'reform' the country's An advertising Calllpaign in the South African press has tried to spread the same message. Like the made in promises Tovember to which nothing new has been added - the speech is the purest fakery.
It comes a week after government against the eered a coup the inrepublic Lesotho forced the country to throw everyone Botha disagreed with It also comes seventeen days before the South African finance minister meets Dr Leutwiler's team ACTION racist system.
Africa's - $26 billion foreign debt.
Banking reaction was sceptical. justifiably Bankers' decisions don't depend on morals. They want to know if their investments are Salt.
hasn't reassured them because thev know only too well that has offered the black peole of the country precious little apart from repression and yet more repression. And they judge • correctly that black - DeODIC aren't prepared to take it any more.
careful study of Botha's promises shows he has offered very little other changes.
Promise numDe OnC.
black people will have a say in running the country.
The reality: they will not have power. They will not have one person, one vote, most basic demand Botha's proposed national council, as he statulul y himself puts it 'under my chairmanship', will leave all effective power in white Malus.
Promise number two:
black people wil have citizenship rights.
reality:
studiously avoided offering any rights to residents of the artificial "homelands', which fifty per cent of the black people have been forcibly deported. As the Financial Times cynically commented, his Special free book offer!
Take out a years inland subscription and we will send you free one of these books:
On Afro American History For The Struggle is My Life by Nelson Mandela Special offer four months issues for €5 carefully chosen phrase 'rights for all who permanently reside in South Africa carefully excludes the people living in the homelands.
Moreover, ship' is a completely empty right when the entire arof South Africa's THOUT racist laws • discriminate systematically between white citizens and black citizens. Unless all citizens are equal before the law, the "concession' is meaningless. meanest denizen of a forced labour camp is still technically a 'citizen'!
Promise number three: The Pass Laws will be abolished on 1 July The reality: they will simply be replaced with other means of controlling the 'common identity document' - the so-called 'book of life which will record every detail of your MOVCILICHLS since birth if anything, Cal used for more ruthless and more sinister repression of black people than before. Promise number black people will granted property rights and allowed to settle. The reality: they will have no more right to live where they choose than before. The two key points that the Group Areas Act wii remain a toret 'influx centrol" will be replaced by 'orderly banisation'.
This means that black people will not have the right to live in the areas reserved for whites at all, and will only be allowed to move desperately poor townships, on the fringes of the big towns, when the white government decides to let them.
The most farcical promise of all, which even the Financial Times had to label 'bizarre', was proposal exchange Nelson Mandela for Rus sian political prisoners.
It is, of course, a big victory , for the resistance that Botha has dropped his the second goal the ed oWe cant ence.
want hardworking conference,' explains Sapper, 'but we see spring-board towards 14-20 which the AAM annual general meeting designated as Trade Union Week A successful week in April in turn will ensure that on the March for Freedom, the unions will be out in full TOICC The organised around two sets of workshops. The morn ing ones are on the role of sanctions in the struggle freedom South Africa do oke front at Namibia, and the line states as well. In the afternoon, delegates cal choose from a number of workshops: on particular areas of the economy from trade retail previous namely that nounce against apartheid. But if InIs sO OneCI a DICCUl dition, then Mandela being held? In deed, why was he ever ar rested? What is his crime?
removed the last pretence that South African resistance fighters are bieing held for criminal offences, and spelt out in the most cynical way that they prisoners if the CONCHELCH now admits political prisoners then, i Botha had the slightest in tention of reforming anything, why didn't he simply free them there and then?
groups industrial groups like the miners; on investment SOUL Allica.
propaganda dirty tricks; and on ECHICE solidarity work of trad This conference is timely event. It will be big boost to those already active in the labour move. ment, and it will help wir other workers to the strug. gle. But time is runnin out for union delegation So if your union branct hasn't received any infor mation contact the AAN today!
• Anti-Apartheid trad union conference, Satu day 1 March, Londo School of Economic Houghton Street, Further details fron Simon Sapper, Mandela Street, Londo NWI ODW (phone: 01-36 7966).
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IN A widely-publicised television address South Africa's president Botha has yet again promised to
government dependent
movement of black peo- ple. Everyone will have a