Chicago, IL – “We are busy building a new nation out of the embers of apartheid, and if we had sanctions and American companies withdrawing from South Africa it would devastate our country and create a total disaster,” said Naledi Pandor, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation.

Pandor is visiting the United States and speaking out against the U.S.-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Bill, which passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee by a vote of 36-13. The bill accuses South Africa of having a “history of siding with malign actors,” namely Hamas, Russia and China. It further says South Africa’s international relations policies “undermine United States national security and foreign policy interests.”

Pandor spoke during a meeting on Sunday with representatives of the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) and the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR).

“We have become a target because we have been so prominent in our steadfast support of the just cause of the Palestinian people,” Pandor explained. The bill is being pushed through the U.S. Congress in retaliation for South Africa charging Israel with genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Israel has killed over 36,000 Palestinians in the six months since October 7, 2023, with the help of billions of U.S. tax dollars sent by President Joe Biden and the U.S. government

“For decades South Africa has been one of the strongest supporters of Palestinian liberation,” Hatem Abudayyeh, National Chair of USPCN elaborated after the meeting. “We condemn the U.S. government’s attempt to punish South Africa for opposing the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” and noted “the millions who have stood for a free Palestine will also defend South Africa.”

The bill was introduced by Republican John James from Michigan and Democrat Jared Moskowitz from Florida. It will now face a vote in the House of Representatives. If it passes, South Africa could face the kind of sanctions that attempt to destroy economies and starve millions in countries like Venezuela, Iraq, Syria and Zimbabwe.

“This bill is an attack on a sovereign nation for exercising its right to self-determination,” commented Frank Chapman, NAARPR executive director. Chapman and other members of NAARPR and USPCN discussed the importance of Black and Palestinian solidarity in ensuring the success of both liberation struggles.

“Those of us who've been in the movement for a long time have seen plenty of attacks like this. We've never been confused about supporting Palestine, South Africa or anyone who's fighting against imperialism,” Chapman said.

The next night Pandor spoke at a reception dinner at the DuSable Museum of African American History alongside Reverend Otis Moss of Trinity United Church of Christ and Illinois State Senator Mattie Hunter. She saluted veterans of the anti-apartheid solidarity movement and uplifted the history of solidarity between oppressed people.

“Black people in South Africa and the U.S. share a common history and stand united against apartheid wherever it might be,” Pandor declared.

“South Africa is very near and dear to our hearts, so I will be on the phone tonight calling my congressman,” Senator Hunter said.

#ChicagoIL #IL #International #Africa #SouthAfrica #USPCN #CAARPR

What is BRICS?

The United States and European Union's domination of geopolitical sphere on the world prompted a change from countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. This influence on the world isn't something that is new but is a result of historical reasons, primarily the growth and development of colonization of the world's territories by European countries. In many places, the colonial relations were replaced with a kind of neo colonialisms following formal independence from European countries, and the growth of U.S. imperialism.

BRICS is a group of countries consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The group was formed in 2010, to promote economic, social and political cooperation amongst the largest countries in the world.

The group was formed on the principles of mutual cooperation and rejected any outside influence on its functioning. The countries in the group encompass over 43% of the world's population, cover over 30% of the world's territories. The group was also formed to reduce the influence of the U.S. dollar in trade and commerce, and to strengthen the influence of regional currencies. The BRICS is essentially a counter to the G7 (Group of 7) politically and to the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and World Bank in terms of finance.

Facts and developments leading up to the 15th summit

From 2002 until 2022 the GDP of the G7 [countries namely Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States] has reduced from 42% to 30% while for BRICS countries have seen an 11% growth from 19% in 2002 to 31% in 2022. BRICS also accounts for 30% of world trade. In that 20-year period several countries in the developing world have opted to take IMF loans for infrastructural development, and all of those countries have either had huge outstanding balance payments, or have fallen into an endless cycle of borrowing and failing payments and re-borrowing, also known as a debt trap.

Some of the countries that have suffered the worst from IMF loans are Argentina, Egypt, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Naturally countries in the developing world realized that reliance on the financial structure proposed by the IMF would lead to a debt trap, and would not in fact benefit their own countries but actually lead to the further increase in deprivation and worsening of conditions. Sri Lanka is a prime example of this: the country fell to absolute ruin last year and are still recovering from it due to a series of IMF loans – 16 in total.

