Dear Friend letter signed by Dennis Brutus, Allan Ebert, Stuart McCarrell, Nancy L. Singham, and Y.B. Holly. The mailing says there is still work to be done on South Africa; although the Bush Administration has decided to lift sanctions against Apartheid [sanctions imposed by the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Sanctions Act passed by Congress in -1986], apartheid has not yet been eradicated; in fact. many of the people are suffering more deeply now from the consequences of apartheid than in the past, even though some of the apartheid legislation has been abolished; most significantly however, the key element of apartheid, the denial of the vote to 70% of the population is still in force; what...
Dear Friend letter signed by Dennis Brutus, Allan Ebert, Stuart McCarrell, Nancy L. Singham, and Y.B. Holly. The mailing says there is still work to be done on South Africa; although the Bush Administration has decided to lift sanctions against Apartheid [sanctions imposed by the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Sanctions Act passed by Congress in -1986], apartheid has not yet been eradicated; in fact. many of the people are suffering more deeply now from the consequences of apartheid than in the past, even though some of the apartheid legislation has been abolished; most significantly however, the key element of apartheid, the denial of the vote to 70% of the population is still in force; what is worse, it seems as if the De Klerk government is designing a Constitution for the future in which minority rule will be entrenched via veto power in the upper chamber of a two-chamber Parliament; for these reasons, we must continue to apply pressure. The mailing says we must concentrate on these objectives: 1. The U.S. maintains its position of opposing any loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to the apartheid government until such time as there are irreversible moves towards a democratic society, 2. Current legislation at city and state levels forbidding business with apartheid South Africa must be maintained and strengthened, 3. Implementing a mechanism whereby organizations active in opposing apartheid and racism can coordinate work, particularly on these two issues. The mailing says these are specific areas in which we should work; one of the most important remaining obstacles to international support for apartheid is the fact that the United States has opposed loans to South Africa from the International Monetary Fund; currently the South Africans claim that they need 50 billion dollars and it is probable that they will apply for such a sum to the IMF; the U.S. has opposed loans to South Africa from the IMF; this is why we must focus on this, as well as focusing on legislators at the state level, and city councils at the local level. The mailing says please treat this letter as urgent and respond if you are willing to support these ideas, or become a co-signer, and suggest additional organizations and/or individuals who would be willing to participate. The mailing says please reply soon: before the end of October this letter will be sent to a wider group with several signatures.
