The implications of French sanctions SINCE JULY 21, 36 of South Africa's 300 districts have been under a state of emergency. The decree by the country's premier, Pieter Botha, affects the Black residential areas around Johannesburg in the province of Transvaal and around Port Elizabeth in the eastern Cape. In taking this step, the South African premier followed the direction indicated by his minister of police, General Johann Coetzee, who said that he was anxious to "quiet down the situation as soon as possible."* In fact, the two areas affected have experienced a chain of ghetto rebellions over the past eleven months, broken only by brief intervals of calm.
Under the state of emergency, the police can search, seize, and arrest without warrant. They can relocate people around at will. The rights of prisoners are further reduced, and the press is put under surveillance. (1) The state of emergency declaration gave the French government the occasion for instituting sanctions that it had previously refused to take. France is Pretoria's fifth most important trading partner, coming after West Germany, the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom. NATHAN PALMER
SOUTH AFRICA decisive contribution of Western bank loans to maintaining and developing the apartheid system. The World
Council of Churches released in
April 1985 a report on such loans for the period from mid-1982 to the end of 1984. Some 98 new loans were granted by 202 banks of 18 different nationalities for a total of
4,244,100 billion dollars.
The loans went both to public and private enterprises in South Africa.
The twenty biggest lenders were all
European banks, with the bulk of the credits coming from the United
Kingdom, Switzerland, West Germany, and France, in that order.
Thus, the French decision could have reverberations. But it is important to realize above all that it is not sufficient to talk about sanctions.
The portent of the French decisions has to be assessed on the basis of their real effects. While on the diplomatic level, they represent a stiffening, it has to be recognized that they in no way threaten the economic relations between the two countries.
Suspending new investment does not put in question the French presence in the country nor the existing contracts, including the one under which Air Liquide is going to build the world's largest oxygen producing facility for Sasol. Thanks to Western involvement, Sasol has developed a chemical complex for the gasification of coal in order to meet the energy needs of a militarized economy. economy.
Francois Mitterrand has already shown during his presidency that under his leadership France will continue to fulfill scrupulously the terms of commercial agreements signed under his predecessor.
UN votes for voluntary sanctions
Moreover, domestic political considerations entered into the position taken by France. It is no coincidence that the French premier talked about sanctions against Pretoria for the first time at a big human rights affair in Paris this past June in the presence of the Nobel-Prize-winning South African bishop Desmond Tutu. All of this goes to build up the image of the French Socialist Party as a champion of human rights. * All quotations originally in English have been retranslated from French. been retranslated from French. 1. The Rand Daily Mail', the main opposi-
Knee to snut down at tho ond April. It has been replaced by a financial daily, 'Business Day'. 2. See 'International Viewpoint, July 15, 1985, "Rising struggle against apartheid spurs debates and maneuvers, " by Peter Blumer. 3. 'Financial Mail' , November 1984. 4. 'Christian Science Monitor,' July 5, 1985.
3
The decision on sanctions by French premier Laurent Fabius has given a new impetus to debate over disinvestment in the countries most implicated in collaboration with apartheid, in particular in the United States, where the campaign for disinvestment and challenging of Reagan's policy of "constructive engagement" are on the rise. (2)
West Germany, Great Britain, and the United States have all declared opposition to a policy of sanctions. The fact is that they have more than a little at stake in South Africa.
Britain, the USA, West Germany, France, and Switzerland account for more than 90% of foreign investment in South Africa, that is, more than 15 billion dollars. Of the 1,068 transnational companies operating in South Africa, a third are based in the United Kingdom. One quarter are based in the United States, and another quarter in West Germany.
