whereas other, similar, tYP~s of viruses have round, central nucleoids. 11 In fact,

. mv is said to be rather more closely related to a visna virus found in Icelandic sheep, though there are other distinctions.

However, as has already been said, there is evidence to suggest that two different viruses can be genetically combined to create ' a- new one, a process known in genetic engineering as phenotypic mixing (swapping of genes). The newly-created virus may take some properties from b9th parents and possess infecting capabilities in a far wider range of species than the in­dividual parents. An example often cited to demonstrate this possibility is that of the rrixin'g of Rous sarcoma Virus (RSV), which normally infects chickens, and the mouse sarcoma virus (MSV) which normally infects mice. The resultant virus can infect rats, mink, mice and human beings. 12

In the London Sunday Express of Oc­tober 26th 1986, some scientists expressed the opinion that more than one virus may have combined to give rise to human AIDS. In 1982, some virologists and immunol­ogists suggested that AIDS could be link-

, ed with known viruses. The milln question, then, is - was this accidental or a delib­erate laboratory procedure?

CIA and Germ Warfare

It is common knowledge among political­ly conscious people that in the 1970s the Cuban government alleged, on the basis of its successful infiltration of the CIA, that the United States government was planning to infect Cuban pigs with African swine fever, in the hope that the Cuban popUlation

. would eat contaminated pork. Various j aders of the Cuban government and Par­

ty revealed this; particularly Fidel Castro. It is also a known fact in medical history

that when the first retrovirUs was discov­ered (the maedi-visna), which is a natural virus in sheep and goats, there was much excitement among the military branches of SEATO because of the clinical observa­tions on the sheep that were suffenng from a disease calledscrapie.l3 The visna virus, which can be transmitted from animal to animal in saliva and respiratory excretions,

destroys the outer coating of the nerve cells in the central nervous system, causing ir-

, ritability, loss of balance and grinding of teeth. The affected animal rubs away its wool against a fixed object, loses weight and dies within months.

Interestingly, during the mid-1970s, after , 'this discovery, the Fore tribe in a remote valley of Papua New Guinea was found to b,e suddenly infected with a disease caus­ing brain damage, with loss of balance and a shiver-like tremor that progressed to com­plete paralysis and death in less than a year from onset. The virus said to be causing this condition was very rare, and though it was admitted to be related to the visna virus, it was a new virus. Was this a result of exper­iments on human beings by those keen to develop germ warfare? Ifnot, why was this virus uniquely attacking the Fore tribe? The disease came to be known as kuru .

Where Death Is 'Success'

Other diseases, similar to kuru, have sinc'e developed in thc world, such as Cruetzfeld-Jakob Disease and Altzheimer's Disease, all of which are cau~ed by unusual viruses, resistant to ultra-viol~t light as well as to radiation. Whatever and wherever these viruses are manufact~red, it seems most clear they are meant to resist all cure!

At the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, viruses obtain­ed from the kuru disease have been in­jected, in combination with other diseases, into brains and blood of chimpanzees, gib­bons and the African green monkey. Ac­cording to Dr C L Masters, 14 this laboratory used no less than 54 chim­panzees in kuru research alone. Dr B A Kakulas,15 ,on the other ,hand, writes of a total of over 300 primates that had already been used by 1976 in what was described as a "continuing project." Months later, some of these primates died of pneumonia, a quite untypical disease for

, kuru , yet quite typical for AIDS. In 1980, it was publishedl6 that in the

Bethesda laboratories the viruses of kuru' and Cruetzfeld-Jakob Disease had been grown in cultures of African green monkey cells mixed with foetal bovine serum and

ten other animal viruses. At these laborator­ies, a combination of the viruses were in­

' jectea into goats, guinea pigs, hamsters, voles, mice , ferrets, mink, sheep, raccoon

, and rats "with varying degrees of success in each species./I

What was not revealed was the purpose of this wide range of experimentation. Why was there a trial on all these animals?

Biological Bomb?

In 1980, Y M Crippsll revealed that, at the US Army Biological Warfare Establishment in Fort Detrick, 423 human cases of serious infection and three deaths had occurred over a period of 25 years, because of con­tamination with germs at the laboratory.' This was despite the fact that this is regard­ed as the most secure ' of US Defence Ministry laboratories. Obviously, these figures do not give precise information, because such establishments are hidden from the public eye, and are also protected by laws governing official secrets.

No laboratory can guarantee the absolute security of its work in germ experimenta- . tion. ,The Marburg virus incident is an il­lustrious example. Around AugUst or Sep­tember 1976, laboratory workers in Mar­burg and Frankfurt in the Federal Repub!ic

, of Germany contracted a disease from their working environment and developed high fever, slow heart rate , headaches, stomach aches and inflammation of the eyes. Some of the workers died, and it was later diagnosed that they had been exposed to the tissues or cell cultures of African green monkeys, recently imported from Uganda via London. The virus got its name from that incident. In 1970, a report said that those infected had been exposed to an "unusual­ly virulent strain of the virus" that normally has the monkey as * host. 18

Unnecessary Danger

Ecological disruption and human invasion of the animal environment has given rise to previously unknown infections. Some , viruses, carried quite safely by' animals, begin to be fatal only when they have been

transferred to human beings. Lassa fever is an example, being spread by rodents ,-but without seeming. to harm them. Animals certainly have a reservoir of viruses not yet discovered by human beings.

At times, sheer mishandling of the material , for experimentation exposes human beings to great danger. The follow-' ,­ing letter to The Lancet from Drs Simpson and Zuckermann of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine mentions dangers involved:

n Research and teaching in this school are necessarily concerned with exotic dis­eases ... it is only natural that we regularly

, receive material from allover the world for , diagnoses and identification. We are hap­py to provide such assistance, and where we cannot do so ourselves we forward the specimen to someone who can. It is prob­ably not generally known that Lassa fever serology is now being carried out at the Microbiology Research ' Establishment, Porton Down, Wiltshire. ' "The condition in which many of the

, specimens arrive causes us extreme con­cern. Our most recent examples have been badly smashed blood samples sent by post from overseas for hepatitis and Lassa feve;r: stUdies. These samples were poten­tially highly infectious, but were so bad­ly packed that serum waslealdng freely through the outer paper, There is no need to stress the hazard to postal workers or to those who have to open the package ... " (my emphasis)19

From bubonic plague to malaria, many human disease epidemics have been trac­ed back to infectious organisms carried by animals. A series of new diseases has come about. because of the experiments with animals' described above, but also more

, specifically because of the work on germ warfare that goes on within military establishments and laboratories.

In 1986, three scientists from the German Democratic Republic, J Segal, L Segal and R Dehmlow, produced an 8D-page paper in which they argued that the AIDS virus was a. product of United States military: con­spiracy. Their case may. have been over- , stated, but there are basic facts to follow on this thesis. This is despite the fact that, in

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July 1987, the US Stale Department pub: lished a report denying the involvement of the Fort Detrick Military Establishment in the production o[ the AIDS virus.

Military-Industrial Secrets

On the basis of some of the stated positions in this article, it seems most reasonable that, when investigations are conducted on the origins and development of HIV, laborator­ies of the military-industrial complex should not be excluded. Public attention has been drawn to the danger of nuclear

. weapons - the visible missile silos that . threaten to explode the earth into a rubble of uninhabitable matter - but little or no at­tention has been given to the .development of deadly viruses in the secrecy of the laboratories of many imperialist countries. Yet these germs are no less lethal than nuclear weapons. Campaigns for signing of peace treaties should cover them also.

Imperialism is aggressive, and respects no human values. Militarism is its most dangerous doctrine, since it proceeds from the assumption that mankind can be dis­posed of, if only forthe use of the products of military-industrial enterprises.

There is no conclusive statement here that HIV was developed in the laboratories of the United States military establishment, but an argument has certainly been ad­vanced, backed by facts, that AIDS-like v'iruses were being created through genetic engineering within these estab­lishments. And it might also be sheer co­incidence that the laboratory where the first claim was made for .the discovery of the AIDS virus, in Bethesda, Maryland, is ac-

_~ally the laboratory .that has been. involv­ed in experimentation with animal viruses as described above. Our task is not to make wild and irresponsible statements, even if they are against the class forces that are hostile to us. Serious analysts, we believe, should not be alarmists. But, on the basis of facts, we can proclaim that the inter­national community needs to develop a sensitive awareness of the proceedings within military laboratories, as well as within those civilian laboratories where ' dangerous germs are being created.

In countries like the United States, where prisons are owned by private companies or individuals, prisoners can be vulnerable members of society when it comes to the need to experiment on human beings to

. prove the effectiveness of these germs. References

I. A J Nahmias and J Weiss, Lancet 1986, VoLl, pp.1279-80

2. I Wendler, J Schneider et aI, British Medical journal, 1986, Vol 2, pp.782-85

3. Newberne and Robinson, American journal of Veterinal}' Research, January 1960

4. S R S Rangan and R E Gallagher, Virus Researr;:h, 1979, Vol 24, pp.l-123

5. Paoli et aI, jAVMA,. 1973, Vol 163, ·pp.624-28

6. Steve Connor and Sharon Kingman, The Search for the. Virus: The Scientific Discov'el}' of AIDS and the Quest for a Cure, Penguin Books, London, 1988, p.206 .

