Press release and statement protesting the unlawful prosecution by South Africa under the Terrorism Act of 35 South West Africans, who may face the death penalty. Applying the Terrorism Act to South West Africa violates international law; the United Nations General Assembly terminated South Africa's right to administer and legislate for the Territory. The press conference was called by Robert L. Carter, General Counsel for the NAACP; Richard Falk, Professor of International Law at Princeton University; and Thomas Franck, Director of the Center for International Studies at New York University. The Statement on the Trial of 35 South West Africans, signed by 200 lawyers, was sent to the South...
Press release and statement protesting the unlawful prosecution by South Africa under the Terrorism Act of 35 South West Africans, who may face the death penalty. Applying the Terrorism Act to South West Africa violates international law; the United Nations General Assembly terminated South Africa's right to administer and legislate for the Territory. The press conference was called by Robert L. Carter, General Counsel for the NAACP; Richard Falk, Professor of International Law at Princeton University; and Thomas Franck, Director of the Center for International Studies at New York University. The Statement on the Trial of 35 South West Africans, signed by 200 lawyers, was sent to the South African Prime Minister, J.B. Vorster, and Minister of Justice, P. Pelser, in addition to President Johnson, Dean Rusk and Ambassador Goldberg. [Note: The statement was coordinated out of the office of the American Committee on Africa (ACOA). (See Dear Colleague mailing dated October 6, 1967, available on this website.) Joel Carlson, lawyer for the accused, visited the U.S., and was assisted by ACOA staff member Jennifer Davis and attorney Peter Weiss, then president of ACOA. Weiss and other lawyers associated with ACOA, including Elizabeth S. Landis, William B. Landis, and Frederick A. O. Schwartz, were among the signers of the statement. See No One Can Stop The Rain: Glimpses of Africa's Liberation Struggle by George M. Houser, pages 250-251, available on this website under Remembrances.]
