviolence led by Steve Biko and Black Consciousness movement.
Promoted ‘psychological liberation’ through black pride followed by ‘physical
liberation’ by nonviolent action and civil disobedience.
Biko and Black Consciousness generated unity amongst black community against
apartheid regime, something violence had failed to do, which was central to the
overthrow of apartheid government.
Led to establishment of UDF by Archbishop Tutu in 1983 from over 400 civil, church,
student and workers anti-apartheid organisations and acted as national committee to
lead nonviolent action against apartheid.
Nonviolence – Final Push
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From ‘83 ANC and UDF stepped up nonviolent action against apartheid, aimed to
make black population ‘ungovernable’.
Used program of protests, economic boycotts, tax/rent refusal, non-cooperation
and establishment of parallel institutions such as clinics, law practices etc. All
worked to subvert and delegitimize apartheid rule.
Central to nonviolent campaign was labour activism, which had been increasing
from ‘70’s.
‘85 Trade Unions unified into Congress of South African Trade Unions to organise
national strikes and boycotts. In alliance with ANC and UDF led campaign of
economic militancy eg ‘87 20,000 railway workers on strike for 60 days, ‘89
national strike of 5 million.
Actions terrified government and devastated South Africa’s economy, forced
government to institute State of Emergency, revealing power of nonviolent
action.
Combination of these nonviolent pressures eventually forcing government into
negotiations with ANC from ‘89.
Why Nonviolence?
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Nonviolence wasn’t followed on moral grounds by most black activists, but
chosen as practical option in reaction to the monopoly of force held by the
apartheid regime and failure of violent methods in the ‘60’s.
Nonviolence only fully embraced from ‘80’s following the failure of MK violence
and successes of UDF to unite black population.
ANC leaders Mandela, Tambo and Sisulu, although influenced by actions and
philosophies of Gandhi and later Martin Luther King, were all willing to use
violence to defeat apartheid and established ANC’s military wing. Mandela only
studied Gandhi and developed his belief in nonviolence once imprisoned.
Biko and Black Consciousness was strongly influenced by Frantz Fanon and Black
Power movements and called for ‘physical liberation’ of Africa, and never fully
rejected the use of violence. Biko only supported nonviolence as a tool of black
unity and due to the political realities of apartheid South Africa.
Few black leaders, notably Luthuli and Archbishop Tutu, believed unconditionally
in nonviolent action as the only means to defeat apartheid.
The Role of Foreign Nations
The Role of Foreign Pressure
• From the end of the Second World War, much of
the world had condemned the form of
government practiced in South Africa.
• Despite this, little was done to change it until the
1980s and the emergence of the organised and
disciplined nonviolent movement in South Africa
• Whilst it took nearly sixty years of struggle by
South Africans to bring down Apartheid, foreign
sanctions saw an impact after just ten years
Foreign Nonviolent Protest
• Despite the Soviet Union’s decision to support
the ANC’s armed wing with arms, support for the
South African’s cause for equality came largely in
the form of Nonviolent resistance.
• This included:
– Chase Manhattan bank recalling loans made to the SA
government
– Investments made by city governments and
universities were sold if the companies did business in
South Africa
– American and British businesses ceasing to trade with
other businesses connected to South Africa
Governor of the South African Reserve Bank in
May 1989,
‘if adequate progress is not made in the field
of political and constitutional reform, South
Africa’s relationships with the rest of the
world are unlikely to improve…In that event
South Africa will probably remain a capitalexporting and debt-repaying country for years.
Why did the system of Apartheid
fall?
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Nonviolent action clearly central to collapse of apartheid regime. Why did it
succeed?
– Nonviolent campaigns unified black population behind single cause, whereas
violence had been divisive. Also attracted support from white population.
– Once black population united into single movement held massive economic
and social power as made up 80% of South Africa’s population, therefore,
capable of destabilising South Africa through non cooperation, strikes,
boycotts etc.
– Gained international support leading to sanctions and disinvestment by
foreign states and firms.
– Undermined violence as cornerstone of apartheid regime, (‘political ju-jitsu’).
However, nonviolent action cannot be seen as sole factor for fall of apartheid,
threat of violence and racial war, emphasised by surge of violence and terrorism
in late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s, also forced de Klerk to negotiate.