7. T G Kawakami et aI, Nature, New. Biology, 1981, Vol 235

8. Ibid :. 9. Stowell and Smith, Lab Investigation,

1971, Vol 25, pp.105-07 :. 10. Biohazard: ' The Silent Threat from ' Biochemical Research and)he Creation of. AIDS, Report by the National Anti­Vivisection Society, London, 1987, p.8 II. M A Gonda and F Wong-Staal, Science, 1985, Vol 222, pp.173-77 12. Biohazard, op cit, p .7 13. DC Gajdusek, Science, 1977, Vol 197, pp.943-60 14. C L Masters, journal of Medical

. Primatology, 1976, Vol 5, pp.205-09 15. B A Kakulas, journal of Neuropath­ology and Experimental Neurology 1976, Vol XXXV, pp.593-60 16 journal of the Society for Experimental Biology 1980, Vol 163, pp.171-76. This infor­mation confirmed in, Viruses in the En­vironment, ed. E Kurstackand K Maramor­osch, Academy Press, 1978, pp.81-7 17. Y M Cripps, Controlling Technology - Genetic Engineering and the Law, Praeger; New York, 1980 : 18. R E Kissling et aI, Marburg Virus, AIl­nals of the New York Academy of Science, 174, 1970, pp.93245 19. D I H Simpson and A j Zuckermann, Lancet October 11th 1975

REVIEW ARTICLE

HEALTH CRISIS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Critical Health, Johannesburg, August 1988 issue.

The health services at present provided in South Africa are hopelessly inadequate and continually deteriorating. Health care suf­fers severely from the low priority given it by the regime. The sick in the Black com­munity are treated with utter contempt by the authorities. The letter signed last Oc-' tober by 100 doctors, complaining of the squalor and gross overcrowding at Barag­wdnath Hospital in Soweto has not receiv­ed any positive response. Major problems facing the health services include lack of primary health care, staff shortages in the hospitals, cutbacks in expenditure on drugs and increases in hospital fees.

In spite oCthe constraints on publication, . the Johannesburg journal, Critical Health, has worked for snme years now to expose the political and economic causes of ill­health in South Africa. The August issue of this year deals with the crisis in South African hospitals, and defines the role pro­gressive organisations will need to play in order to transform the health services.

Baragwanath Is Bad News

'The underpaid nurses at Baragwanath Hospital report that they are overwhelmed by the number of patients. What happens is that, for want of money, patients delay go­ing to the hospital. When they eventually do go, their condition has become worse. Where it may have been possible to treat them as out-patients in the first instance, they must now be admitted to the wards,

. unnecessarily swelling the numbers of in­patients. This adds to the frustration felt by the staff.

They have to cope with the usual 100 patients in a ward housing 40 beds, with the -other 60 patients scattered all over the floor of the ward, including under the beds. No wonder they did not put the ailing Nelson Mandela in such a place, with the eyes of the world focused on him!

For Soweto's population of two million, there is not a single psychiatric in-patient bed. A ward is being built at Baragwanath to accommodate 24 of the daily average of 100 psychiatric in-patients. Once again, the remaining 76 patients have to be squeez­ed into wards somehow, bulging at the seams as they are. .

Consequently, the nurses and doctors work under a great deal of stress; they are constantly tired and irritable, and this in itself is a source of further stress. Nurses liv­ing out with their families see little of their children. Older children have to help out by taking care of the younger. Alternative­ly, a nurse drops her child with the child­minder before setting off for the hospital. That means the nurse must leave home at five-thirty in the morning to be at work by seven.

Hospital Tariffs Campaign

The Health Workers' Organisation(HWO) of Natal draws attention to the recent ini­quitous imposition of increased hospital charges at Natal Provincial and KwaZulu hospitals. There is no free treatment to be had. Hospital staff, who previously receiv­ed free treatment, now have to pay. Pen­sioners and the unemployed are expected to conjure up money somehow to meet the minimum charge. The onus is placed on all other categories to prove they do not have monevto nav for health care. ifthev are to

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escape higher charges . . The most vicious of the new regulations

apply to patients seeking treatment after hours - that is, at week-ends, on public ' holidays, and after four in the afternoon on week-days. All comers at these' times are liable for the maximum charge, be they

- -:- employed or not. This applies in spite of the fact that most patients in full employment are forced to go to hospital at these times, through the fear of dismissal should they . miss a day's work.

The HWO. convened a' workshop last May to set up a 'Hospital Ta.>iffs Campaign.' The campaign has put health on the agen­da of community organisations, has popularised the slogan; 'Health Is Our Right,' and it has challenged the authorities. It is felt that the campaign can force the authorities to change some of their deci­sions. It can show progressive organisa­tions that health is no less important than issues such as rent, housing and education. It can show community organisations that they have the most important role to play in achieving health for all, and that the cen­tral and provincial governments of South Africa are incapable of providing ade­quate, appropriate, equal and accessible health care. There is an urgent need for community health committees to be set up.

