THE SOWETO uprising of 16 June 1976 signalled the beginning of the greatest rebellion in South rior to the present struggles that egan in 1984. On the morning of 16 June students from Soweto gathered at the Orlando West Junior Secondary school to rotest against compulsory educaion in the Afrikaans More than 10,000 had assembled by 7am.
South African police first attacked dea opened fire on it. Col Johannes demonstration with tear Keingeld, the white officer in charge, rst shot Hector Peterson dead with his solver and then opened fire with a cachine gun. He explained the decision resort to gun fire by the fact that: it das a more demoralising effect than a istol shot.' As news of the massacre spread arough Soweto buildings were seized, ricades erected, and battles with the alice began. By mid-atternoon 30,000 ople had joined the main demonstraFighting continued into the night ith Soweto completely sealed off from outside world.
That day shook South Africa to its Wing Africa all over sion of Angola.
Orlando
language.
certain gas and of rising areas for the police and armv.
Wing. The that 'only 250,000 ticipated in the uprising of Soweto. On 17 June solidarity march foundations. Discontent had been risallong black population as victories were achieved in dead in the African states to their north. Por- community. tugese rule in Angola and Mozambique collapsed and then Angolan and Cuban troops defeated the South African inva'Don't high itself students painted on the walls 'Victory is Urlando Mr LA. degrees. MPLA was the name of the organisation that had liberated Angola from the Rather than crushing the discon- was tent, as ine boull Alrican government had planned, the massacre of 16 June, and the resistance to it, set off months struggle throughout South Africa. On 17 June strikes began. Parts of Soweto became turned into 'no-go The police began random killings of black Students people in order to try to crush the uprisgovernment later admitted cils people had parfontein, also students at the University of Zululand demonstrated Elizabeth, and burnt the administration building. elsewhere.
by white students from the university of Witwatersrand materrandy 19 June almost 700 were place in Johanpolice attacks on the black A second wave of protests began in the Pretoria area on 21 June. Black schools were sprayed with the slogan pray, fight', 'Support Soweto.' By 23 June more than twenty townships had seen risings of differing On 6 July the government retreated teaching of Afrikaans. But by then this totally bypassed. another round of uprisings began in the area around Johannesburg.
By the beginning of August mass democratic organisation began to grow among the students in Soweto. On 2 August each school sent two representatives to a meeting at which the Soweto Representative Council (SSRC) was established. Similar counrapidly established in the black townships of Katlehong, Rand.
Mamelodi, Atteridgeville/Saulsville, Sibasa, Seshego, in the Vaal triangle and On 4 August the SSRC called mass demonstrations and strikes to demand regime. Up to 60 percent of black workers in parts of Johannesburg failed to turn up to work. On 23 August the SSRC issued a second call for a strike. Between 150,000 workers participated in it in the Johannesburg area.
On 13 September, in a strike call, half a million workers in the Johannesburg region stayed away from their jobs. On 15 September a further strike took place in Cape Town - with about a quarter of a million workers taking part. The strikes nesburg and Cape Town were gest in the country's history.
But on 1 November further strike by answered outside Soweto itself - The July movement had begun downwards.
But while mass strike action began to recede rising self-organisation conunued to grow lor some ume widespread strikes on 16 June VoIC 1977 commemorate nent, Soweto residents Soweto Local Authority Interim Committee - known as the Committee of Ten — it was seen as a step towards a popularly elected council. But although Port the Committee of Ten continued to exist, and wield political influence, members did not make a real effort to circumvent the obstacles set up by the
ich alliances outh Africa?
Nevertheless we do believe we have something to say, and with this in mind I would like to share some thoughts with you.
COSATU is first and foremost a trade union federation. It is an organisation that unites organised workers.
roots are on the factory floor, Its Pollie is its strength at the point of production its members are the producers of the wealth of our country.
is not enough to simply concern ourselves with factory issues. Nonpolitical unionism is not only undesirable, it is And this basic truth has become organised worker movement.
peace in bulent year in the history of our counry. It saw the emergence of levels of esistance to the apartheid state which have never been seen before. It saw a uling class floundering, a government directionless, and an economy ravaged py inflation ment.
