Conference on "International Anti-Apartheid Movements in South Africa´s Freedom Struggle: Lessons for Today"
10-13 October 2004, University of KwaZulu-Natal, International Convention Centre, Durban
Mr Chairman,
Dear Comrades and Friends,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
25 years ago I moved to Southern Africa to take up my new job in Gaborone as Head of Swedish SIDA in Botswana and Lesotho. The political situation in the region was tense and difficult. One of my tasks was to act as liaison and channel for the Swedish humanitarian support to the liberation movements, particularly the ANC. This sup-port was already at that stage substantial and covered both the ”home front” and the offices and refugee settlements abroad. Chris Hani was then leading the ANC activities in Lesotho. We met regu-larly over the next couple of years, as well as later on in Angola, and I will never ever forget his enormous strength as a political leader and his deep commitment to the difficult struggle against apartheid and for a free South Africa. In fact, as I see it, very few people can match him in terms of leader-ship qualities and moral strength.
At the time, the Frontline States – not least small and peaceful coun-tries such as Botswana and Lesotho - had to tread the road very carefully. The evil neighbour in South Africa did not hesitate to act forcefully and decisively against any perceived threat against the apartheid rule, which showed few open signs of its inherent weak-nesses. At one time there was a shoot-out in Gaborone between South African security agents and a few ANC comrades working underground in Botswana. On both sides people were wounded. One of my ANC friends – a young lady – tried to get treatment at the hospital, only to discover that the agents were already there for the same purpose. She then decided to come to my residence where she got care and treatment by private doctors over the next few days. This experience lead me to Dr Beyers Naudé, who had just started to become more operational in supporting the anti-apartheid struggle. Like Chris Hani he is another outstanding hero who played a vital role under very difficult circumstances. God bless them; I am sure they have a very special place in heaven because of all the good things they have done for South Africa.
Things got worse in the early and mid 1980s. Tensions escalated and open attacks took place in Gaborone, Maseru, Maputo and many other places, as well as of course – on a regular basis – inside South Africa.
For those of us who were involved during this period the memories and flash backs often come to mind. The struggle and the many vic-tims of the struggle made us even firmer and stronger in our intense efforts to broaden and solidify the international support for all those who were fighting against the apartheid system. Most of us thought that we would be in this for a very long time ahead. We saw – with considerable pride – that the international anti-apartheid movement went from strength to strength. But we did not see at that time enough cracks in the apartheid structure and we did not see or un-derstand that a complete turn-around was around the corner, just a few years away.
Mr Chairman,
Against this background it is almost unreal to stand here in front of you today, taking stock of the enormous and inspiring transformation that has taken place in this country over the last 10 years and dis-cussing lessons learnt from one of the most beautiful chapters in the history of international solidarity. Let me pay glaring tribute to all South African leaders who have been part of this transition. In addi-tion to the ANC leadership in particular this also includes leaders from the old regime, including F W DeKlerk, who were enlightened and courageous enough to understand that apartheid was doomed to death, giving way to a new democratic era in South Africa.
As Tor Sellström pointed out at the end of his intervention on Mon-day morning Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu have set the stage for the challenges confronting this conference. They were the first ones to point out that the international solidarity work, built up over several decades during the struggle against apartheid, and the close relationships growing out of this work, must continue. The aim should be for a second stage at the global level: how to use the experiences gained in intensifying a worldwide campaign in favour of a level pla-ying field between the North and the South; global peace, justice and development; as well as basic conditions for human rights around the world.
Let me in this context also refer to the address made by President Thabo Mbeki on 21 May 2004 when opening the Third Democratic Parliament in Cape Town. He the suggested “that per-haps the time has come for the emergence of a united movement of the peoples of the world that would come together to work for the creation of a new world order”, responding to “urgent need to address the concerns and interests of the billions on our universe who are poor and marginalized.”
Mr Chairman, Dear Friends,
It goes without saying that this linkage between the national and the global level is a very difficult task indeed. One of the main problems when we talk about global liberation is to identify the targets on the other side of the solidarity equation: who and what are we up against? This was not so difficult in the South African case and also explains the successes behind the international anti-apartheid move-ments. Apartheid was an evil system and was perceived as such by most people, who could easily be mobilized for the struggle against it. At the global level the targeting process is more complicated and the views among people more diverse. Having said that I would like to sketch out – in all modesty – five major areas, which I think could be part and parcel of the second solidarity stage and where lessons learnt from the past in South Africa could also be applied. I am not so sure about to what extent they represent a Nordic perspective; but I believe that the areas indicated have broad support in the Nordic countries.
(1) Peace and security in Africa; AfricaUnion (AU)
Only ten years ago conflicts in Africa were rampant and African capacity to deal with them was at a very low level. Today these things are changing: conflicts continue to exist but nearly all of them are now subject to Africa-led peace processes. The old and ineffi-cient OAU has been transformed into the new AU with strong lea-dership which takes responsible action and builds up African owner-ship-based capacity. Since early this year a Pan-African Parliament has been established and an AU Peace & Security Council is in place which is now engaged in trying to stave off dangerous conflicts. Darfur in Sudan is a case in point. The international community and the international solidarity movements should do everything they can to underpin these efforts. A strong AU and a strong political leader-ship in Africa is needed to build peace and stability and to avoid new genocides and human rights abuses on this continent. AU could also help pave the way for a stronger civil society which is often an asset not least in dealing with resource-related conflicts and defending ba-sic human rights. This common interest should of course include all situations where democracy and human rights are being undermi-ned, which unfortunately is still the case in some African countries, including Zimbabwe.