Starvation in Urban Areas

No matter what steps are taken, the hospital crisis will no doubt persist for as long as the living conditions of the people are so ap­palling and the people are ravaged by disease. In the urban areas, starvation has reached critical proportions, . and is now worse than in the drought-stricken rural

--homelands. " .. Pensioners, with their . tiny handouts,

were becoming the main source of income for many urban families, and it was not un­common to find as many as ten people · dependent on a single pensioner. 1988 has brought the harsh reality of increasing poverty throughout South Africa, particular­ly in urban areas, where more and more

breadwinners are losing their jobs as a result of retrenchment or dismissal.

''It is shocking how, in the past year, re­quests for aid from the urban areas have overtaken-those from rural areas such as

. KwaZulu,"

states Mr Mashinini of Operation Hunger. The need to sweep Ule old order away

is urgent - literally a matter of life and death. Diliza Mji, president of the National Medical and Dental Association (NAMDA), told its national conference in April that the political situation in the country continued to be the single most important cause of ill­health and disease.

A Guide for the Future

The most important contribution to this issue of Critical Health must be the article from the Health Workers' Organisation, The Crisis and the Struggle [or Change.

The HWO states that the crisis in the health services is a reflection of the prob­lems that exist in the larger society, and relates to the fact that the health services are run along racial and claSs lines. These health services primarily serve the Whites and other Urban populations, in spite of the highest incidence of disease occuning amongst rura! Blacks. Disease, however, is also rife amongst urban Blacks. The in­cidence of rheumatic heart disease is the highest in the world amongst the school children of Soweto. The response of the regime is to abandon its responsibility of

. providing health care in favour ofprivatisa­tion, but the majority of the community live below the breadline, and are in no position to pay for medical treatment.

Not only does the HWO indicate where health fits into the political framework of the country, but it also provides a clear guide as to what form a Health Charter for the future should take. We present this guide here, and it should be widely disseminated for discussion. It is an important document.

- Percy Cohen

THE-HEALTH 'CHARTER Good health is the right of all who live in South Africa.

1. Health Care Shall Serve the People­a. Health care should not be a ,commodi­ty, available only to the affiuent few, but must be placed in the hands of the people to serve the people. b. ' The monopoly of knowledge on health must lYe taken away from the professionals and mus, be disseminated amongst the people. In this .way, health must be demystified. c. Health workers must work under the control of, and in the interests of, the peo­ple and not for their own status and wealth. Mass community participation and under­standing of health issues must be encouraged.

2 . . All health workers shall be equal -a. A health worker would include any per­son formally employed. in the health sec­tor (nurses, doctors, laboratory technicians,

. radiographers, physiotherapists,' cleaners, etc) or any person from' the community committed to working for better health. b. All health workers should be equal, ir­respective of race, colour, class or sex. c. The strong hierarchy in health must be . overcome, and all barriers broken down. At present, the better-educated health workers occupy the administrative posi­tions, where they, in tum, suppress the aspirations of ordinary health workers. This stratification denies ordinary health workers a voice in the administration of health.

3. The emphasis shall be on preventive me~cme- • Although the importanc~ of curative care is recognised, emphasis must be on preventive medicine.

4. Health workers shall learn from the people -a. Health workers need to shed their pro­fessional arrogance. They must be pre­pared to learn from, and teach, the people in the community.

b. Health education should not be left to the professionals_ These ideas should be--- --_. ' incorporated into the health workers' training. '

5. There shall be accountability and con-trol- , a. Health workers and community organisations and their progTammes must be firmly placed in the communities in

. which they work. These communities must be part of the infonned, democratic decision-making process. b. Health workers must be accountable to those whom they serve, and not only to those in authority and power. Democratic alternative structures must be created and strengthened to fight for and defend the'in­terests' of the poorer communities. 6. The health system shall be people­

centred -Community health workers, together with parents, school children, workers, educators and others, shall play the leading role in health care. Medical professionals should become mere auxiliaries. The largest and most important unit of health workers are the community health workers. More time and money must be spent on training them, rather than doctors. We must ensure that they are selected by, . and are representatives of, the poorer, more oppressed, members of the com­munity. They must be accountable to their community.

7. Primary health care shall be the main function of the health service -This would ensure better accessibility of care. More financial and material resources must be distributed to the primary health care clinics. Hospitals will be needed as referral centres and support systems.

8; There shall be e'qual distribution of resources - . Health care services need to be co­ordinated by one health department, but the service must be decentra!ised and made easily accessible to all people. There ~

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should be an equal distribution of resources, based on the needs of the various c;ommunities, irrespective of race, colour, class, creed or sex. Are-allocation of human and material resources to rural areas is necessary to overcome the urban

_. emphasis and rural neglect under the pre­sent system.

