By Govan Mbeki
Published by Nolwazi Educational Publishing, Braamfontein (1996)
This UMRABULO focus on the United Democratic Front would not be complete without reference to the analysis of the mass struggles of the 1980's in this seminal work by the late cde Govan Mbeki.
In this book he argues that the defeat of apartheid was the result of systematic planning and the mobilisation of millions of people towards the objective of liberation. Mbeki shows that the single most important player in this struggle was the ANC. The book examines the reemergence of ANC after the Rivonia trial and traced developments leading to the Congress Alliance of the 1950's, the formation of the UDF and the mass mobilisation that forced the apartheid regime to the negotiation table.
The chapter dedicated to the United Democratic Front examines how the UDF came to assume the prominence it did during the 1980's and its relationship with the ANC. He argues that the relationship between the ANC and the UDF can best be explained by looking at the ANC's change in strategy towards the end of the 1970's. The ANC 1978/9 Strategic Review advocated 'mass mobilisation ... and the creation of the broadest possible national front for liberation.'
As a result of this review, the ANC since 1979 took on a number of tasks, including the establishment of mass organisations in the country, influencing those already formed and devising themes and slogans around which mass legal organisations could mobilise. Hence, from 1979, the January 8 statements outlined the theme for the coming year and set the tone for political mobilisation. Many UDF and affiliate activists from the 1980's recall the important role played by the January 8 statements in setting the agenda for mass mobilisation - including the call to make the country ungovernable and make apartheid unworkable.
Cde Govan Mbeki's very accessible book is amongst the emerging body of work that brings together the different strands of our struggle, and gives a more holistic picture of our history.
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