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Africa: Walter Sisulu
AFRICA ACTION
Africa Policy E-Journal
May 9, 2003 (030509)
Africa: Walter Sisulu
(Africa Action document)
This posting contains a statement from Africa Action on the death
of Walter Sisulu, plus excerpts from two documents highlighing two
periods from Sisulu's life-long engagement in the freedom struggle.
+++++++++++++++++end summary/introduction+++++++++++++++++++++++
Statement from Africa Action -- May 7, 2003
Walter Sisulu: The Struggle Continues
Africa Action was saddened to learn of the death of Walter Sisulu,
a key leader of the South African liberation struggle and a hero
who inspired all of us. We extend our deepest condolences to his
family and to all of the people of South Africa.
South Africa has lost a leader and the rest of the world has lost
a great man who worked tirelessly to make this a better world.
Walter Sisulu was the central organizer of the African National
Congress (ANC) from the time he was elected Secretary General in
1949 until the treason trials in the early 1960s. He spent 26 years
in prison with Nelson Mandela and other freedom fighters and after
his release continued to campaign for the liberation of his
country.
"Walter Sisulu has now passed away, but his work to create a
better, more just society continues in South Africa and around the
world," said Salih Booker, Executive Director of Africa Action. "At
Africa Action we hold a special place in our hearts for Walter
Sisulu because he provided the spark that created our
organization." When a young civil rights activist wrote the ANC in
1952 asking what could be done to support the organization's plans
for a non-violent campaign to defy unjust laws, it was Sisulu who
wrote back to welcome the support and ask for political and
financial assistance.
In 1952, Americans for South African Resistance organized public
meetings and protest at the South African consulate in New York.
After raising thousands of dollars to support the legal defense of
Defiance Campaign activists in South Africa, that young civil
rights activist, George Houser, and his colleagues formed the
American Committee on Africa, the organization that later became
Africa Action.
"He was a quiet man, often working behind the scenes, but getting
the job done," said Houser, who was the Executive Director of the
American Committee on Africa for nearly thirty years. After
retiring, Houser conducted a series of oral history interviews with
Walter Sisulu out of which came the book 'I Will Go Singing.'
Sisulu told Houser that after his arrest in 1962 for sabotage, he
and Mandela assumed they would be sentenced to death and executed.
"I thought I must go to the gallows singing-for the sake of the
youth who follow us... We must show that our death would not mark
the end of the liberation struggle."
But Sisulu and his colleagues were not executed, and working from
prison with the banned African National Congress they continued the
struggle for freedom. After his release, Sisulu agreed to come to
the United States at our invitation to meet with Congressional
leaders, civil rights activists, church leaders and other activists
pressing for the end of apartheid and free elections in unified,
non-racial South Africa.
Nelson Mandela suggested this week that if there is another life
after this world, Walter is already there, working to enroll
everyone he meets into the African National Congress, cajoling
people with his favorite songs and mobilizing people behind the
organization's original document -- the Freedom Charter --
affirming the right of all people to be free. Our promise to you,
Walter, is that Africa Action will continue the work you started,
the struggle for political, economic and social justice in Africa.
A Luta Continua.
Walter Sisulu: I Will Go Singing
as told to George Houser and Herbert Shore
http://www.forusa.org/Fellowship/Mar-Apr_02/WalterSisulu.html
George Houser and Herbert Shore, both active in the African
liberation struggles, held extensive interviews with Sisulu to put
on record an oral history of his life. This history has been
published under the title I Will Go Singing. The book can be
ordered from the on-line bookstore of the Fellowship of
Reconciliation at
http://www.forusa.org/Catalog/books.html A brief
excerpt follows, referring to the Rivonia trial which resulted in
life imprisonment for Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, and other
defendants:
Walter Sisulu: Both the prosecutor and the judge challenged the
right of ANC to claim to speak for the African people when its
membership was so small compared to the population.
