The open letter says the University of Wisconsin chapter of the Committee Against Racism demands that you take immediate steps to terminate all the University investments in South Africa. The open letter says these investments which strengthen a state based upon the racist and exploitative system of apartheid, have always been offensive to workers and students in the Madison community. The open letter says in the wake of protest demonstrations that have occurred in response to the murder of Steve Biko, the head of the South African Students Association, the South African government has instituted an outrightly fascist policy of political repression. The open letter says the civil rights of...
The open letter says the University of Wisconsin chapter of the Committee Against Racism demands that you take immediate steps to terminate all the University investments in South Africa. The open letter says these investments which strengthen a state based upon the racist and exploitative system of apartheid, have always been offensive to workers and students in the Madison community. The open letter says in the wake of protest demonstrations that have occurred in response to the murder of Steve Biko, the head of the South African Students Association, the South African government has instituted an outrightly fascist policy of political repression. The open letter says the civil rights of all blacks living in South Africa have been suspended, and all black newspapers have been shut down; the police have established a virtual reign of terror. The open letter says white students supporting the black demonstrators are being brutally suppressed. The open letter says the situation has reached such a crisis that a number of countries in the United Nations are calling for an international embargo against the South African government. The open letter says in this historical context, it is not merely offensive that the University of Wisconsin continues to hold investments in South Africa, and to hide from the public the full extent of these investments-- it is a political and moral outrage. The open letter says the ''Sullivan Code'' of corporate ethics is a farse, for U.S. corporations in South Africa must still abide the racist and oppressive South African laws, like the 1956 ''Job Exclusion Law'' which exclude black workers from skilled occupation grades. The open letter says we will visit you at 1:00 this Friday to voice our opinion in person. The open letter says we hope that you will do us the courtesy to be present and listen to what we have to say-- and that you will respond immediately to the urgency of the situation and withdraw all UW investments from South Africa.