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9. Health workers shall be selected by their community -Selection criteria of students need to' be reviewed. Future health workers must be selected by their community, and should return to serve the same community that chose them. Students need to be trained in

' "

new values as opposed to the profit­orientated, status-seeking, individualistic, purely academic, high-tech orientation of the present system. Health education and

. research need to he much more relevant­to the problems, illnesses and needs of the ' majority of people . ..

10, Conclusion - . The struggle for a free society needs to be reinforced by interlocking the various struggles, such as housing, sporting, education, etc. What needs to be em­phasised are adequate living wages, more educational and employment opportunities .

. and more effective participation by the community in decision-m~ng·processes.

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gEPOItT OF MEETING BETWEEN COS1\.TU· .rum

COMMUNITY D1\SEIJ OHGANIS1\.TIONS

REPORT

BUILDING 'l'IlE M1\SS DEt10CRATIC MOVEMENT UNDER CONDITIONS OF REPRESSION

Repression and reform must be seen as part of one strategy that is aimed at smashing democratic mass organisation and co-opting certain sections of the oppressed.

1.1

1.2

,

What are the objectives of repression?

(a) To reverse the gains of the Mass Democratic Movement.

(b) To weaken and smash our structures.

(c) To reduce the space -for mass action.

(d) To make it difficult for organisations and activists to consult and communicate with the masses.

(e) To re-impose structures of control like the Black local authorities.

(f) To create the spaceNfor a reformist optiln.

(g) To create the space for the imperialist interventions.

(11) To ensure the long term survival of capitalism and present political power relations.

FORMS OF REPRESSION

It has taken the following forms.

(a)

(b)

The imposition of the state of Emergency.

The increasing use of vigilantes and de~th squads to disorganise and eliminate our activists.

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'f

I J I I~ I I I 1-,'

I f-

Military occupation of our townships and schools and increasing police hnrassment of our activists and piohibition of meetings.

Media restrictions and . news black out.

(e) Economic strategies such as privitisat10n, deregulation, decentralisation, and the Labour Relations Act.

These strategies are being JMC's.

co-ordinated through the J

b.

c.

d.

e.

SHOULD:

Deepen the ideological understanding of the 1{ MDM.

i. Develop a clear ideology. 1 Develop ideological cohesion in an I enviroment of open and free debate and democratic discussion.

ii

iii Intensify our political education in order ~ to develop a common understanding of our political positiuns e.g the Freedom Charter, . the Constitutional guidelines and Socialism at a mass leve~ ~nd as -part of our on-going/ mass str gles d . /'

Re-build our organisational structures. .. Build mass campaigns.

Develop an activists policy to ensure greater political discipline in ou~. ~anks. I

. ' Have effective communication with the masses and build internal democracy in our structures that are operating under conditions of repression.

f. Develop a progressive leadership style.

g. Develop an overall programme for the MDH.

h. Develop strategic thinking at all levels of our organisations.

FURTHER POINTS ON BUILDING MASS CAMPAIGNS

a. To recognise the relationship between building organisation and building campaigns.

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t

1 -I 1 1 ~ I I

mpaign ahould be Deen as pa.I:t of our on-going rocoss of struggle.

campaigns should be used to deepen organisation, . ic..leological unde.rstanding, and to destabilise the ruling class.

d. He must enSU.I:e the capacity to take and implement campaigns.

e. 'l'here should be proper evaluation of our campaigns on an on-going basis.

f.

g.

h.

1 . 4

1.5

Ensure thorough consultations and involvement of the masses in the campaigns.

We should use campaigns and strengthen the political coherence of the masses.

It is important to organise people around their local and regional problems an,d link this to the national and intern<;ltional political situation.

WIlAT ARE THE MAIN CAHFAIGNS OF TIlE HDM AT THE PRESENT MOMENT '

a. Feace among the people in Natal b. Building the anti-apartheid coalitioll c. Campaign against repression

1. The Labour Relations Act 2. The State of Emergency 3. Campaign against apartheid hangings

d. ReleasE of political prisoners • •

e. The campaign against all bodies of minority rule. " " "

CO-ORDINATION

Co-ordinating Committees consisting of representatives from the different organisations must be set up at a local, regional and national level. The constitutional structures of our organisations must delegate smaller working groups to co-ordinate specific campaigns.

I REPORT 2 NEGOTIATIONS

I I-

ATTITUDE AND POSITION ON NEGOTIATIONS

a. ~ Our strategic objective is the transfer of power to \\ the masses of our people. There are different ' paths

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t I Ie

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Seizure in a classical revolutionary negotiations.

The MDli does not have in-principle negotiations.

sense

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objection ~

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UNDER WHAT COllDITIOtlS WOULD WE COnSIDER JlEGOTIATING AND WITH WHAT OBJECTIVE?

a. CONDITION

There must exist conditions within which the Democratic Movement is able to organise and mobilise freely.

b. OBJECTIVES:

Ushering in Ilational democracy and setting the scene for an advance to socialism.

