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Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Program of action of the Dutch Anti Apartheid Movement 1970-77

Berend Schuitema founder of the 
Dutch Anti Movement 1970




     While Breyten and I were underground in South Africa in the South African winter of 1975, he was arrested; a few weeks later, after ducking and diving to shake the police off my tracks, I managed to escape via Botswana, and eventually through the good offices of the Botswana security chief Pilane, made contact with Oliver Tambo in Lusaka. Tambo was not at all fazed by the developments and was of the opinion that we were still in a position to turn the tables on Apartheid through a trial, that is, that Breyten would place Apartheid on trial rather than Apartheid reduce him to apologizing and neutralizing him. It is clear that neither Breyten, Tambo nor I were aware what sort of cards the Colonel (later Brigadier) Kalfie  Broodryk was throwing on the table from the Security Police side. He played his cards well with what his intelligence had on the state of affairs of the ANC in exile. The entire left, and in particular the white opposition were hit for a six out of the ballpark by the way in which Breyten was cornered and handled his trial in late 1976.

     Within days of my arrival in  Amsterdam after six months in the wilderness, I discovered that the AABN, the movement I was credited for having “founded” was taken over by the Dutch Communist Party (CPN). The so-called “Medical Committee of Angola”, a staunchly CPN outfit with a large organized membership occupied the AABN offices, changed locks, and immediately set about attacking all those involved with the O.R. Tambo initiative as “reactionaries”, “nationalists”. This meant at the same time the complete disruption of all program and activities of the AABN for the next three years. From then on the AABN merely acted on command of the SACP and later was even drawn into the comedy of fools called Operation Vula.
Thirdly, while these fights were going on in Amsterdam, the so-called “Gang of 8” ANC members who were aligned against the outcome of the SACP-dominated Morogoro Conference, were expelled in Dar Es Salaam.

We were hit, and hit hard from all sides, by the SACP, their surrogates and also by the South African Security Police!!

     I was able to rescue a number of documents from this blazing contention, including the proposal to the Dutch Government for funding for the year’s program of 1976-’77. This document was forwarded by the “new” AABN leaders but rejected out of hand by the Dutch Government.  

     There are two reasons why I believe that it is important to reveal the contents of the application. First, it accurately demonstrates a movement going at full speed with an almighty program of action which was unique among all international partners in what has all too glibly became known as the “global anti apartheid movement”. For years I could live with the facts and believed that history has its casualties and that the old AABN was merely one of them. However, decades on, given the poor level of governance today, the wrecking of government delivery through the “cadre deployment program”, nepotism, favouritism and corruption tells us a lot about the character of the ANC that was formed during the exile years.

     The second reason is to resurface many of the documentary evidence of the nature of the initial Anti Apartheid Movement in the Netherlands, such as the Zephyr, Tobacco, Sishen-Saldanha, and Mobil Oil/Shell reports. There is no more trace of them in the archives, let alone the records of proceedings of the first AABN administration from 1972 – t0 1977. For the most, I believe, and according to the unearthed application document to the Dutch Government for funds, I have succeeded in setting the record straight.

     While I was successful, but not entirely, in garnering lost and destroyed documents reflecting some of the most strident activities in the exile terrain, not everything has been “resurrected”. My Comrade Don Morton in the United States still had possession of the Mobil/Shell report which I transcribed from the originals. Another cornerstone document was secured by Breyten himself: microfilms detailing every aspect of the sales and maintenance deals between South Africa and France. The Mirage microfilms were taken by Tambo who placed them in safekeeping of Frene Ginwala. Likewise the boxes full of nuclear conspiracy documents which were “liberated” by Okhela comrades from the South African Embassy in Bonn never again saw the daylight once taken possession of by the ANC.

     What further complicated matters was that Okhela as such was never an “organization”, but rather a loosely connected network of militants dispersed in various Anti Apartheid Movements and mainly in the Netherlands, but also in France, United States, Germany, and smaller places like the Principality of Liechtenstein.

     In italics therefore the saved document which at least gives a backbone to reconstruct a considerable amount of anti apartheid activity in exile that was being “air brushed” by the SACP.

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THE APPEAL FOR FUNDING FROM THE DUTCH LABOUR GOVERNMENT 1976/77:

Description: Application for funds for research work of the Dutch Anti Apartheid Movement (AABN) with the National Commission for Development Cooperation of the Dutch government. This application did not touch on the program for action, but purely for research work underpinning the program work.

In the general comment and introduction the application described the organization with mission statement as "The AABN is a Foundation with five executive members that aims to contribute, directly or indirectly to eradicate social discrimination on grounds of race or other differences, on the basis of the 1948 Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man of the United Nations".
Examples are mentioned:

1.. Publication of the Zephyr Report - 1973
2.. Publication of the Tobacco Report - 1974
3.. The Saldanha/Sishen Report - 1975.