The links between London and Pretoria are long standing. Half of direct foreign investment is British. Dizect and indirect British investments combined amount to 14 billion dollars, or 10% of total British investments abroad. (3)
The US accounts for the next biggest share of direct foreign investment, about 20% of the total. Between 1966 and 1982, US investments rose from 490 million dollars to 2.3 billion dollars. According to a US publication, American investment totals 13.78 billion dollars. (4)
West Germany accounts for 10% of foreign investment, or 1.4 billion dollars. The Federal Republic has a large surplus in its balance of trade with Pretoria, exporting 2.3 billion dollars worth of goods and importing only 676 million dollars worth from South Africa.
France is close behind West Germany in investment, having led the Federal Republic in this field up until 1983. In 1984, France imported 5.9 billion Francs worth of goods to South Africa and imported 4.3 billion francs worth.
Japan has a more even balance of trade, having exported 1.9 billion dollars worth of goods to South Africa and imported 1.3 billion dollars worth.
This touching family portrait would be incomplete without including the aterational Viewpoint 16 September 1985
Nevertheless, one of the effects lity of the sustem and the difficulty lity of the system and the difficulty of the French sanctions has been of finding a strategic way forward. to tip the balance a bit in favor of Following the news from South putting real pressure on Pretoria. Africa from week to week, you Of course, any such pressures will tragic repetition of funerals of new get the impression of an unending never go beyond the limits of the common interests of the South victims of apartheid and of outbursts African and European leaders in of anger by the Black masses who defending capitalism against the attack the auxiliaries of the aparththreat of a revolution in South Africa. eid system. This indicates one of the limits of these rebellions. They have
However, sanctions oblige the apartheid regime to try to justify remained confined to the Black areas and have been able to strike at its actions against the Black people of South Africa. The ongoing debate only marginal targets, not at the heart on sanctions in the Western countries of apartheid.
The recent events in Durban on is the result of the pressures brought
August 7 and 8 also illustrate the to bear in these countries, but also of the growing concern in the main limitations of the present upsurge. capitalist countries about the threat These rebellions turned against the
Indian shopkeepers, who are numerous of explosions in a country that they Nelson Mandela (DR) in this region. The apartheid divisions regard as strategic. have given the community classified
Despite all these factors, both What Botha was threatening to do as "Asians" a relatively less unfavorthe United States and the United was to make hostages out of the 1.5 able status both in the economic wan offe the as f Whe repl Afr in t tow wit] hesi Vic law seel Its eve are raci Rar the at bee pre esp are ren alre you for at ] tha me unI ind mo for uni Th mo hav sec SUC att 45 mi im ere un wil bu wil a S inc pre cal 2 3'
Kingdom still refused to vote for millio sanctions the last time the issue was
South debated in the United Nations.
these,
Given the Western pressures for change
South in the Republic of South Africa, dispo whether in the form of sanctions becau or "constructive engagement," some one response was expected from PW indep
Botha's government in Pretoria. Specu-
Ciske lation was rife, and some of the press
In that was well-disposed to South autho
Africa even thought that they had for cl grounds for predicting substantial uatio reforms. That was a bad mis-estima-
Black tion of the white ruling class and its a ho internal differences.
out i
Botha can afford to intimate of th that he wants to make reforms, but the fi he has to take account of the regime's bigge:
social base and cover himself against
2 mil the rabble rousing of the extreme jecter right, which is ready to raise a hue and sort.
cry over the slightest chink in aparth-
A eid.
