Copy of a Letter to the Editor of the Chicago Defender by Kathy Devine and Harold Rogers, coordinators of the Illinois Labor Network Against Apartheid. The letter reports that, on April 24, a Supreme Court judge in South Africa dropped all charges against Moses Mayekiso, leader of South Africa's second largest union, and four other accused. The letter gives background about this 1-1/2 year trial on charges of treason and subversion and Mayekiso's year in solitary confinement. An extensive campaign by South African unions and the international labor community advocated for his release. Thousands of petitions asking for the release of Moses and all political prisoners were sent from Chicago....
Copy of a Letter to the Editor of the Chicago Defender by Kathy Devine and Harold Rogers, coordinators of the Illinois Labor Network Against Apartheid. The letter reports that, on April 24, a Supreme Court judge in South Africa dropped all charges against Moses Mayekiso, leader of South Africa's second largest union, and four other accused. The letter gives background about this 1-1/2 year trial on charges of treason and subversion and Mayekiso's year in solitary confinement. An extensive campaign by South African unions and the international labor community advocated for his release. Thousands of petitions asking for the release of Moses and all political prisoners were sent from Chicago. Mayekiso is out of jail, but he is not free; the apartheid regime still rules South Africa. The letter invites readers to a Soweto Day Walkathon and Rally in Chicago on June 17, which commemorates the massacre in Soweto on June 16, 1976 of school children by the police. The Walkathon will raise money for medical and legal aid for South African detainees who are jailed without being charged, many of them children. A rally at the Hayes Center immediately following the Walkathon will kick off a renewed campaign for Comprehensive Sanctions against South Africa. Devine and Rogers thank The Chicago Defender for its coverage of South Africa and Juanita Bratcher especially for her articles on the Mayekiso campaign.
