ANC Today --------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 3, No. 20, 23 - 29 May 2003 --------------------------------------------------------------------- THIS WEEK: * Letter from the President:A celebration of our continent and its peoples * Western Sahara: The struggle of Africa's last colony continues * Enoch Sontonga: Composer of African anthem honoured --------------------------------------------------------------------- LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT A celebration of our continent and its peoples On Sunday, May 25, we will mark Africa Day, the anniversary of the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). But this will be a special Africa Day, as it will be the 40th Anniversary of the OAU. A worthy predecessor of the African Union (AU), we are proud of the role the OAU played to help create the conditions for us to advance to the establishment of the AU, and the initiation of its development programme, NEPAD. Africa Day must therefore be an occasion when we celebrate what would have been the fortieth birthday of our first continental organisation. Beyond this, Africa Day provides us with the opportunity to celebrate our continent and our peoples. For us, as Africans, Africa Day means that our entire continent has an opportunity to join together in a united affirmation of our confidence in ourselves, and our future. The OAU was born after an intense struggle had raged throughout Africa about which of two postures our continent would adopt, in the new situation of the collapse of colonialism and the accession of our countries to independence. This led to the emergence of the competing Monrovia and Casablanca groups, representing the 'conservative' and the 'radical' tendencies in the African liberation struggle. But in the end, independent Africa decided that our continent faced a common challenge about which there was no disagreement. Now that Africa was progressing towards its total emancipation, our leaders and peoples realised that they shared a common determination to work for the achievement of the goal of African unity. This was a direct negation of what colonialism had done, to separate Africans one from the other, detached from one another by colonial boundaries that were born of bargains struck among European imperialist powers, and imposed on the peoples of Africa. Throughout the painful period of colonial domination, and the necessary emergence of country-specific movements for national liberation within the entities defined by the colonial boundaries, the peoples of our continent never lost their sense of being African. Their shared suffering at the hands of the colonial powers, and the fact that they were united by their common struggle for national liberation, reinforced the sense of a common identity as Africans. This sense of common identity was reinforced by the positions independent Africa took from the very start, that no African country could be genuinely free until all African countries secured their liberation. At the forefront of this perspective were important African leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, King Mohamed V of Morocco, Modibo Keita of Mali, Abdel Gamal Nasser of Egypt, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, Sekou Toure of Guinea, and Ahmed Ben Bella of Algeria. It is a matter of great honour and pride to us that Ahmed Ben Bella, the last remaining founder of the OAU, will be with us as we celebrate its 40th anniversary. We are also very pleased that the President of Mali and successor to Modibo Keita, will also join us on Africa Day. The positions taken by the founders of the OAU emphasised the perspective of the shared destiny of the peoples of Africa. It highlighted the correctness and central importance of the historic motto of the progressive trade union movement of our country - an injury to one is an injury to all! This OAU position was of critical importance to the advancement of our own struggle. As the apartheid regime resorted to extreme repression, starting with the banning of our movement in 1960, independent Africa provided us with a rear base. This enabled us to defeat the enemy offensive and to position ourselves to resume the counteroffensive that finally led to the victory of the democratic revolution in 1994. We must salute the OAU for its contribution to this historic outcome. It established the political basis that informed the approach of its member states to the struggle for the total liberation of Africa, including our country. It created its own Committee for the Liberation of Africa, the Liberation Committee, which played a critical role as a partner of all the African liberation movements, including our own. For us, the celebration of the OAU must necessarily also be a moment to pay special salute to the OAU Liberation Committee. It will give us the possibility to acknowledge the early support we received from a number of African countries, as soon as we reached out to them after the banning of our movement and the decision to resort to armed struggle. Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and Ethiopia did not hesitate to extend support to us as we began the process of building the people's army, Umkhonto we Sizwe. Tanganyika, and later, Tanzania, provided us with the possibility to establish the first headquarters of our External Mission. Our headquarters later moved to Lusaka, Zambia, where it remained for two decades. The occasion of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the OAU will also give us an opportunity to pay a special tribute to the countries of Southern Africa. In addition to Tanzania and Zambia, these include Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. We should never forget that the countries and peoples of our region made enormous sacrifices to contribute to our liberation. They lost lives and property and had their possibilities for development severely undermined, because of the campaign of aggression and destabilisation conducted by the apartheid regime to compel them to abandon their support for the liberation of our people. However, despite the terrible pain they had to bear, they never departed from the perspective pronounced by the OAU at its foundation - that they could not be free until our own people were free. Through its criminal actions, the apartheid regime made certain that our sister peoples understood this clearly, that they could only enjoy peace, stability and development once we joined them as a liberated African people. Our oppressors had thought that terror by a powerful neighbour would force the countries of our region to abandon their principled positions and their loyalty to the purposes of the OAU. In the end, they learnt the important lesson that the more intense their terrorist campaign, the more determined the resolve of the peoples of our region became, to help bring an end to the regime of terror. Our own people, subjected to the same campaign of state terror, responded as their brothers and sisters did throughout our region. In struggle, they upheld the perspective of the OAU that Africa had to be free. In the same way that the apartheid regime and its international supporters failed to intimidate the countries and peoples of our region, so did they fail to defeat our movement and our struggle for liberation. The tribute we will extend to the countries and peoples of Africa we have mentioned will also cover other countries on our continent, such as Nigeria, Uganda and Madagascar, which also made special and specific contributions to our liberation. We will also have to recognise the role played by the African Diaspora, which treated our struggle as its own, constituting an important contingent of the global movement of solidarity with our people, for the destruction of the apartheid system. As the modern African intelligentsia in our country began to emerge in the middle of the 19th century, it raised the issue of the shared destiny of the peoples of Africa and their need to unite. One of these, the Rev Tiyo Soga, did not hesitate to express these views. Soon enough, this intelligentsia, a product of missionary education and, consequently, converts to Christianity, began to assert the right of its people to emancipation from colonial and white minority domination. It was no accident that it worked to constitute its own independent African churches. Neither was it an accident that this movement identified itself with Ethiopia, the one country on our continent that had managed to maintain its independence even in the face of the determined European scramble for Africa. In addition, these early leaders of our people constituted the Ethiopian Movement to express the fact that they not only sought the liberation of their people, but also the recovery of their identity and dignity as Africans, not defined by colonial boundaries. It is out of these processes that our organisation, the African National Congress, was born. It came into being as a pan-African movement, committed to the same objectives that the OAU proclaimed at its founding in 1963. At its foundation, it drew representatives from the various countries of Southern Africa. The traditional leaders of our region became its patrons. In time, liberation movements in various parts of our region adopted the name, the African National Congress. When we adopted "Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika" as our anthem, this became the anthem of the struggling peoples of our region. Later, many of the leaders in Southern Africa came out of our movement, including our Youth League. When the time came for them to make a decisive contribution to our liberation, they demonstrated that they were unwavering adherents of the pan- African perspective that informed the African National Congress from its very foundation in 1912. In 1962, ahead of the establishment of the OAU, at the request of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), our movement sent a group of nurses to Tanganyika, to help this sister country to attend to the health of her people as the British colonialists withdrew their personnel, as Tanganyika gained her independence. In this way, even as we remained an oppressed people, we made the statement practically, that we were committed to do what we could to work with our African brothers and sisters to contribute to their development, as they were committed to do everything they could to contribute to our liberation. What Tiyo Soga had said, and what the Ethiopian Movement in our country had projected, in the 19th century, was beginning to find its practical expression. The OAU has given way to the AU, as the Ethiopian Movement gave way to the ANC. The work done by the OAU has given us the possibility to achieve further advances in the task to achieve the political and economic integration of our continent. Because of what it has done, today we have powerful instruments to take us forward towards Africa's renaissance - the AU and NEPAD. As our organisation emerged out of the Ethiopian Movement, and enjoyed the support of the modern Ethiopian Movement represented by the OAU, so must it now play its role as an energetic component part of the