(2) UN and the principle of multilateralism
Looking at the global arena today I think few things can be more important than to strengthen the United Nations and defend the prin-ciple of multilateralism. We are all acutely aware of the threats which the world has been subjected to in this field over the last 2-3 years and which in the longer run can undermine world peace and security. For small nations in particular an inclusive multilateral system and a strong UN role is vital for the defense of common interests and of common global goods. The aftermath of the on-going conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the unfolding events in the Middle East, should make us even more determined to defend multilatera-lism and the UN. The huge physical wall now coming up between Israel and Palestine – which will lead to further division and segre-gation; so well known from the past to all South Africans – should be a major concern for all those who defend freedom, multilateralism and the UN.
(3) International trade and development
South Africa is today one of the countries in the South which – not least in the emerging close cooperation with India and Brazil – are trying to break new grounds when it comes to international trade and development. Here it is so obvious that the conventional wisdom needs to be challenged. At this stage of Africa´s development, rene-wed action on the trade and investment side is maybe even more important than development assistance. Without higher growth through a fair international and rule-based system and increased investments it will be very difficult to push back today´s poverty levels in Africa. Our strong sympathies should be with the Africans when they rightly criticise the enormous subsidies of farmers and agricul-ture in Europe, the US and Japan – amounting to some USD 350 billion per year or 5-6 times the annual level of total ODA to develo-ping countries; or when they show their frustrations about what they get out of their cash crop production. Fortunately, when it comes to these important questions, the international solidarity movement seems to be very much alive and kicking. There is also some move-ment regarding the equally important question of trying to find common international ground for replacing today´s inefficient and cumbersome aid delivery system with some kind of international taxation.
(4) HIV/AIDS
The single most negative factor in South Africa´s development during the last decade – as well as in most Southern African countries – is, as I see it, the negative consequencies of the unfolding HIV/AIDS crisis. The HIV prevalence rate is in some countries approching 30-40%, the death tolls have reached totally unaccaptable levels, the number of orphans is building up very rapidly, the official health sector is crumbling under the increasing burden and all economic sectors are negatively affected, impacting heavily on economic growth and development. Obviously the political leadership in South Africa and Africa can do a lot more – hopefully inspired by Nelson Mandela and Kenneth Kaunda who both have a cristal clear and full apprehension of the problem - to deal with and counteract these consequences. Maybe the most important thing is to engage young people in the campaign work and be much more open about their needs for protection and their sexual and reproductive health. This whole area is today screaming for a second stage-type international solidarity and we should not hesitate to respond as fully as we possibly can.
(5) Education, research and the role of intellectuals
At this stage of Africa´s development a strong push should be made for vigorous efforts to strengthen education at all levels and research cooperation, as well as a more active and constructive participation by African intellectuals. These elements played a crucial role within the solidarity frameworks during the liberation struggle. Constructive intellectual input and criticism is needed in shaping up Africa´s re-naissance and future. This message came out strongly at CO-DESRIA´s 30th Anniversary in December last year and was a major theme at last week´s Conference of Intellectuals from Africa and the Diaspora (CIAD). One of the best guides for the future in this respect – in spite of his high age – is Joseph Ki-Zerbo, an outstanding African intellectual and also a friend and mentor when it comes to my own involvement with Africa. Maybe African intellectuals, together with the international solidarity movements, could take the lead in trying to make Thabo Mbeki’s bold vision a reality: the emergence of a united movement of the peoples of the world coming together for the creation of a new world order.
Mr Chairman,
Having very briefly referred to these five major areas I would like to mention two crossborder aspects, which were vitally important for the international solidarity movement during the anti-apartheid struggle. One is the continuous need to look at the broad picture, to concen-trate on the important factors which can really unify and rally people behind strong movements and a common international front; or – putting it the other way around - to avoid falling into the trap of competitive division based on petty arguments and small-minded interventions. The other aspect is the strong need to build up strong inter-action and communication net-works; a point, which is much easier to deal with now than for only 10-15 years ago thanks to internet and ICT-related progress on all fronts.
Mr Chairman,
Coming to the end of my intervention I wish to make one thing very clear – and here I think that I can also talk about a Nordic perspec-tive: in our future work regarding Africa and in our continued efforts to sustain and strengthen our partnership with Africa the special rela-tionship with South Africa will always be a main pillar. We stand to-gether on a rock solid base of friendship and solidarity. We have common interests and common concerns in so many areas: in the work for peace and security in Africa, in fighting poverty, in the de-fence of multilateralism and the UN system and in trying to build up a better and more fair system for international trade. It will be our and my pleasure to work closely with South Africa on all these fronts also in the future.
I thank you