We acknowl~dge that negotiated settlements involve compromises and we need to ensure that the balance of forces on the ground are such that it rules out possibilties on compromising our ultimate objectives.

IN .THE EVEnT OF NEGOTIATIONS MATERIALISING WHAT IS THE ROLE OF I1ASS DEHOCP.ATIC HOVEIlS!'!T .,

-Our role is at all times to organise and mobilise the broadest possible number of people into the strugg\e for democracy.

Should negotiations materialise, our role will be.to mobilise and organise the broadest possible number of people to support our negotiating positions.

,HOW SHOULD vIE RESPOND TO IHPERIALIS-T, ,ATTEMPTS TO FP.Ot'lOTE NEGOTIATIONS:

The imperialists should not be treated as a homogeneous bloc. Whilst their ultimate objective is to preserve the "Free enterprise" system, they have different paths to that goal. We might have to find the most relevant contradictions amongst them which we can use to isolate the most reactionary sections of imperialism.

The democratic movement has never opposed genuine negotiations but the conditions for a permanent and lasting peace must be created.

WHY ARE THE IMPERIALISTS PROMOTING NEGOTIATIONS AT THIS POINT?

a. 1/ They are responding to ' the advances made by the Democratic Movement that include the growth of the Anti Apartheid Movements in the imperialist , countries.

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They Dre unsure of the ability of. the regime to fJofeguard their interests. .

Thl) discussion on the constitutional ' guidelines should not bo neen as separate from our on-going mass struggles. The eonDtitution of a future South Africa is dependent on the palance of ~orc:es at the point of trans~~~~~._and -this.J,s

)~ -dc,,;cl'ident upon the extent to which we build the working elDDD ~n our country. Various ideas were put forward as to llOW we could begin to take up the debates around the cOflotitutional guidelines e.g that workers should begin looking at demands arouhd a Workers Charter, Women ,around tile \-lomen's Charter education around the Education Charter etc.

our approach to the guidelines should be campaign orientated. We need to focus on developing media and education in our ranks that promote rigorous debate on the constitutional guidelines. To achieve this we need to set up a joint working group.

GROUP 4 - DISCUSSIOH on ORG1UnSING IN 'l'HE WHITE C0l1HONITY

I "

OHGAnSING THE WHITE COHHUHITY

GEnERAL DISCUSSION

a.

b.

c.

d.

The percularities within Coloured, Indian and white communities must be taken into account.

Parliamentary politics . is entrenched in the white community and this pres~nts ,c:l,ifficulties in establishing de~ocrati~ ' oigi~tsations .

• White workers are privileged but have an objective interest in the overthrow of apartheid to which they must be mad~ conscious of.

There is crisis facing alliance between state and capital. There is fragmentation within business community with some sections seeking relationship with MDM but for their own interests of 'furthering capitalism. Our task to prevent capital determining political terrain. We must isolate the most , reactionary sections of the ruling bloc inside and outside parliament.

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.... ·'l·his must be d~ne within the context of . ~: : .. :" understanding imperialists' rnaneouvres and not . allowing our long term objectives to be compromised.

Majority of whites including white workers have benefited from and bolstered apartheid

WHITE WORKERS

a. The general crisis of the apartheid state is causing change in political allegiance away from Nat to the C.P. although some are identifying themselves with majority of workers.

b. We must organise white workers around the specific grievances and develop programmes which are built around these by drawing them into our unions and also developing tactical alliances with white unions.

c. While there are prospects of drawing in white workers around short-term material interests, there are limitations around drawing then in around our long term political interests. We should not be over optimistic. White workers are not a primary force for change

Task of organising whites falls on the whole democratic movement, not just white democrats. The democratic organisations in the MDM must inform the perceptions of peripheral organisations. We must stress the importance of popularising our pr;inciple pf non racialism. The MDM must create forums for debate around issues facing those working in the · white community. " ." .. . ·· f .··.'· Although these is limited potential we must dra .... as many as possible into the MDH.

DEMOCRATIC PARTY

DP has vested interests in maintaining capitalism. D.P.­borne of the deepening crisis in South Africa. The MDM must reiterate on the illegitimacy of parliament and thus cannot remain silent on the formation of DF. We must pose challenges to the DP to address the basic demands of our people, State of Emergency, millitary conscription dismantling of apartheid etc. Within white politics - : power does not lie with parliament but in the security management committees. The centre of power in South Africa lies in the hands of the democratic movement.

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'in !lot par t of the M!Jti but not exactly th~ same as We must enDure that the activities and platforms

they' ~ngage in serve the interests of the MDH. While dasa ' is !lot less commitment to capitalism and free

enterprise than UP it does have a role to play in ,:,,: exposing whites to views of the oppressed. It must not

replace democratic formations in white community.