all-African movement for the total liberation of our continent, which played a critical role in the achievement of our emancipation. To achieve the goals of the reconstruction and development of our country, we have to make our determined contribution to the reconstruction and development of the rest of our continent, by helping to ensure the success of the AU and its development programme, NEPAD, including the mobilisation of the African masses to take the task of Africa's renaissance into their hands. As we engage this important challenge, and on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the OAU, together we must say - glory to the Organisation of African Unity! Ma luphakanyisw' udumo lwayo! Thabo Mbeki --------------------------------------------------------------------- WESTERN SAHARA The struggle of Africa's last colony continues In the week that Africa celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the people of Western Sahara marked a milestone in their struggle for national independence. It is thirty years since the Saharawi people united under the Polisario Front, on 20 May 1973, to fight for freedom from colonial rule. Known as Africa's last colony, Western Sahara has been occupied by Morroco for almost three decades, taking over the country after the departure of the Spanish colonial administration. In a message sent to the Polisario Front this week, ANC Secretary General Kgalema Motlanthe said the founding of the Polisario Front and the launch of the struggle for national liberation should be remembered as another defining moment in the long history of anti-colonial struggles in Africa. "The ANC once more pledges its solidarity with the legitimate struggle of the Saharawi people for freedom and national independence," he said. The ANC 51st National Conference in Stellenbosch in December last year resolved to urge the South African government to take special initiatives to advance the process to reach an early settlement in Western Sahara. "We call on the international community to ensure the speedy and full implementation of the United Nations resolutions providing for the decolonisation and self-determination of the Saharawi Republic," Motlanthe said. He said the ANC was proud of the historic relations between the movement and the Polisario Front, and remain committed allies in the ongoing struggle for national liberation on our continent. The people of Western Sahara have lived under colonialism by European countries and under the expansionism of Morocco for more than 400 years. A treaty in 1904 laid down the definitive limits of the Spanish territories in the area, establishing the present-day borders of Western Sahara. As a response to colonial oppression and economic exploitation, the people of Western Sahara, created the Popular Front for the liberation of Saguia El Hamra and Rio De Oro - the Polisario Front - to take forward the fight for the decolonisation of Western Sahara. At its Second Congress, in August 1974, the Polisario Front called for the independence of the territory and the creation of a non-aligned Arab Republic. It also decided to pursue the path to armed struggle as a means to achieve these aims, given the refusal by Spain to hold talks with genuine representatives of the Saharawi people. As a result of Spain's internal problems and realising that the independence of Western Sahara was inevitable, Spain started in 1975 to implement a rapid policy to prepare the Saharawi people in its colonial territories for self- administration. But Morocco wanted control of Western Sahara. On 14 November 1975, the Tripartite Accords of Madrid were signed between Spain, Morocco and Mauritania. Under the terms of this agreement, signed with the backing of the United Sates, Spain handed over the administration of the territory of Western Sahara to Morocco and Mauritania. Given the conflicting claims on the territory, the issue was referred to the International Court in The Hague. The court rule in favour of the Saharawis's claim to self-determination and denied the claims of Mauritania and Morroco. This formed the basis of UN Resolution 1540 which reaffirmed the right of self- determination of Western Sahara. This did not end the Moroccan occupation, and during the course of the next few years the Polisario Front was engaged in open warfare with the Moroccan occupation forces. The Saharawi people nevertheless proclaimed a republic. To date, more than 75 countries have given the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic official recognition and diplomatic status. In 1984, Western Sahara was admitted as a fully-fledged member of the OAU, which led Morocco to withdraw from the organisation. This fighting continued until a ceasefire was achieved in 1991. Under UN resolutions a referendum was to be held to decide on the future of Western Sahara. Under the initial plan, a referendum was to be organised in January 1992. However, progress has consistently been stalled by Morocco. The UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara has now largely completed its task of drawing up a roll of the 200,000 Saharawis eligible to vote in the envisaged referendum. It also polices the ceasefire, whereby the Moroccan forces are confined behind a sand wall in the West of the territory and the Polisario Front fighters are able to move around the rest of the zone. The UN and a number of humanitarian organisations also provide support to about 160,000 Saharawis living in refugee camps in Algeria. Yet despite UN resolutions that Morocco's occupation is illegal and ongoing international efforts to hold