From: Sechaba, September 1967
At the United Nations, representatives of the governments and peoples of the world have, with one clear and unmistakable voice, condemned and denounced apartheid, racial discrimination and colonialism. International and other organisations and institutions, although varying widely in their functions and objectives, have yet been united by a common hostility to the inhuman policies practised by the white minority governments in southern Africa.
But the only reaction shown by the white rulers to world opinion and to the persistent demands of the ruled, has been to resort to naked brutality in the methods of repression, to intensify apartheid and extend the area of its enforcement, and to increase the effectiveness of the machinery of exploitation.
There is now no longer any doubt that it will take a great deal more than strongly-worded resolutions - not to mention patient negotiations at round-table conferences - to rid southern Africa of the terror of colonial and white minority rule. What could have been settled in the past by a few, through calm and peaceful discussions, must now be resolved by the oppressed masses in widespread armed conflict. In terms of the situation in southern Africa, this development must be seen for what it truly is: the beginning of a racial war in Africa which will rapidly escalate into an international confrontation of measureless dimensions.
This makes it all the more important that the issues involved should be clear to all concerned, the true facts amply canvassed, and the world public kept fully informed on the development of this noble struggle for human dignity and majority rule.
Already the South African Government is counting no expense too high in its bid to confuse, mislead and silence international opposition to its rabid racism, ruthless exploitation and brutal repression. At a cost of over £1,000,000 a year, the fascists of South Africa are flooding governments, organisations and individuals with propaganda material which seeks to present apartheid South Africa as a haven of peace - not a powder keg; as an enviable paradise - not the world's blackest spot, whose rulers feel they need a military budget of £110,000,000 a year, a Sabotage Act, a Terrorism Act, a 180-day detention law and a busy gallows in order to stay in power; as a country enjoying the benefits of so-called white leadership - not an island of desperate racist gangsters trapped in the rising sea of the African revolution. And already, the very word "apartheid" is beginning to sound musical in the ears of those who have nothing but Vorster's sugar-coated propaganda pills to swallow. The African National Congress journal Sechaba, published monthly, is a vehicle of the truth the racists will not tell, and an authentic source for the views and aspirations of the victims and opponents of white tyranny in southern Africa. It is the mouthpiece of the poor, for, unlike our exploiters, we have no funds; but like them we have our friends and they are many. We wish to ensure informed support for our struggle in all its unfolding phases both in apartheid South Africa and in the whole of southern Africa.
We appeal to you: