African Activist Archive

Testimony of George M. Houser of the American Committee on Africa to the Subcommittee on Africa of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Houser says Southern Africa is an area of racial, political, and economic exploitation. Houser says in Rhodesia, where only 5% of the population is white, 50 out of 66 seats in Parliament are held by white members. Houser says that, under the 1969 Constitution, African representation in the Rhodesian Parliament can never surpass that of whites and that a succession of African political organizations have been banned under the Unlawful Organization Act and Preventative Detention Act. Houser also discusses Law and Order Maintenance Act, Land Apportionment Act, Native Husbandry Act, and the Industrial Conciliation Act. Regarding Namibia, Houser says approximately 13% of the population is white and no Africans are represented in the Legislature. In South Africa, 19% of the population is white and, by law, no African may be elected to Parliament. Houser discusses the Bantustans. Houser says the banning of the African National Congress and the Pan Africanist Congress following the Sharpeville massacre of 1960 brought an abrupt end to the African strategy of non-violence; liberation movements saw no other way to end exploitation and colonial domination. Houser says the new government in Portugal was a victory for the liberation movements of Guinea-Bissau, Angola and Mozambique. Houser says the independence of Angola and Mozambique has had a tremendous effect on the situation facing South Africa and Rhodesia. Houser discusses Prime Minister Vorster. Houser says the fundamentals of apartheid have not changed and discusses the pass laws. Houser discusses the Unlawful Organizations Act, Public Safety Act, Suppression of Communism Act, Sabotage Act, Terrorism Act, Prevention of Mixed Marriages Act, Group Areas Act, Bantu Education Act, the Reservation of Separate Amenities Act, and the Bantu Administration Act. Houser says U.S. policy has never come to terms with the southern Africa reality. He says over 300 America firms have investments in South Africa. Houser discusses the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the relationship between the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and South Africa's Atomic Energy Board. Houser says that, instead of supporting the white minority regimes the U.S. should encourage those struggling to eliminate them, and, instead of encouraging investment in South Africa, U.S. policy must urge withdrawal.

African Activist Archive

OBSERVATION ON THE RELEVANCE OF U.S. POLICY TO SOUTHERN AFRICA

Hearing on Southern Africa: Overview

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