A hand-written letter to Kathy Devine, Coordinator of Illinois Labor Network Against Apartheid, from Jennifer Davis of The Africa Fund. Attached is an urgent message from Jay Naidoo about the arrest of Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) Regional Secretary, Donsi Khumalo, on June 1. Khumalo was arrested for violating the restrictions placed on him after his release from many months of detention. Davis asks that messages be sent to the South African government demanding unconditional release of Khumalo and no renewal of the State of Emergency and that solidarity messages be sent to Naidoo. Also attached are copies of a faxed COSATU press release and COSATU STATEMENT ON THE ARREST...
A hand-written letter to Kathy Devine, Coordinator of Illinois Labor Network Against Apartheid, from Jennifer Davis of The Africa Fund. Attached is an urgent message from Jay Naidoo about the arrest of Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) Regional Secretary, Donsi Khumalo, on June 1. Khumalo was arrested for violating the restrictions placed on him after his release from many months of detention. Davis asks that messages be sent to the South African government demanding unconditional release of Khumalo and no renewal of the State of Emergency and that solidarity messages be sent to Naidoo. Also attached are copies of a faxed COSATU press release and COSATU STATEMENT ON THE ARREST OF DONSI KHUMALO. The press release says Khumalo is in critical condition in effective solitary confinement in Die Moord Prison, Pretoria. The COSATU statement says Khumalo was arrested and charged for breaking his state of emergency restriction order; he has been denied bail and his case remanded to August 30. This follows his detention earlier this year and his life-or-death hunger strike together with fellow detainees demanding their freedom. On being released, Khumalo and others was placed in a new prison - his own home - and he was expected to be both prisoner and warder. Khumalo and his comrades found this situation intolerable and took refuge in the British Embassy in Pretoria; he demanded that the British Government use their influence to pressure the South African government to lift the restrictions on themselves and other detainees. Instead of responding positively, the British treated Khumalo and the other comrades as if they were criminals. The document mentions apartheid vigilantes, police stations, harassment, and Margaret Thatcher.