I told him we speak for the aspirations and the hopes of the
African people. We listen to what is in their hearts whether they
are members of ANC or not. Dr. Yutar [the prosecutor - eds.] then
said sarcastically - I remember clearly - "Sisulu" - he always
called me this, never "Mr." or any other title. He started out
trying to address me as "Walter" but I would not accept that -
"You think you know what is in the hearts of all the Bantu, or do
you spend your time agitating, telling them what ought to be
there."
That was when I said to him, "We do not have to tell the African
people what ought to be in their hearts. Dr. Yutar, I wish you
were in the position of an African. I wish you were an African and
knew the position.
He asked me if I had been persecuted by the police myself. "What is
this so-called persecution and arresting indiscriminately with no
offence? How do you know they arrest people innocently?" I told
him they arrested my wife. In 1962 I was arrested six times. I
have been persecuted by the police.
I said to him, "Dr. Yutar, you have a young son about the same age
as my son. How would you feel if your son came to court to see you
and he was arrested for not having a pass, especially since he is
only fifteen and didn't have to carry one. But the police would
not believe him. How would you feel? That is persecution of the
innocent by the police ."
But it was Operation Mayibuye that they asked me most about. I
repeated over and over again that we were discussing the plan
still, some for, some against; that we knew violence would come,
but we had not yet agreed to guerilla warfare. At the time of our
arrest no decision had been taken. I myself did not think that
conditions were right for such an operation to be undertaken. And
we were never planning to encourage or collaborate in an armed
invasion of South Africa from outside.
Everyone, my comrades and all of the defense lawyers, were pleased.
They felt I had done well in my contest with Yutar. George Bizos
[one of the ANC's lawyers - eds.] said that he could now collect
on his bet. He had wagered with the others that Yutar would be
drawn into a political discussion and that I would best him. So I
was pleased.
But still you expected the death penalty?
What else could I expect? It must be the death sentence. They had
charged us with sabotage instead of treason because a charge of
treason would have required a preparatory examination and the
accused would have to know the evidence against them so that they
could prepare their defense properly. But whatever they call the
charges, in terms of the material found, it qualifies as treason,
and I could not see anything else but death.
...
We heard that at one point as you were passing the other accused in
the court, you made a sign across your throat with a finger,
implying that you were going to get the death penalty. Did
something like this happen?
I have no doubt that I did. Because when we were arrested, I said
- I think I was talking to Govan Mbeki then - you see, there is no
way out of here. I was sure there was no way of escaping the death
sentence. I'm not sure what Govan's attitude was. I'm not sure,
but I was certain that for at least six of us there could be no
verdict other than guilty. The question was the sentence. And I
was certain that at least four of us would hang.
When did the verdict finally come?
On May...yes, May 20th, that was it, the prosecution handed out
their final statement. They were very fancy - bound in blue
leather, I remember.
I was thinking how I must go to the gallows. And I thought I must
go to the gallows singing - for the sake of the youth who follow
us, so they will know that we went without fear and that we had
fulfilled our task in life. I would sing with a strong voice so
that they would all hear. We must show that our death would not
mark the end of the liberation movement, but would be an
inspiration to our people in their struggle. The rest would now be
up to them. I was ready.
There was an exchange between the judge and Dr. Yutar, which gave
us a little bit of hope. It seemed that the judge accepted that
the MK and the ANC were separate organizations and that the plan
for guerilla warfare had not as yet been approved. In fact, at one
point he interrupted Brain's closing argument to state that he
accepted that no decision or date had been fixed on for guerilla
warfare. He adjourned the court until June 11 when the verdict
would be given. During that time, Nelson wrote his law exams for
London - while we were waiting.
When the day came for the verdict, the police packed the court and
the streets around it. Justice de Wet gave his verdict very
quickly. He said he would give the verdicts without reading the
reasons for them, but he emphasized that he had very good reasons.
Nelson, I, Dennis, Govan, Raymond, Andrew Mlangeni, and Elias
Motsoaledi were guilty on all four counts. Kathy was guilty on one
of the four counts and Rusty was acquitted. The judge then stood
up and adjourned until 10 o'clock the next morning for sentencing.
...
When the sentence was finally rendered what was your feeling?
