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Comparative (International) Management

Assignment # 01

Reviewed and submitted by: Mansoor Ali Seelro (A !III)

Apartheid

The anti-apartheid movement was an international effort to abolish (end) the decades-

old system of racial segregation in South Africa. (The word apartheid means

"separateness" in the South African language of Afrikaans.) Under apartheid, which

was formalized in 1948 by the Afrikaner Nationalist Party, minority whites were given

supremacy over nonwhites. The system further separated nonwhite groups from one

another so that mulattos (those of mixed race), Asians (mostly Indians), and native

Africans were segregated from whites. The policy was so rigid that it even separated

native Bantu (black) groups.

Apartheid did not allow blacks to vote, even though they were the majority population.

The system also was destructive to the society as a whole and drew protest at home and

abroad. However, the South African government maintained the system, claiming it

was the only way to keep peace among the country's various ethnic groups. In 1961 the

South African government withdrew from the British Commonwealth (an association

of self-governing countries) in a dispute over the issue.

Anti-apartheid

The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) was founded in 1960 to

campaign for the eradication of apartheid. AAM grew out of the Boycott Movement

which began in 1959. AAM, sometimes referred to as the British Anti-Apartheid

Movement, operated in Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). AAM did not cover

Northern Ireland which was covered by the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement. AAM

resolved to work for the total isolation of the apartheid system in South Africa and to

support those struggling against the apartheid system. AAM grew out of the Boycott

Movement when members saw the need for a more permanent organization. The AAM

drew its support from a country-wide network of local anti-apartheid groups, some of

which had previously been local boycott committees, from individual members and

from affiliated organizations such as trades union councils and constituency political

8/11/2019 Apartheid Movement

2/2

Comparative (International) Management

Assignment # 01

Reviewed and submitted by: Mansoor Ali Seelro (A !III)

parties. Professional and special interest groups arose which worked with the AAM as

did Local Authorities against Apartheid to co-ordinate local authority action. The AAM

co-operated with similar anti-apartheid groups which existed in many countries around

the world, exchanging information and meeting at international conferences. During the

1980s groups in Europe formed the Liaison Group of National AAMs in the European

Community in order to lobby the European Parliament and Council of Ministers. The

AAM's campaigning work covered a wide range of areas. The consumer boycott

remained a constant element but other economic campaigns became equally prominent,

particularly ones concerning investment in South Africa by British and internationalcompanies and banks. In the area of economic campaigns the AAM collaborated

closely with End Loans to Southern Africa (ELTSA) for which see the ELTSA archive

at the Bodleian Library of Commonwealth and African Studies at Rhodes House (MSS

Afr. s. 2350). The efforts to isolate apartheid South Africa were pursued through

lobbying for boycotts of sporting, cultural and academic contacts and for the cessation

of military and nuclear links. Campaigning on behalf of political prisoners was an

important area of work, organized during the 1960s through the World Campaign for

the Release of South African Political Prisoners and later through SATIS (Southern

Africa: the Imprisoned Society). Campaigning on behalf of Nelson Mandela began at

the Rivonia trial and was reinvigorated from the time of his 60th birthday in 1978 until

his release in February 1990. The AAM's work did not focus solely on South Africa but

also on the Southern African region in which South Africa had so much influence. It

supported the struggles for freedom in Namibia, Zimbabwe and the former Portuguese

colonies of Angola, Mozambique and, in West Africa, Guinea-Bissau. In this the AAM

co-operated with African liberation movements, particularly the African National

Congress (ANC) of South Africa and the South West African Peoples' Organization

(SWAPO) of Namibia. A significant number of the Ministers and senior officials in

South Africa's first non-racial government, including figures such as Kadar Asmal,

Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Mac Maharaj, Pallo Jordan, Aziz Pahad and Abdul Mintyparticipated in AAM activities and several held senior positions in the organization.

Likewise many prominent figures in British political life were active in the AAM. For

example, amongst those who held the office of AAM President were Barbara Castle,

David Steel and Trevor Huddleston, whereas Neil Kinnock, Joan Lestor and Frank

Dobson are amongst those who served on its Executive Committee. Following the first

democratic elections in South Africa in April 1994 an extraordinary general meeting of

the AAM decided to dissolve the Movement and create a successor organization to

promote peace and development in the Southern African region.