Seeing the growth and economic stabilization of the BRICS countries several others applied to join the group as an alternative to the IMF. The BRICS has two alternative payment structures to the IMF primarily the New Development Bank (NDB) in China popularly called the BRICS bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement or CRA. The BRICS bank at any point in time has reserves of over $100 billion. Countries in Africa and Latin America have also increased their confidence in China due to the several infrastructural projects initiated through the Belt and Road Initiative and in turn have a heightened confidence in the BRICS project as well.

The BRICS financial model also provides a bypass to U.S. sanctions. Due to the dominance of the U.S. dollar in all forms of trade (including essential goods, luxury goods and lifesaving necessities) it has become increasingly difficult for several sanctioned countries to navigate the waters. Countries like Cuba and Venezuela are prime examples of this. Cuba had to manufacture three vaccines on their own during the COVID pandemic because they were heavily sanctioned by the U.S.

This has prompted several countries to apply for BRICS in order to bypass sanctions. It is interesting to note that because of sanctions on Russia making payments in U.S. dollars was impossible for Bangladesh to complete the construction of a nuclear power plant. Bangladesh prior to the summit had instead opted to make payments to Russia in RMB provided through the NDB. Bangladesh is currently also part of the NDB.

A total of 16 countries applied to be a member of BRICS: Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Honduras, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Nigeria, Palestine, Senegal, Thailand, Venezuela and Vietnam. Other countries have shown an interest in joining the BRICS like Afghanistan, Angola, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Guniea-Bissau, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Uruguay and Zimbabwe.

Results of the 15th summit

The most prominent result of the 15th summit was the expansion of the group, from BRICS to BRICS+ to include six new members states. The new countries include Argentina, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, The UAE, Egypt and Iran.

Six out ten of the world's largest oil producing countries are now in the BRICS group, accounting for 8.7% of the world's reserves and 25.2% of the world's gas reserves. Despite the UAE and Saudi Arabia being politically close to the United States, they too have shifted their interests and realized that trading in local currencies improves the strength, over trading in the U.S. dollar.

The BRICS+ now will have access 80% of the world's oil production with the addition of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran. The sharp GDP growth of the new BRICS countries will amount to 30% of the world's GDP and exceed $30 trillion.

Several world leaders spoke at the summit.

The president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, had this to say, “The expansion of the BRICS group is a new milestone in human history, because it allows nations to access international markets without the need to compromise their dignity, and without political conditioning, sanctions, or military threats. I would like to honor two distinguished African patriots, Nelson Mandela, father of South African independence, and Patrice Lumumba, national hero and PM of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, overthrown and assassinated by the infamy of imperialist and colonialist interests”

Lula Dasilva, the president of Brazil said, ''In a few years, we went back from a benign multi-polarity juncture to going back to an absolute mindset of cold war and geopolitical competition. The world needs to understand the risks that are unacceptable for humanity. The Ukraine war shows the limitations of the UN Security Council. Many other conflicts and crises do not receive due attention Haitians, Yemenis, Syrians, Libyans, Sudanese, and Palestinians all deserve to live in peace.”

Hakainde Hichilema, the president of Zambia said, “Africa pays the highest cost of capital than any other, on the globe, certainly the BRICS platform should be used to work through to expedite the reform processes which are inhibiting the development which the young populations need to create opportunities for education, health, and other activities.”

Nicholas Maduro, the president of Venezuela said, “BRICS is playing a fundamental role in geopolitical dynamics that has fostered trust among the people and governments of Latin America, Caribbean, Africa and Asia with a developmental and mutual respect the BRICS countries represent.”

President Xi of China said, “International rules should not be dictated by those with the strongest muscles or the loudest voice. Ganging up to form exclusive groups, and packaging their own rules as international norms is even more unacceptable, many countries have applied to join BRICS, we must accelerate the expansion process and grow the BRICS+ family.”

Additionally, President Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi of India discussed de-escalation on the border between India and China. Over the years the Line of Actual Control has led to several severe border issues. President Xi said, “The two sides should bear in mind the overall interests of their bilateral relations and handle properly the border issue so as to jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the border region.”

The integration of the new members of BRICS will take effect on the January 1, 2024.

#SouthAfrica #CapitalismAndEconomy #Brics

The University of Minnesota is lying to the public about the cancellation of a speaking event featuring Nkosi Mandela – anti-apartheid activist, member of the South African National Assembly, tribal chief of the Mvezo Traditional Council, and grandson of Nelson Mandela. Chief Zwelivelile Mandela had been scheduled to speak at the Cowles Auditorium in the Humphrey School for Public Affairs on the UMN campus on May 16. Several grassroots activist organizations in the Twin Cities, including the Center for American-Islamic Relations, the Anti-War Committee, and the Twin Cities Coalition 4 Justice for Jamar, had helped organize this event. This event was a part of a larger nationwide speaking tour – sponsored by the US Palestinian Community Network and NAARPR – on the occupation of Palestine and the oppression of the Palestinian people by the Israeli government.