FOSATU ¡tical direction.
SATU as a political relieve that COSATU has a responsibility to voice the political interests vorkers and also more broadly of the vorking class.
We therefore see COSATU as an ctive struggle. We see ourselves as a political orce at local, regional, and national resentative Council was the first ro of the street committees soweto in 1976 was not only an imse struggle in itself. It was the dress arsal for what is taking place today. No wonder Africa, son SO brates te racists of South Africa so fear it. General Secretary levels. And we therefore are forced to confront the following questions.
What sort of politics?
What sort of liberation are we seeking?
Who are our friends and allies in the struggle?
What are we fighting for?
What are we fighting against?
The political policy adopted recently by our Central Executive Committee aspect of their lives and within the communities where thev live. It is therefore imperative that the Federation should play a major role in the struggle for a nonracial and democratic society and that the Federation will not hesitate to take political action to protect and advance the interests of its members and the wider working class.' Clearly we see ourselves as part and parcel of the broad struggle against apartheid and racism. We see ourselves as full participants in the fight for democracy, justice, and peace in South 'Apartheid racism has gone hand in hand with our exploitation and suffering at the hands of the bosses.
Free enterprise has not been something separate and hostile to racism.
Affind yet our experience as workers has taught us more. Justice for us is not simply a beautiful phrase. It also means social justice, economic justice, political justice. It means freedom from hunger and poverty, the right to work. the right to proper housing, decent education system that would develop the human potential of our people. racism has gone hand in hand with our exploitation and suffering at the hands of the bosses. Free enterprise has not been something separate and hostile to racism. Despite the desperate attempts themselves from the present discredited regime, we have learnt one important lesson, that the root and fruit of the apartheid tree is the exploitation of Our most recent experiences at Gencor, Rand Mines, Haggie Rand all confirm this. It takes very little to unmask pursuit SUNC-DIOULS.
changed. Many lives of our members through the brutality of the mine bosses and repressive organs of the apartheid state: the SAP (South African Police) and army. To us the alliance between big business and the apartheid state is expressing the interests of Sullec VUIl freedom. We see it as our duty to make SHIe change the skin colour of our opwhich sees the bulk of workers continuwe therefore see it as our duty to promote working-class politics. A politics where workers interests are paramount in the At the same time we recognise that no struggle has ever involved one social force acting alone. We therefore have to ok carerany al our society to sec who are our allies.
This brings me to the other impor tant aspect of our polițical policy: 'the independent political interests of the working class shall be waged through ...taking up political struggles through our membership and structures at local, regional, and national levels as well as through disciplined alliances with prowhose interests are compatible with the organisational practices further the inus, firstly, to avoid isolating ourselves as workers and detining our triends and allies too narrowly, i.e., the danger of workerism; and secondly, to avoid subsuming ourselves in an incoherent mass defined 'freedom', i.e., the danger of populism; and thirdly, to choose our allies on the basis of what we know, Wildl has on abstracted principles of what is or is not a 'correct' approach, i.e., the danger of impractical but nice-sounding theories.
Thus when we look at our society we can broadly say that our allies fall into two groups. Firstly there are those we regard as close allies of the workers. These are the unemployed (there are more than three million); the rural poor tarm workers); and the militant black youth.
We believe that they share with us the desire for real freedom, for meaningful change. It is our experience that they are largely the brothers, sisters, children, and parents of our very own members. Their future and that of the 'We therefore see it as our duty to promote working-class politics.
paramount in the struggle.
workers are inseparably linked. Like us they want a meaningful transformation ot our societv of all those who share with us a hatred of the present system. It consists of all those who share with us a hatred of the of the present system. It consists of all those people oppressed by racism, ie the democratic forces amongst the white with our allies. But we believe that the widest possible unity is necessary to rid ourselves of the evils of apartheid. We may differ in the type of society we would like to see emerging in this country, but we believe we have enough in dress a few words to the intellectuals We ask you to put your learning skills and education at the service of the ployment, look at the housing crisis, the transport problems workers face Help expose the poverty wages paid and the pervasive influence of the big monopolies. If you are a doctor, serve the people, look at the problems of the working malnutrition, kwashiorkor, and health hazards at work.