a referendum and reach a settlement, Morocco continues its defiant and illegal occupation. The struggle of the Polisario Front and the Saharawi people continues. In his message, Motlanthe recalled the words of the ANC's former president, Oliver Tambo, who in 1987 said: "We have no doubt that the struggle of the people of Western Sahara will be victorious." --------------------------------------------------------------------- ENOCH SONTONGA Composer of African anthem honoured The composer of Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika, Enoch Sontonga, is being honoured as part of Africa Day celebrations being held in Johannesburg on 25 May. Written in 1897 as a hymn, the anthem reflects the same vision of a united Africa for which the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was formed 40 years ago. For many years, Sontonga's life and contribution to a united African identity went unacknowledged. It was not until Heritage Day in 1996 that his grave, unidentified for many years, was declared a national monument. On that day President Nelson Mandela posthumously bestowed the Order of Meritorious Service (Gold) on Enoch Sontonga. His early life was not well known. From the Mpinga clan, Enoch Mankayi Sontonga was born in the Eastern Cape in about 1873. It is believed that he received training as a teacher at Lovedale Institution and was then sent to a Methodist Mission school in Nancefield, near Johannnesburg. He was also a choirmaster and a photographer. He married Diana Mgqibisa, the daughter of a prominent minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She died in 1929, in Johannesburg. Sontonga died at the age of 32. Sources differ about the year of his death, ranging from 1897 to 1904. It has since been established that he died on 18 April 1905. Sontonga wrote the first verse and chorus of Nkosi Sikelel' and also composed the music in 1897. It was first sung in public in 1899 at the ordination of Rev Boweni, a Shangaan Methodist Minister. Sontonga's choir as well as other choirs sang this song around Johannesburg and Natal. On 8 January 1912, at the first meeting of the South African Native National Congress (SANNC), which later changed its name to the African National Congress, it was sung after the closing prayer. In 1925 the ANC officially adopted it as a closing anthem for its meetings. The song spread beyond the borders of South Africa and has been translated and adapted into a number of other languages. It is still the national anthem of Tanzania and Zambia and has also been sung in Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa for many years. In 1994 it became part of South Africa's national anthem. Nkosi Sikekel' was first recorded on 16 October 1923 by Solomon T. Plaatje accompanied by Sylvia Colenso on the piano. A well known Xhosa poet, S.E.K. Mqhayi, wrote a further seven verses. In 1927 the Lovedale Press, in the Eastern Cape, published all the verses in a pamphlet form. It was included in the Presbyterian Xhosa hymn book, Ingwade Yama-culo Ase-rabe in 1929. It was also published in a newspaper, Umtetela Wa Bantu on 11 June 1927 and in a Xhosa poetry book for schools. In 1994 the National Monuments Council became aware that Sontonga was possibly buried in the historical Braamfontein Cemetery in Johannesburg. The purpose of locating the grave was to have it declared as a national monument, which is the highest honour that can be bestowed on a site of such historical and cultural significance. Over the years, several unsuccessful attempts had been made to locate Sontonga's grave in Braamfontein cemetery. However, it was not the cemetery officials looked for an entry in the burial register under Enoch, rather than Sontonga, and looked at burial records for 1905, that success was achieved. The register at Braamfontein lists the date of burial as 19 April 1905 in Plot No 4885. Confirmation that this is indeed the grave of Enoch Sontonga was subsequently found in a notice in the newspaper, Imvo Zabantsundu, which stated that Enoch Sontonga had died unexpectedly on 18 April 1905 in Johannesburg. The newspaper report also noted that he was born in Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape and that he had one son. To establish exactly where Plot No 4885 was became a major undertaking. The search was complicated by the fact that during the early 1960s that particular section of the cemetery was levelled and landscaped. After a year of research the area in which the grave was located was identified. The Department of Archaeology at Wits University was contracted to do a shallow archaeological excavation to confirm the burial spacing. From all the information collected, a site plan was drawn identifying the plot considered to be the grave of Enoch Sontonga. On 24 September 1996, the grave of Enoch Sontonga was declared a national monument and a fitting memorial was unveiled. STOP PRESS: Following the publication of this article, the Department of Foreign Affairs announced that the posthumous award to Enoch Sontonga that was due to be conferred on 25 May 2003, will be awarded by President Thabo Mbeki on Heritage Day. --------------------------------------------------------------------- This issue of ANC Today is available from the ANC web site at: http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/anctoday/2003/at20.htm To receive ANC Today free of charge by e-mail each week go to: http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/anctoday/subscribe.html To unsubscribe yourself from the ANC Today mailing list go to: http://lists.anc.org.za/mailman/listinfo/anctoday