The day before the event, University administration informed the organizers that it was canceled due to a violent threat from a white supremacist. Admin demanded that the organizers provide their own security for the event if they still wanted to host it at the Humphrey School, despite the immense security resources at the University’s disposal. The organizers, with little time to prepare, moved the event and Chief Mandela’s speech to a different venue, where the event occurred as planned. The University outright lied in a statement to the Star Tribune, placing the blame for the event’s cancellation at the feet of the organizers, claiming that they were the ones who canceled the event at the U. This is unequivocally false and a complete lie; the University abruptly canceled the event and made ridiculous demands of the organizers.

It is incredibly shameful that the University of Minnesota has lied to the press, the public, and the UMN community about this issue and attempted to shift the blame to grassroots Twin Cities organizations that form a valuable part of the city community and carry out important activist work. SDS demands that admin acknowledge and unequivocally apologize for lying about the event’s cancellation.

Free, Free, Palestine!

End Israeli Apartheid!

Solidarity Forever!

#MinneapolisMN #Minneapolis #Palestine #Apartheid #SouthAfrica

Milwaukee, WI – May 15 marked the 75th anniversary of the Nakba. Over 250 community members and activists gathered in downtown Milwaukee to see Chief Zwelivelile Mandela, the grandson of the great anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela, in commemoration of the tragedy in Palestine.

Zwelivelile Mandela is the tribal chief of the Mvezo Traditional Council and has served as a member of the South African parliament since 2009. Continuing in his grandfathers’ footsteps, Mandela is a staunch supporter of Palestinian liberation. The Nakba (“catastrophe” in English) began in 1948, the same year that apartheid was made law in South Africa. Shouts of “Free, free Palestine'' and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” echoed throughout Turner Hall as Palestinian and South African flags were waved by attendants.

The event, hosted by the US Palestinian Community Network and the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, was marked by powerful speeches. Ashley Hudson from Madison for Palestine spoke of the Zionism that impacts the government, institutions and society, and how they have struggled against it in their city.

Later, Brian Verdin from Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (MAARPR) spoke of his involvement in the rich history of Milwaukee activism in the 1980s against apartheid South Africa, as well as organizing against the settler-colonial state that is Israel today.

Rounding out the event was Zwelivelile himself, who illustrated the similarities and comradery between the South African anti-apartheid movement and the Palestinian liberation movement. He called for the right to return, echoed support for the Palestinian resistance, and talked about strategies that worked in fighting apartheid South Africa, and how these can be incorporated by local activists and community members in combating police brutality in the U.S. and the illegitimate state of Israel today.

At the end of the event, Zwelivelile was asked about his favorite memory with his grandfather. He spoke of meeting him when he was nine years old, when he visited him at the prison he was serving a life sentence in. When Nelson Mandela was finally released, many people – including Zwelivelile and the Mandela family – assumed this was a move by the South African government in preparation for the revolutionary to pass away shortly after. It was speculated that Mandela was unwell, and that the government feared him passing while incarcerated, which they believed would spark an uprising.

Unable to name a single favorite memory, Zwelivelile Mandela instead talked about cherishing the 23 years he was able to spend with his grandfather after his release from prison, saying he will remember every moment with him until his final days.

Milwaukee is the first of six stops on Mandela’s tour. Local community organizations, like Madison for Palestine, Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) WI, MAARPR, Milwaukee Anti-War Committee (MAC), Jewish Voice for Peace, and the Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition co-sponsored the event. Milwaukee organizations and activists hope that this will continue to spark support for the Palestinian people.

#MilwaukeeWI #Palestine #SouthAfrica #nakba #MiddleEast

“…even in the deepest moments of our struggle for liberation Mama Winnie was an abiding symbol of our people to be free…”-- Cyril Ramaphosa, president of the Republic of South Africa.

Winnie Nomazamo Madikizela-Mandela, an icon and a great woman-warrior in the South African freedom struggle joined the ancestors April 2, 2018 at the age of 81. We send our heartfelt condolences to the family, comrades in the liberation movement and the people of South Africa. We solemnly dip our banners of struggle, saluting this freedom fighter, this stalwart and icon of African liberation, this dedicated revolutionary. As they say in Africa: “A gigantic tree has fallen.”

When Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life in prison for defying the fascist, apartheid regime, Winnie said: “Part of my soul went with him.” The other part of her soul and her heart stayed with the struggle against apartheid and against those racist monsters who ruled South Africa.

When they arrested her and tortured her she cried out in defiance: “When you strike a woman, you strike a rock.” And for all those years she was banned, the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, the U.S. and around the world stood in unconditional solidarity with Winnie, demanding her freedom. We loved her and supported her through all those trials and tribulations and never doubted for a minute her dedication. She endured years of being banned and 27 years of forced separation from her husband Nelson Mandela, and she never faltered, never flinched one time in the face of the enemy.

As a revolutionary internationalist, Winnie Nomazamo Madikizela-Mandela was a comrade and sister to all progressive humanity and we will always hold dear her legacy and memory in hearts as we continue to fight for freedom.

#UnitedStates #Remembrances #Apartheid #SouthAfrica #WinnieMandela

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following speech given by Cherrene Horazuk, representing the U.S. delegation to the WFTU Congress which is underway in Durban, South Africa.

On behalf of the U.S. delegation, thank you to the WFTU for inviting us to observe this 17th congress. It is an honor to be among so many leaders and fighters for our class. Thank you also to COSATU and all of our South African hosts. Many people in the U.S. of my generation became anti-imperialist activists during the struggle against apartheid, inspired by your liberation movement. Your struggle helped us to build our movement. Thank you.

In the U.S., we are working to put our unions on a class-struggle orientation and to transform them into weapons for our fight. Not enough of our unions are willing to stand up and fight back against capitalist barbarity, but there are several shining examples that point the way forward.

Nearly 5000 nurses in Minnesota have been on strike for over a month against a corporation that made $1.3 billion last year but still demands concessions from its workers. The nurses bravely voted overwhelmingly on Monday to continue their strike indefinitely.

750 dining service workers started a strike yesterday against Harvard University, the richest university in the world. Harvard has $35 billion in savings, has 47 Nobel prize winners, and educated the world's bourgeoisie, yet its workers live in poverty. But Harvard workers are rising up and saying no to concessions. They are rising up and demanding a guaranteed annual income that allows a dignified life.

28,000 teachers in Chicago just voted to go on strike once again. They plan to start this strike on Oct. 11 and are fighting back against concessions and to defend the services their students need. They are striking against Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a billionaire who was President Obama's chief of staff. The Chicago teachers have inspired teachers and students around the country to resist the corporate takeover of education.

A small but growing number of unions are joining the struggle of the Black liberation movement against police terror. In the last two years alone, more than 2000 people have been killed by the police. Young Black men are five times more likely to be killed than whites. Working class men like Philando Castile, a union brother from my city, who was gunned down by police in June in front of his girlfriend and her four-year-old daughter when he was pulled over for a broken taillight on his car. His murder was captured on video by his girlfriend and horrified the country. People are rising up against these racist atrocities and unions are finally joining in.

Some unions are also joining the struggle of indigenous people against expansion of oil pipelines through their sacred lands of Standing Rock. The AFL-CIO has taken the backwards position of supporting the pipeline because it creates a few hundred jobs. But our best unions have the joined the struggle against the pipeline and in solidarity with native peoples.

Our best union fighters have also joined the struggle for the release of political prisoners Oscar Lopez Rivera, Leonard Peltier, Mumia Abu Jamal and others.

I live near Chicago, the home of Haymarket, where the fight for the eight-hour day was born. In 1886, workers rose up to demand an eight-hour day and were brutally attacked by the police. The leaders were convicted and executed. Around the world, the working class honors these martyrs every May 1st – International Workers' Day. But not in the U.S., because conservative trade union leaders have buried the radical and communist history of our movement. However, May Day was reclaimed as a mass workers day in 2006 by immigrant workers, mainly from Mexico, and we now join the world in celebrating our heroes and struggles on May 1.

For decades, a statue honoring the police stood on the Haymarket site. It was blown up several times and finally moved offsite. Now, a workers' monument stands on Haymarket Square. The trade union movement in Chicago cares for the monument. Each year, they invite one international union to place a plaque on the monument. This year, the invitation was given to the WFTU in recognition of the WFTU's role in leading the global working class movement. Comrade Valentine Pacho was supposed to travel to Chicago for May Day to place the plaque, but was prevented by U.S. imperialism from obtaining a visa. A statement from the WFTU was read by Kay Tillow, however, and was received enthusiastically.