Business confidence has been shaken by mass struggles resulting in sections of the liberal bourgeiosie seeking a relatiollship with the MDM. The long- term 'interests of liberal bourgeousie is fundamentally different to the interests of the HDM. We need to identify minimum demands on which they might agree with us. Their primary concern is to discuss future security in a future post apartheid system. We must pressurise them to act on iJlUlIediate problems e.g LPA conscription State of Emergency_ A : formal' alliance with the MDl1 is inappropriate.

]UlTI -lI.PI~HTIIEID COl\.LITION

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REPORT 1

~lhy is it possible to have a anti-apartheid coaltion?

Conditions have changr.d b~c2.u~e of our mass struggles that have begun to frayment the social base of the ruling bloc and resulted in a number of groups and organisations that have created what we define today as the forces of social change. The following is the way in which the group conceptualise forces for social change.

a. The Mass Democratic movement. • b. Forces who are opposed to apartheid and are pro-HDH. c. Forces that are opposed to apartheid and are

neither opposed nor pro HDH. d. Forces which are ,ready to ' b-re,ak ' with apartheid but

whose long term interests are not with the MDH. e. , Forces that are opposed to apartheid but also

opposed to the MOH.

A.

These forces can be divided into two broad categories:

1.

2.

Some of these forces we will take actions with on specific issues. These are organisations usually with a mass base~ Some of these forces we can agree with 'on a minimum programme of democratic demands. In relating to these forces we should recognise that they may be regional, local and national differences which means that at -times we can relate to them nationally and not regionally or vice-versa.

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2.

3.

4.

Commitment to a democratic South Africa based on one . person one vote.

Unity and organisation against repression.

Freedom of association.

Freedom of speech.

5. The release of political prisoners.

P..EPORT 2 - WHAT AIlli TIlE ODJECTIVES OF THE AAC

3.

To organise and mobilise the widest possible range of .anti-apartheid forces in action against apartheid.

To spread the influence of the 1-1 to widest possible sections of our country.

To isolate the reactionary core of apartheid.

REPORT 3 - WHl~T FORCES Cl\H BE_~or~~.JJ2f;E~I? AND WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THE RELATIOHSlIIP BET\'lEEH THESE FORCES .

The group felt that minimum demands need to be identified. The process of consultation would have to be discussed fully within our ranks and can also take place with forces who are close to us. The AAC should be seen not as a permanent structure but a tactical alliance around minimum demands. The convening- process must be more effective and a bigger group involving those organisations most actively opposed to apartheid should be . set up. . ,. " .... ,'

~~REPORT - 4 WHAT IS THE PROCESS TOWARDS THE AAC

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We should have an extensive process of consultations. We need to set up joint seminars at a local, regional and national level and make sure that there is effective feedback to our constituences. A discussion paper should be drafted for this purpose. A distinction must be made between a core and other anti-apartheid forces.

By ' mid year we should have set up a national convening strpcture that is broader than Cosatu and UDF. Such a committee should be set up before a public announcement is made. The process should ensure that no divisions are caused in our own ranks. To this extent we must not be too hasty and should be clear about our overall programme.

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e should identify the role that international forces could play especially "around d~fence of the process against action from the

""state e.g banning of a conference. Attention "needs to be - focused on the media needs of the process. We should be working" towards a timetable that envisages holding the conference towards the end of the year. 1\s part of that process there should be a number of local and regional initiatives that stimulates mass participation and a movement towards the AJ\C e.g the process involved in ending the Natal violence. We need "to identify issues at a local level around which we can unite with other groupings.

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Cosatu News No.2 March 1989

uild pirit

on of

the fighting SharpevilleDay

Worker~ .ummit 1 Unite tlba1nst the L

On March 21 st - Sharpeville Day - several hundred thousand wor~;ers buill the spirit of the Workers Summit by uniting in ac· tion to make Sharpevilie Day ours .

The Sha:pevifle stayawa)' action was strongest in tne Easte rn Cape . But tens of thou5ands of worY.ers stayed away in Natal arld the Witwatersrand . Att~ugh COSATU has long demanded Sharpe ville Day as a paid public holiday, onty a few factories have won this right . United mass ac· hon made May Day and June 16 ours. The example of workers in

the Eastern Cape shows that Sharpe ville Day can also be ours.

In Uilenhage 95% of workers stayed away, while in Port Elisab­eth and Easl Lon-jon there was a 85% stayaway. Over 3.000 peo­p e attended a church service in Port Elizabeth . Speakers from 'COSATU . NACTU, the Mass Democratic Movement and the Black Consciousness Movement shared the same platform for the first time in years .