The Executive Committee of the AABN:
1.. Dr. Piet van Andel - Chairperson
2.. Secretary / full time - Berend Schuitema
3.. Deputy Chairperson - Drs. Jaap de Visser
4.. Treasurer - IJ Dijkstra
5.. Research: Drs. Ton Korver

Task Teams:

1. Information dissemination
2.. Trade Unions / Corporations
3.. Rhodesia / Namibia
4.. NATO / EEC

The funding application was specific to the first three and not for the fourth (NATO/EEC). The third, (Rhodesia / Namibia) is the show piece with the following comment:
"The Task Team is well networked with trade unions, and assisted the Industrial Union of the NVV to establish a solidarity fund for Namibian workers. The main activity of this Task Team was to push through with the program established at a Rhodesia Sanction Seminar held in late 1974, which was attended by Sanctions Commission of the UN, and components of the AAM from other countries".

Working methodology:

"Once a week there is a meeting to coordinate the work of the Task Teams where all executive members plus coordinators of these Task Teams and office staff attend".

"Apart from the prestige of the AABN for well researched documentation, recognition for its work has gained international acclaim. The AABN has established itself and its work has become integral with the UN General Assembly Special Committee on Apartheid, the Sanctions Committee of the General Assembly and the Decolonization Committee of 24) and the Commission on Namibia. In 1974 the AABN was invited as NGO to the UNESCO conference against Apartheid in Paris, and the Committee of 24 in Lisbon.

"The research work of the AABN was also praised outside of the UN. Bishop Muzorewa (ANC Zimbabwe) was full of praise for the sanctions busting exposures in his address at the meeting of Commonwealth countries held in Jamaica. The British The Economist ran an article on the "extraordinarily well-documented sanctions busting".

THE TASK TEAMS

I. INFORMATION

Kier Schuringa functions as the coordinator of the team, but the application for extension of funding for a fulltime worker (Fulco Aurich) who would do the garnering and filing of information.

A. Job description of the Task Team:
a.. control of documentation
b.. internal communication between the Task Teams
c.. prepare and distribute a regular briefing newsletter - Kommunikee
d.. production and distribution of the monthly Anti Apartheid Nieuws
e.. prepare and distribute pamphlets and brochures.

B. Activities:

1974:

  • Anti Apartheid Nieuws - published monthly, nrs. 63 - 70. Circulation - 3,000 copies. Was meant for subscribers who donated a minimum 10 Dfl. There was collaboration with the International Defence and Aid Fund in London.
  • Kommunikee - published monthly, Jan through to December. Meant for members of parliament, trade unionists and foreign readers, including quite a number which went over the post to unionists in South Africa.Circulation - 300. 
  • Brochures - Rhodesia? Zimbabwe! For sale at third world workshops.
  • Exhibitions - Prepared for the Anne Frank Foundation and on tour throughout the Netherlands.


1975:

  • Anti Apartheid Nieuws - continue regular monthly, target 3,500
  • Kommunikee - publish monthly, target 350 circulation
  • Pamphlets - Apartheid (32 pp); For a Free Namibia (32 pp) in conjunction with the Industrial Union NVV; The Emerging Black Unions (32 pp.) Solidarity Fund SACTU; Bantustans (32 pp); plus a few more.

C. Future Prospects

Thanks to previous funding from the NCO - prospects good


II. TRADE UNION / CORPORATIONS TASK TEAM

A. Task outline

Pim Juffermans was coordinating the Task Team as a fellow of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam. Three main fields of activity:

  • Economic developments around foreign investments in South Africa.
  • Information on developing black trade unions in South Africa
  • Information on Dutch and international labor movement programs against Apartheid.


B. Activities:

1974:

  • Conference documentation / Liberation struggle in Southern Africa (119pp)
  • Translation and editing of Ruth First's "The South African Connection" 205 pp)
  • The role of the international trade union movement in the struggle against Apartheid (80 pp.)


1974/1975

  • Solidarity fund for SACTU (61 pp)
  • Saldanha/Sishen Report / three languages (20)
  • Banks and Apartheid (ready, due for publication)
  • Sanctions against Rhodesia (ready, due for publication)
  • Nuclear Report (research in progress)


C. Future prospects:

Problem is that the Pim Juffermans fellowship with the TNI ends in 1976.
Investment / disinvestments debate crucial with many developments.

III. RHODESIA / NAMIBIA TASK TEAM

A. Outline tasks:

Coordination of this Task Team is done by Advocate Annemieke Gerritmsa. Main terrain is tightening law on sanctions against Rhodesia. The activity is broken down into:
• International law/jurisprudence regarding the people of Rhodesia and Namibia.
• International law/jurisprudence regarding labour law as it affects Rhodesia and Namibia.
• Investigate the international / legal status of liberation struggle.

B. Activities:
(page missing)

IV. NATO/EEC TASK TEAM

Investigate political and military relations, military collaboration and arms sales to South Africa.         (Refers to the Mirage documents)


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