first
Already on June 19 at thé final by ar session of parliament, PW Botha owne rejected any US interference in South
Thes
African affairs. This speech came into after the South African raid against n workers who do not have sphere and in the area of civil rights. • African citizenship. Among For example, Indians are not obliged there are at least a million to carry passes. • African Blacks who have been Moreover, no conscious leadership ssessed of their citizenship exists capable of building unity se they have been assigned to of the Black masses, whether they of the four main so-called be "Asiaties," "Coloureds," or endent Bantustans (Transkei, "Africans," as has been done in the i, Bophutatswana, and Venda). nonracial union movement. There particular, the South African is clear potential for such unity, rities' response to the demand since the "Indians" and "Coloureds" hange is reflected by the contin- boycotted the constitutional reforms n of police operations in the en masse, along with the Africans. townships. On August 20 What is more, there are reports use-to-house search was carried of attacks against political activists n Soweto. Since the beginning of Azapo, an organization coming e rebellions a year ago, this was out of the Black Consciousness rst time that this township, the current, and against union activists st in the country with around belonging to FOSATU - one of the lion inhabitants, had been sub- two major nonracial federations, perI to a police incursion of this petrated by persons claiming to be representatives of the United Democbit more than a year ago, the ratic Front (UDF). 1 increase in the rents of state- UDF has denied that these actions rebellions were touched off The national leadership of the that these actions d housing in the Black ghettos. were carried out in its behalf. The : spontaneous explosions came Durban riots, in which thugs belonging resonance with the massive to the tribal organization Inkatha tell clear role, suggest that boycott of classes by Black school Pred died toes the African National Congress (ANC) students and with the continued divisions within the mass movement even had the effrontery to say, "It is offices and leaders in Botswana. He advance of action by the independent are being aggravated by provocations unions. One of the high points of by the regime. because we are succeeding at reform this convergence was the general Inkatha is the organization led by and because a stable South Africa strike in the province of Transvaal Gatsha Buthelezi, chief of KwaZulu, is in sight that the forces hostile to last November 5-6. (5) which is the largest of the ten Bantusuch an evolution have determined stans created by South Africa as to destroy the progress that has been One of the characteristics of the places to dump its Black citizens. made." situation in the townships, therefore, But unlike the other Bantustan chiefs,
After the UN Security Council is a combination of organized forms Buthelezi has built up a profile as voted - with the UK and the US of actions, such as the boycott of a moderate opponent of apartheid, abstaining - for voluntary, non- white stores, and uncontrolled actions rejecting the phoney independence obligatory, sanctions against Pretoria, by crowds. The funerals of police offered by Pretoria to seek support Botha decided to take a sharper victims have brought together in both South African and American tone, defying this resolution: "I community and trade-union organiza- business circles. He has just visited have ordered the South African tions and a population simply fed Israel in order to reinforce his interauthorities to establish rapidly the up with apartheid. Collaborators with national image. number of foreign workers in the the regime, municipal councillors Buthelezi's calculation is clear. He country and where they are so that or Black police, have become the the government can consider measures target of outbursts, and the violence - 5. "Rising struggle against apartheid, for repatriating them." against them reflects both the bruta TV", July 15, 1985.
International Viewpoint 16 September 1985
wants to get himself in position to offer an alternative to the ANC for the post-apartheid situation, as well as for the mass movement as a whole. When you remember that the Zulus represent 6 million people in South Africa, you can see what is at stake in the leadership of this community.
The Inkatha have patrolled the townships in Natal province armed with clubs and spears and did not hesitate to attack the funeral of Victoria Mxengue, the murdered lawyer of the UDE leaders.
The agitation in the townships seems as if it could go on indefinitely. Its impact is beginning to be felt even in foreign business circles, which are worried by the obstinacy of the racist regime.
The South African currency, the Rand, has depreciated sharply against the dollar. It is now being traded at 1 R for 45 US cents, after having been at parity with the dollar in previous years. South African stocks, especially gold-mine stocks, are dropping on the exchanges. If you remember that the economy had already been hit by the recession, you can imagine the sort of appeals for negotiation that are being directed at Botha.
Some elements are demanding that he make the necessary adjustments to deal in particular with the unrelenting determination of the independent union movement.
The strikes organized by the more militant sectors against layoffs, for higher wages, and for trade-union recognition have not stopped. The movement has been given momentum by important gains that have been won both in the private sector and from some state companies, such as Sasol.
At its special congress, which was attended by 12,000 activists and 450 delegates, the very dynamic miners union the NUM, made three important decisions. First, it delivered an ultimatum to Botha that unless he lifted the state of emergency within 72 hours, "all White-owned businesses near the mining towns will be boycotted."
