African Activist Archive

This paper presented to the Workshop on Southern Africa and Sanctions Against South Africa and Namibia in Sigtuna, Sweden reports that the U.S. anti-apartheid movement won a significant victory in 1986 when the Congress overrode a veto by President Reagan and imposed a set of limited sanctions against the Pretoria regime. Despite their limited nature, the blow against the Reagan adminsitration's "Constructive Engagement" policy had real impact. The paper discusses Reagan's continued opposition to sanctions, reflected in the weakly written and interpreted regulations enforcing sanctions. The paper reviews Reagan's October 2 report to Congress mandated by the Anti-Apartheid Act. The paper also reviews divestment by states, cities, colleges, and universities. It notes that, in the summer of 1987, Reverend Leon Sullivan announced his support for total disinvestment and full sanctions; the Sullivan code of conduct had provided companies with their most heavily uses defense against disinvestment. The paper discusses the guidelines for divestment issued by five national anti-apartheid organizations and notes that International Business Machines (IBM), General Motors, and Coca-Cola ended their direct investment but continue to do business with apartheid. • New Policy? The Same Dead Horse • 1987 - Some Lost Momentum • People's Sanctions - The Divestment Movement • Current U.S.-S.A. Investment Links • International Co-operation on Corporate Campaigns • The Current Organizing Context • APPENDIX I compares the comprehensive sanctions legislation introduced by Representative Ronald Dellums and Senator Alan Cranston (HR 1580/S/556) and current sanctions law (Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986/PL 99-440). • APPENDIX II: Guidelines for Divestment • APPENDIX III: Trade Credits: Economic Pressure Points on South Africa by John Lind, based on CANICCOR research.

African Activist Archive

The Struggle for Comprehensive Sanctions

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