African Activist Archive

The mailing says almost a year ago South African President F.W. de Klerk signed an agreement to release all political prisoners; as I write to you over 1,500 political prisoners are still behind bars; nearly 200 of them embarked on a hunger strike, vowing to fast until they died or were released. The mailing says we are in constant communication with the prisoners' families; they have told us about the beatings, the strip searches and the daily brutality in the prisons; the psychological torture, as hopes for release have risen only to be shattered, has taken an even greater toll. The mailing says now we have received desperate appeals for help from political prisoners in maximum security prisons and on death row; they say that it will take pressure from abroad - especially from America - to make the government keep its promises. The mailing says because of the generous help you have already given us, we have been able to immediately begin generating protests and publicity: o We sponsored a Washington Post ad signed by Spike Lee, Senator Paul Simon, and Rep. Patricia Schroeder, among others, supporting the hunger strikers and demanding that all the political prisoners be released; o I was able to tell the House Africa Sub-Committee about the plight of the political prisoners when I testified on behalf of our non-tax exempt associate, the American Committee on Africa; o Rep. Ron Dellums (D-CA) responded to our emergency appeal by sending a letter to every member of Congress; o Africa Fund staff members exposed the apartheid regime's dishonesty and their gross violations of human rights in radio and television programs in New York, Washington D.C., Detroit and San Francisco; o We got The New York Times and Newsday to report on the continuing detention of the political prisoners. The mailing says I hope you will add your voice today by sending a telegram to South African President F.W. de Klerk at the Union Building, Pretoria, South Africa; urge him to keep his word and immediately free all the political prisoners. The mailing says I sincerely believe that if we all do our part, the prisoners can be released and reunited with their families in the near future. The mailing says to make that dream come true we are going to need to reach out to tens of thousands of people from coast to coast. The stream of mailings, faxes and phone calls which have already gone out are only the beginning. We will have to redouble our efforts and, if need be, redouble them again, until the last political prisoner is free. The mailing says I'm sure I don't have to tell you that all this will be enormously expensive; that's why I'm making this extraordinary appeal to you and to other special friends.

African Activist Archive

A SPECIAL APPEAL FOR THE PRISONERS OF APARTHEID

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