The second decision was to take a stand in principle for an immediate indeterminate general strike if the premier of the South African Republic carried out his threat to expel the "foreign workers."
The decision that made the biggest impact, however, was the one to call for a general strike in the mines starting August 25 to back up the demand for a 22% raise, when the Chamber of Mines has refused to go beyond 19%. The strike has now been postponed to September. But these three decisions taken together combine economic and political demands on the government. It should be noted that the mining areas are not located in the regions under the state of emergency.
The NUM has sought to keep a margin for maneuver in its confrontation with the Chamber of Mines. It knows the harm that a major defeat could do it now, when over the past five years it has been one of the fastest growing of the independent unions. The advance of the NUM is in fact illustrative of the rise of the independent unions. The funeral of a leader of the FOSATU, Andries Raditsela, who died just after his release from police custody, was the occasion for an imposing demonstration.
In the demonstrations accompanying the funerals of victims of the repression, you often see union banners and T-shirts alongside those of the political and community organizations. This has more than a symbolic value. It reflects the deep roots that the union movement has put down patiently rebuilding the links and structures that were destroyed by the overt repression in the 1960s.
The growth of the unions explains the thinking going on throughout the movement about building a working class leadership and about the experience of the working class in other countries.
Such thinking is all the more important now that the independent unions are involved in preparing to set up a broad united confederation of unions, which may be launched at the end of this year.
The search for a strategic orientation, for a leadership for the struggle, and for a policy of alliances are problems that arise in any situation in which the class contradictions sharpen. South Africa is no exception to this rule, despite the special difficulties posed by the national
The Black working class and its organizations have the potential for more than worrying the regime. The Black workers of South Africa alone, because of the place they in the society, can organize the struggle to overthrow apartheid completely, going all the way to its capitalist roots. This is understood both by sections of the white bourgeoisie and church circles.
This understanding explains the pushing to the forefront of figures such as the Nobel Prize-winning Anglican bishop Desmond Tutu or the Reverend Allan Boesak, president of the World Council of Reformed Churches. The Western powers are making them their special interlocutors because they are the only personalities who appear to be opposed to collaboration with the apartheid system and at
POSITIONS OF THE FOURTH
INTERNATIONAL
A limited number of copies of International Viewpoint No
25, March 7, 1983, containing the positions of the United
Secretariat of the Fourth
International on the struggle in South Africa, are still available. the same time are fierce opponents of Marxist ideas and have a mass audience.
The leading role played by the churches, allied with the Chartist current (6) in the framework of the United Democratic Front shows that they have understood that a race is now underway for influence over the Black masses and that it is not a good idea to linger at the starting gate.
Other Western sectors are pressing for realism, going so far as to demand the release of Nelson Mandela, the ANC leader jailed for life in 1963. That indicates how convinced they are that negotiations with the ANC are inevitable sooner or later. Even the government of Margaret Thatcher has come out for his immediate release. Mandela himself has rejected any negotiations with the regime until it clearly drops its commitment to apartheid.
It has to be noted that the South African Communist Party is beginning to try to make a reappearance, as attested by the presence of a CP banner at the Cradock funeral on July 20.
The ANC has built up its influence in the townships and at its second conference since it was banned in 1960 (held over the late spring and early summer this year) it decided to step up its struggle, including hitting civilian targets. Umkhonto we Sizwe (the Spear of the Nation), the military wing of the ANC, has carried out actions that have increased its prestige but for the moment have not demonstrated its usefulness in the townships against the forces of the regime.
Today the entire world knows that even if it is not on the brink of revolution, South Africa is going through a critical time in which the stakes will increase as the test of strength intensifies. The political and organizational gains made now will weigh heavily in the balance for the movement of the South African Black masses. 6. The current that identifies with the Freedom Charter adopted in 1955 on the initiative of the ANC.
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International Viewpoint 16 September 1985