The WFTU is honored with a plaque at Haymarket. The ITUC does not have a plaque. The WFTU has a plaque because it is the international embodiment of the spirit of Haymarket. One of class struggle, workers' unity, and internationalism.

Long live the WFTU!

Long live the international working class!

Down with U.S. imperialism!

Amanda!

#DurbanSouthAfrica #PeoplesStruggles #WorkersAndGlobalization #SouthAfrica #WFTU #WorldFederationOfTradeUnionsCongress

Durban, South Africa – 1500 delegates from class-struggle unions from over 110 countries gathered in Durban, South Africa on Oct. 5 to begin the 17th Congress of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). The WFTU represents 92 million workers in 125 countries.

The gathering is hosted by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the historic trade union federation that helped lead the fight to defeat apartheid.

Delegates were welcomed by COSATU president Sdumo Dlamini, WFTU Secretary General George Mavrikos, and then were received with a speech by the president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma. There were speakers in several languages from unions leading important, large struggles around the world, including India, Brazil, France, Indonesia, Chile, Ecuador, Lebanon and many more. Union leaders from socialist countries China, Vietnam and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea also spoke to delegates.

The WFTU 17th Congress is organized under the themes of “Struggle, internationalism, unity; Forward for the attainment of contemporary needs of the working class, for the emancipation of workers, against poverty and wars generated by capitalist barbarity.”

Speaker after speaker paid homage to the historic anti-apartheid struggle of the workers and people of South Africa. Delegates from African countries particularly expressed the importance of having this world Congress in Africa and particularly in South Africa, with its long history of struggles for national liberation and working class emancipation. The hundreds of COSATU members present brought the spirit of their struggle to the Congress, frequently leading the group in songs and chants from the South African anti-apartheid and workers’ struggles.

The Congress will meet for two more days, with speakers from many more countries, leadership elections, resolutions and cultural events.

#DurbanSouthAfrica #Durban #International #ClassStruggle #PeoplesStruggles #WorldFederationOfTradeUnions #SouthAfrica #WFTU

Nelson Mandela, a leader of the South African struggle for national liberation, passed away today, Dec 5. Mandela led the African National Congress, and along with South African communists, founded the armed struggle group Umkhonto we Sizwe, After 26 years in prison, the national liberation movement of the African masses, supported by a broad international anti-Apartheid movement, won his freedom. The official racial segregation and discrimination of Apartheid was brought down and Nelson Mandela elected president of South Africa.

The U.S. government supported Apartheid and opposed Mandela – keeping President Mandela on the U.S terrorism list up until 2008. The U.S. government has instituted laws such as the Patriot Act and NDAA and reversed other civil rights laws like the Voting Rights Act of 1964, reminiscent of apartheid South Africa.

It is important to study and understand Nelson Mandela the freedom fighter in his own words:

http://www.anc.org.za/list_by.php?by=Nelson%20Mandela

Mandela On Struggle:

“Only through hardship, sacrifice and militant action can freedom be won. The struggle is my life. I will continue fighting for freedom until the end of my days.”

“It is revolutionary…precisely because the changes it envisages cannot be won without breaking up the economic and political set-up…to win the demands calls for the organization, launching, and development of mass struggles on the widest scale.”

“The most vital task facing the democratic movement in this country is to unleash such struggles and to develop them on the basis of the concrete and immediate demands of the people from area to area. Only in this way can we build a powerful mass movement which is the only guarantee of ultimate victory in the struggle for democratic reforms”.

“The majority of South Africans, black and white, recognize that apartheid has no future. It has to be ended by our own decisive mass action in order to build peace and security. The mass campaign of defiance and other actions of our organization and people can only culminate in the establishment of democracy.”

Mandela on Apartheid, Racism, and Discrimination:

“The Government takes measures to protect White people in one way and Black people not at all.”

“Our most potent weapon against this [AIDS] virus is education. We have, perhaps, for some time, allowed ourselves to believe that like other epidemics it will come and go; that the great advances of our time in science and technology will offer us appropriate quick intervention. The key to our success is our own collective effort. The time for rhetorical arguments and victim blaming has passed. Now is the time for action.”

“As long as…people are denied the democratic vote, they shall have to vote with their feet.”

Mandela on Freedom:

“No power on earth can stop an oppressed people determined to win their freedom.”