Oh, it was like a discharge. It was like a discharge because I
said, well, I really felt that legally we were guilty of what they
call treason and I could not see how you can escape it. Therefore
when they came with a sentence like this, I thought, well, it's
like a discharge. Our movement should have been broken, without
leaders and without hope. But instead it was alive, singing,
marching in procession right there around the court, with ANC
colors flying.
It was not just our celebration, but had become a world celebration
with ANC colors waving. We were expecting death, and now we were
all alive, preparing for the next phase of the struggle.
International pressure helped us avoid the death sentence. No
doubt. No doubt about it. We had very good lawyers, but the
situation in South Africa was such that it was not going to be the
ability of the lawyers that determined. The attitude of the
government was so hostile, so clear, so worked out, so
systematically worked out, that on the basis of that there seemed
to be no way we were going to escape the death sentence. Now we
were a central part of a worldwide movement.
American Supporters of the Defiance Campaign
by George M. Houser
Statement at a meeting of the United Nations Special Committee
against Apartheid on June 25, 1982, to commemorate the 30th
anniversary of the "Campaign of Defiance against Unjust Laws"
brief excerpts only - full statement available at
http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/campaigns/houser.html
I first heard about plans for the Defiance Campaign when a
long-time friend of mine, Bill Sutherland, returned from a trip to
London in early 1952 with the news that a non-violent civil
disobedience campaign against racist laws was to take place in
South Africa soon. As believers in non-violence and as staunch and
active opponents of racism, we felt we should do something to
support the campaign. We contacted the ANC in Johannesburg and I
opened up a correspondence in early 1952 which grew steadily over
the next several months. The Joint Secretaries of the Campaign were
Walter M. Sisulu, the Secretary General of the African National
Congress, and Yusuf A. Cachalia, Secretary-General of the South
African Indian Congress. I wrote to them on CORE [Congress of
Racial Equality] letterhead and Sisulu replied on 26 March: "Your
letter of the 17th of March has been a source of great inspiration
to me. I am very delighted to learn that your organisation (CORE)
has taken such a great interest in the struggle for fundamental
human rights by my organization."
...
Through correspondence with Sisulu and Cachalia and by reading the
memoranda which began coming to me from the movement in South
Africa, I saw the plan for the Campaign develop. The first joint
meeting to lay the foundation for the effort took place on July 29,
1951, at the invitation of the ANC. At that time the organisations
involved committed themselves to "declare war" on apartheid laws
such as the pass laws, the Group Areas Act, the Separate
Representation of Voters Act, the Suppression of Communism Act, the
Bantu Authorities Act. Cachalia wrote me that in January 1952 the
ANC had written to Prime Minister Malan demanding the repeal of
certain apartheid laws, failing which mass action against racist
laws would begin. ,,,
In New York we felt we had enough information about the campaign to
make a decision on what we ought to do. We decided to set up an ad
hoc support group for the campaign and adopted the name Americans
for South African Resistance (AFSAR).
Our task, as we conceived it, was to be a vehicle for information
about the Campaign and to raise funds. The National Action
Committee in South Africa was calling for one million shillings by
the end of March. We decided we would do what we could, but over a
longer period of time, for we had no funds and were just getting
organised. Our first public activity was a mass meeting planned for
6 April in solidarity with the ANC and the SAIC of South Africa.
,,,
About 800 people attended our meeting held at Abyssinian Baptist
Church in Harlem where Adam Clayton Powell was minister. Speakers
were Powell, Canada Lee who had starred in the movie version of
"Cry, the Beloved Country", Vithal Babu, Secretary of the Indian
Congress Parliamentary Party in New Delhi, who was briefly in New
York, and Donald Harrington, minister of the Community Church. The
resolution of support for the South African Campaign, passed by
acclamation at the meeting, was sent to the Joint Action Committee
in South Africa, Prime Minister Nehru in India, Manilal Gandhi,
President Truman and Secretary of State Dean Acheson. With our note
to Walter Sisulu we sent our first check of $300 collected at the
meeting to support the campaign.
