Mailing sent to students and campus anti-apartheid organizers introducing The Africa Fund's "Vote for the People Campaign," saying that, now that Nelson Mandela has been released from prison, "after 27 years Mandela can speak, but he cannot vote." The release of Mandela and other South African prisoners of conscience is an historic victory in the people's struggle against apartheid. Yet, despite all the talk or reforms, the pillars of apartheid remain. Caught between the hammer of popular resistance and the anvil of international sanctions, the apartheid President F.W. de Klerk, was forced to release Mandela and other political prisoners, unban the ANC and other democratic organizations, and...
Mailing sent to students and campus anti-apartheid organizers introducing The Africa Fund's "Vote for the People Campaign," saying that, now that Nelson Mandela has been released from prison, "after 27 years Mandela can speak, but he cannot vote." The release of Mandela and other South African prisoners of conscience is an historic victory in the people's struggle against apartheid. Yet, despite all the talk or reforms, the pillars of apartheid remain. Caught between the hammer of popular resistance and the anvil of international sanctions, the apartheid President F.W. de Klerk, was forced to release Mandela and other political prisoners, unban the ANC and other democratic organizations, and relax some apartheid laws. And in Washington, senior State Department officials are already using these developments to call for the repeal or sanctions as a "gesture" to the "reformist" de Klerk government. This is the time for Americans to throw their support behind either democracy or apartheid. The Vote for the People Campaign is a national drive to collect hundreds of thousands of "ballots" for stronger sanctions against apartheid. The ballots will be delivered directly to the democratic movement in South Africa and the U.S. government. The campaign can become a focus for education and mobilization against apartheid in your area, from campus divestment campaigns to material aid for the ANC. [Note: the ballot is available on this website.]