But we believe that the direction of the workers' movement will develop workers on the factory floor and in the townships where they live. Accordingly the role of intellectuals will be purely a supportive one of assisting the greater generation of working-class leadership.
have generated a working-class leadermood or populist desire for ill-defined "freedom ship that is competent enough to debate its position and to direct the movement general, but in the real world we live in COSATU is forging closer ties with democratic community-based organisations. In particular we have a high regard for those communities which are building strong grassroots structures in the form of street committees. We see this as a major step forward and an imthat working class organisation on the facencourage this and see it as COSATU's policy for members and local structures to play an active role in building such structures. In many areas COŠATU locals are becoming a driving force in the growth of solidly based community organisapolicy we have chosen, as COSATU A polities where workers' strugglès are dependence. Nevertheless, our commitment to ending apartheid, the state of emergency, the release of comrade Nelson Mandela and all political prisoners, the unbanning of the banned organisa. nons, une end to lue pass laws has givel. us much in common with a wide range Undoubtedly the most important of Congress), a movement whose stature and influence is growing daily in South Africa. In the light of this, COSATU The talks were open and conducted that COSATU, as a representative of the working class, is seized with the task Socialist Action struggle, both organisation and as an essential compo. nent of the democratic forces of our country. Further, it is clear that in the specific conditions of our country it is inconceivable that political emancipation can be separated trom economic emancipation.
Therefore, while united in opposition to the entire apartheid system, there is a common understanding that victory must embrace more than formal 'We believe that the widest possible unity is necessary 1o rid ourselves of the evils of apartheid.
political democracy, and must involve a struggle for a society free from the chains of poverty, racism, and exploitation which would require a restructuring of the present economic system Obviously there is much more to say on this point. However the democratic nature of COSATU ensures that we first report back fully to our membership before going into detail on platforms such as this.
It was in 1960 that Macmillan spoke Africa. winds have become a hurricane. Even the corridors of parliament have felt them. When opposition leader Slabbert resigned from parliament, saying he saw no purpose in parliamentary debate, he was even the isolated white political establishment As COSATU we believe that change we take the lead in organising and mobilising not only in our factories but 'Our experience has taught us, firstly, to avoid isolating ourselves as workers and defining our friends and allies 1oo narrowly, ie the danger of workersim; and secondly to avoid subsuming ourselves in an incoherent mass • bring the lessons of solid organising to our people as a whole and especially • raise the issues of social, political, and economic transformation now and not leave it to some future • build workers to gain confidence in themselves and in their ability to lead understand the dual needs of form pro• organise the unorganised and build • through our activity and education programmes to develop an increasing. ly coherent political perspective anc programme for our federation.
following principles:
in building powerful, militant, and democratic organisation This strength will guarantee that worker aspirations will not be suppressed. Such organisation real Secondly, organised workers are not representative of the working class as a whole, but they constitute its The better the organisation the more powerful their weapon becomes and the greater will be their contribution to the strug gle of the working class and the opThirdly, we must draw all people into a programme of restructuring the economy and society as a whole in wealth of our society is democratically controlled "It is clear that in the specific conditions of our country it is inconceivable that political emancipation can be separated from economic emancipation.' and shared by all its people Politics for workers is not only the matter of changing governments. For workers it must go much further to break the chains of poverty and ex ploitation that bind our people at present. It is the struggle to liberate our people so that they can realise their
Socialist Action IF someone were to ask you which country had the biggest debts in the world, you would probably think of Brazil or Mexico.
You would be wrong. With net A vestment into the principal refuge for its profits Between alone the US exported $87.4 billion in long-term capital. In these years the income from foreign investment of
----- pull-quotes -----
•We see ourselves as full participants in the fight for democracy, justice, and