The meeting was followed by a motorcade of cars with protest
banners floating alongside from Harlem down to the South African
Consulate at 65th and Madison. ...
The civil disobedience began on 26 June. A group of 52 were
arrested at the Boksburg "Native" Location, 20 miles from
Johannesburg. Led by Nana Sita, the president of the Transvaal
Indian Congress, they had broken the law by trying to enter the
Location without a pass giving them permission. A second group were
arrested in Johannesburg at 11.30 p.m. for defying the curfew
regulations. This was led by Flag Boshielo of the ANC who said to
the police: "We are nonviolent fighters for freedom. We are going
to defy regulations that have kept our fathers in bondage." ...
Both Sisulu and Cachalia were arrested on 26 June. Nelson Mandela,
who was the Volunteer-in-Chief for the campaign and the president
of the ANC Youth League, was arrested the evening of 26 June. Other
leaders of the ANC and SAIC were arrested within a few days,
including Dr. Dadoo, president of the Indian Congress, Moses Kotane
of the National Executive of the ANC, and J.B. Marks, president of
the African Mineworkers` Union. ,,,
Our sources of information about the Campaign were several - the
bulletins arriving from South Africa, continued correspondence,
some press reports in American papers such as the New York Times,
but most important was Prof. Z. K. Matthews. He arrived in New York
in late June 1952 to take up his position as the Henry Luce
Visiting Professor of World Christianity at Union Theological
Seminary, a post which was to continue for one year. I made contact
very soon with Matthews and we saw each other frequently. He shared
the stream of information coming to him from South Africa ,,, With
this kind of data we began to issue bulletins at least once a month
about the progress of the Campaign. The information coming from
Matthews was treated anonymously. ...
In 1952 the General Assembly of the United Nations began its
session in October. Spurred by the Defiance Campaign, India took
the lead in calling for an agenda item which for the first time
would deal with the whole racial conflict in South Africa. ... Z.K.
Matthews give expert testimony to the Committee relevant to its
consideration of the issue. ... The U.S. made clear it would vote
against Matthews` appearance. ...
Up to December 16, 1952, the total number arrested in the Campaign
was 8,057, of which 5,719 were in the Eastern Cape, 423 in Western
Cape, 1,411 in Transvaal, 246 in Natal and 258 in the Orange Free
State.
The government was bound to respond to the growing impact of the
Campaign with severe measures, and it did so toward the end of
1952. It passed the Public Safety Act and the Criminal Laws
amendment Act. Dr. R. T. Bokwe, the brother-in-law of Z.K.
Matthews, wrote to me on 30 December saying that no meetings of
more than ten people were allowed in African locations or reserves.
Practically all African leaders, including himself, had been served
letters from the Minister of Justice forbidding them from attending
gatherings. He told me that he could not even attend a church
service.
On April 15, 1953, elections (for whites) were held in South
Africa, the first since the Nationalists came to power in 1948.
They strengthened their hold on the government by increasing their
majority in parliament. Apartheid was extended also. The Population
Registration Act was passed, requiring all people in South Africa
to register with the government by race. Plans were laid for
eliminating Sophiatown, an area of the city where Africans could
own land, and creating the area now called Soweto.
The Defiance Campaign came to an end. We in AFSAR had a series of
meetings to decide whether we should disband, set up a more
permanent organisation dealing with South Africa or establish
something even broader. We decided on the third course. Thus AFSAR
was transformed into an organisation which would relate to the
whole anti-colonial struggle in Africa. The name chosen for this
new entity was the American Committee on Africa. [Transcribed from
tape. From E.S. Reddy collection.]
+++++++++++++++++++++Document Profile+++++++++++++++++++++
Date distributed (ymd): 030509
Region: Continent-Wide
Issue Areas: +political/rights+ +US policy focus+
The Africa Action E-Journal is a free information service provided
by Africa Action, including both original commentary and reposted
documents. Africa Action provides this information and analysis in
order to promote U.S. and international policies toward Africa
that advance economic, political and social justice and the full
spectrum of human rights.
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