explodes The South African regime has replied in the fashion to the massive upsurge of black protest it has faced in the past seven months. It chose the twenty fifth anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre to gun down black mourners at the Langa township near Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape.
Official deaths. Others put the figure of those killed at 45 wounded. ed in the immediate aftermath of protest and reaction.
The flimsy police story thát they opened fire in self defence is believed by no one. The Black Sash women's civil rights movement in South Africa testifed that armoured personnel carriers intercepted the funeral procession and opened fire without provocation warning. ments immediately helicopter joined in the massacre.
Other witnesses, testified for by Alan Boesack, President of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, explained how the police had then gone around killing the wounded and planting bricks on them in a vain effort to give credibility to their story.
Whether this carefully planned set-up job by the government, resulted from a panic reaction some local police commander is completely irrelevant. Such atrocities are and parcel of the regime. Despite massive international pressure, prime minister jected calls for any criticism at all of the killings But the massacre escalating repression has stem the tide of black protest and black rebellion. protest and struggle has progressively moved Within townships South Africa and its economy. These latest killings occurred, symbolically, as the mourners approached the white city of Uitenhage.
The police massacre came after 10 days of escalating protest against police repression and killings. followed the attack on the Crossroads squatters camp near Cape Town in February when 18 people were gunned down by police.
So far this year 100 people have been murdered the figure was 200.
Apartheid has spots in 25 years since Sharpeville despite the much-publicised and phoney electoral reforms.
most horrific ed, figures admit - with 50 more Africa. A further 10 were kill- NAMIBIA Re-inforcebeen brought in by whelming set up by the effort massacre was dent For whether by black apartheid largest re- directly sion. the This failed to The course of black into the heart of white the hack coordination membership million.
The by police. Last year Washington.
not changed its But the reaction of the black masses has changed.
The protests which have been virtually continuous for seven months now have not been undermined by the Langa massacre. On the contrary the shootings have spurred further protest and revolt.
At the funeral of six of those kill35,000 turned shouting defiance. Further protests have followed in the townships near Uitenhage and other parts of South Pretoria nesburge Since August last year all sectors of the oppressed black majority have drawn HALO active against waite racist rule.
majority of Indians and 'coloureds' boycotted elections to the new, segregated parliamentary bodies regime as part of its against the 24 million blacks. those communities Hundreds of thousands students have been involved in stustrikes. Residents of black townships have risen up time and time again over the past few months in protest against high rent, taxes and bus Last November one million workers participated in the in history OIC protest the regime's racist policies and repres the change Sharpeville in 1960. Whereas then blacks were unorganised, community associations.
has been through the United Democratic Front — a broad coalition of more than 600 anti-apartheid organisations with a more than And the influence of the African National Congress has won mass political support.
majority blacks directly connect their fight around immediate economic issues, with the task of overthrowing the apartheid regime itself. This is what is worrying imperialism not only in Pretoria but also in London and out struggle The over of South organised apartheid they now Powerful achieved two now African goods. Demonstrate outside South African government offices in Britain, at offices of firms that collaborate with apartheid and shops selling South Ring Anti-Apartheid 01-387 7966 for details of action in your area and for material for the actions.
Socialist Action 29 March 1985