Eastern Cape wori<ers buill on the spirii of the Workers Summit. The Wo~ers Sunmil brought to-

get her over 500 worker dele­gales from COSATU, NACTU and the independant unions to worx out a united way forward in our struggle against the bosses Labour Relations Act (see pg 2)

A wOlker from the Summi: said ·OJr needs as workers are one. Our enemies as worr< ers are the same. Then iet us unite and fioht the bosses for what we need­We wil i sort out differences be­r.veen us along the way: This growing spirii 01 unity in struggle was the biggest gain of the Wo~er SUl7lmit and the united worker action on March 21 .

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- .' ,\./; Editorial

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Inksths warlords helped by police . Police and lnl<alha warlords have co-operat~ In detaining, inlerro­Qa!lng, sh~o!L')g and harra%ing residBnts of ImtaE township in Natal.

Th~e aJl~a~br.s were recently made pu~Hc by COSA TU at a press confere:rce r.eld in Jo!",anncsburg. EYidertCe from COSA TU showed that : • A se~rjty p:>!icE:rnan re.cently b:>ugh1 iT,.Jns In his name so 1hat they cou\.j be given to Iro..atM . membe:s who did flO! already r..ave k:enses tor kearrns. • Po1ice Minister Vlo~ sem Go lel­ter to a Memoer of Parliament saying that peo~ In'Jst be en­co!Jrage-d to ;oj~. ~nhatha. " • ln~atha members are often used 10 identify comrades 10 the ~Jjce and 10 Ihreatf:n com:-a~es. • .v~;ent incidents are mostly star100 bv L~e 'II'arbrds. bu1 cvmrades are aiwavs arreste::i whfie t.he warlOrd stays t~ee.

" "

COSP. TV's report comained de:afiec evidence of 24 incidents t~;~ ~rl ;>,ac£: in imbali b:::v.:een N~veiilber and january. Des;>ite COSATUs efforts to build peace in the area. more dOO rr~rB' }BO:- I ~e. are dyirtg at trte ,~~nd~ '1 , lh~. 1 vlg:lantes. . .. ':"':.::·:':···:i .. "'. . .':

. :" " .... ... :'". { ... . . The sitc~ion in Na!al demards ' lhe attention ot sve1f worker to ' COSATU. " '. ' ' ..

, .... Build solidarity :' ' with' our :. co m ra'd e s ":::,·.

: ~atal!

The the

way forward Summit

from

The Wo~;efs Summit was called to build a united programme of action aaainst the bosses LRA. After two cays of, di$yu~s!()n , the Summit recommend€~dfhat we:

1 . Cali upon workers country­wide to craw up our own Labour Act that covers al: sectors of our class - including farm, domestic, forestry and public sector wori<­ers . 2. Flrle ways of not using the Industrial Court 3. Revise our recognition agree­ments 10 get round the bad parts 01 the LRA, 4. SUDmi! demands around the LRA to SACCOLA, other em­ployer organisations and individu­al oosses b)' May 2nd 1989 5. lso!ale bosses who use the LRA against us,

6. Give bosses 30 days 10 respond to our de­mands. Then declare a national dispute with all bosses if they refuse to make p:lsitive progress

~""'~'.""., towards meeting our de­mands. 7. Link the anti-LRA campaign to the Living Wage campa~;1n and the campaign for a living UIF benefit for all work­ers. 8. Mobilise workers and the community around these issues nationally. regionall)' and locally. 9. Use May Day raliies to mobilise acainsl the LRA both nationally and inlernationally. 10. Conduct national ballots around all our de­mands in all industries.

The Summit further rec­ommended that we: 1. Call for future: sum­mits that will involve all forces fighting for liber­ation. 2. Intensify our rejection

of the present LRA through more protest actions. 3, Continue discussions on the LRA be~'een COSATU. NACTU and the independant unions. 4, Every organised workp!a~e , every Ioca! and every region must hold genera! mass meetings to discuss the Summit demands and build suppor1for our campaign against the LRA now.

Write to Cosa!u ·News C~sah; Nelll-'S ~ yOur ~a;;>e!. W.3ke St;~c !! is you~;'.:lice. Wme leUE:<~ to 1::9 Ecito.,PO &:x 1019, JHB 2000 . . Cosat.:.J N~ws is h6aviiv (sst'cad tJ~r Ir,a Emdf.;alY..)' . • F~~n~ the '· .. S-ner~ncl ano tr-.e~ ~e5t~do."$_ ... llrt..af! C;a:si.r:xr.s arlO Nsw Era ~Ii.

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P8~e2 Cosstu News March 1989

Collection Number: AK2117 Collection Name: Delmas Treason Trial, 1985-1989

PUBLISHER: Publisher: Historical Papers Research Archive, University of the Witwatersrand Location: Johannesburg ©2016

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