The Action Alert describes drastic steps the South African government has taken by re-imposing a State of Emergency, quashing hopes of movement toward reforms. In this context, it calls for people to lobby for changes in U.S. policy. The South African government has arrested 3000 leading anti-apartheid activists, including Thiroshaw Camay, head of the Council of the Unions of South Africa; Rev. Smangaliso Nkhatshwa of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference; and Saths Cooper, president of the militant Azanian Peoples' Organization (AZAPO). The government also detained thousands of middle-level community organizers, and hundreds of others have gone underground. The attack of the South...
The Action Alert describes drastic steps the South African government has taken by re-imposing a State of Emergency, quashing hopes of movement toward reforms. In this context, it calls for people to lobby for changes in U.S. policy. The South African government has arrested 3000 leading anti-apartheid activists, including Thiroshaw Camay, head of the Council of the Unions of South Africa; Rev. Smangaliso Nkhatshwa of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference; and Saths Cooper, president of the militant Azanian Peoples' Organization (AZAPO). The government also detained thousands of middle-level community organizers, and hundreds of others have gone underground. The attack of the South African armed forces on ANC sites in Zambia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe caused the "Eminent Persons Group" (EPG) of the Commonwealth nations to abandon its attempts to create a mechanism for negotiations. The South Africa's actions make it increasingly clear that the U.S. strategy of constructive engagement is not working, and a widening spectrum of black leaders in South Africa are speaking in favor of stronger economic sanctions, including not only the ANC and AZAPO but also the United Democratic Front, the two main labor federations (COSTU and CUSA), the National Educational Crisis Committee, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The South African Council of Churches and Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference are appealing for increased economic pressure, as well. In the U.S., the House of Representatives has approved far-reaching legislation (HR 997 - the Dellums Bill) that would require the withdrawal of all US firms within 180 days of enactment and impose an embargo on all trade with South Africa except for the import of key minerals needed by the US defense industries and military. People are asked to urge their Senators to support sanctions legislation that is as strong as possible. People are also asked to examine their own investments and that of their congregations and to consider divesting from firms still in South Africa. The document reports that scores of major corporations are voluntarily withdrawing their operations in South Africa and many banks have stopped making loans. The Action Alert discusses UAHC (Union of American Hebrew Congregations), CCAR (Central Conference of American Rabbis), new investment, technology, the South African energy sector, US imports, coal, steel, uranium, the computer industry, black community development projects, political prisoners, negotiations, the African National Congress (ANC), and South African aircraft.