“We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”

Mandela on the U.S.:

“If the United States of America or Britain is having elections, they don't ask for observers from Africa or from Asia. But when we have elections, they want observers.”

“What I am condemning is that one power, with a president [George W. Bush] who has no foresight, who cannot think properly, is now wanting to plunge the world into a holocaust.” -- Iraq War speech (2003) Mandela On Workers:

“I think we may sometimes be at fault in not stressing and repeating the importance of the organized participation of workers in our struggle.”

“What has characterized workers in our country, has been the determination not to be isolated from the rest of society, not to be misled that Unions must only concern themselves with shop-floor issues.”

Mandela on Communism:

“Communists have always played an active role in the fight by colonial countries for their freedom, because the short-term objects of Communism would always correspond with the long-term objects of freedom movements.”

Mandela on Armed Struggle:

“I admit immediately that I was one of the persons who helped to form Umkhonto we Sizwe, and that I played a prominent role in its affairs until I was arrested in August 1962.”

“50 years of non-violence had brought the African people nothing but more and more repressive legislation, and fewer and fewer rights.”

“Secondly, we felt that without violence there would be no way open to the African people to succeed in their struggle against the principle of white supremacy. All lawful modes of expressing opposition to this principle had been closed by legislation, and we were placed in a position in which we had either to accept a permanent state of inferiority, or to defy the Government. We chose to defy the law. We first broke the law in a way which avoided any recourse to violence; when this form was legislated against, and then the Government resorted to a show of force to crush opposition to its policies, only then did we decide to answer violence with violence.”

“As violence in this country was inevitable, it would be unrealistic and wrong for African leaders to continue preaching peace and non-violence at a time when the Government met our peaceful demands with force.”

#UnitedStates #Remembrances #AntiRacism #Apartheid #SouthAfrica #NelsonMandela #Communism #UmkhontoWeSizwe #AfricanNationalCongress

To us as a democratic movement, the lesson of our history is very clear. It is what the peoples of Europe learnt during the turbulent decade of the 1930s, when fascism began its assault on democracy by launching a violent offensive against the Communists.

It is the same lesson that the people of the United States learnt during the decade of the nineteen fifties, when the forces of Macarthyism launched an assault aimed at undermining the democratic heritage of the American people, by conducting a virulent offensive against Communist and left opinion.

Theologians of the German Church understood these processes very well when they said the Christian Church did nothing when the Nazis attacked the Communists. And again the Church did nothing when the Nazis turned their brutal attention to the Socialists. And when the Nazis turned against Christian men and women of conscience, the Church found that there was nobody to defend it.

This is a mistake the ANC never made, because we understood that the banning of the Communist Party in 1950, was but a prelude to the suppression of all democratic opinion in our country. This is a lesson that those within the National Party, who consider themselves to be Democrats, need to learn very quickly.

Mandela: We are here today to participate with you in the public launch of the Communist Party, 40 years after it was banned. We do this because during the nearly 70 years of its existence, the Communist Party has distinguished itself as an ally in the common struggle to end the racial oppression and exploitation of the black masses of our country. It has fought side by side with the ANC for the common objective of the National Liberation of people, without seeking to impose its views on our movement.

Mandela: Because we have an urgent task to attain our emancipation, we insist that the talks must go on. Our freedom should not be postponed or denied simply because some people have a secret agenda to sustain an anti-democratic crusade against Communist opinion.

#SouthAfrica #Apartheid #NelsonMandela #SouthAfricanCommunistParty #Africa

Durban, South Africa – Protesters flocked to the U.S. consulate here, March 22, on the tenth anniversary of the abduction of Dr. Siddiqui and her three children in Karachi, Pakistan.

The picket drew widespread interest from thousands of motorists and pedestrians. The demonstration was extremely vocal and passionate chants of “Free Free Aafia!” echoed through one of the busiest streets in the city. The protesters demanded an end to the oppression and injustices against Dr. Aafia Siddiqui and demanded her repatriation to Pakistan.

National coordinator for The Aafia Foundation, Inayet Wadee, addressed the crowd, saying the U.S. administration has a pathetic human rights record and that the national justice and prison system in the U.S. has been linked to widespread human rights abuses.

“We are fully aware of the unlawful arrests, unfair trials, inhumane prison conditions, lack of adequate health care, humiliating and degrading treatment by prison guards and cruel forms of punishment meted out to Dr Aafia Siddiqui,” said Wadee.

#DurbanSouthAfrica #Durban #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #PoliticalPrisoners #DrAafiaSiddiqui #SouthAfrica