Botswana and the Liberation in South Africa and Zimbabwe: the Government and People Against White Racist Rule
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UMI* BOTSWANA AND THE LIBERATION IN SOUTH AFRICA AND ZIMBABWE: THE GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE AGAINST WHITE RACIST RULE A thesis submitted to the Committee on Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Faculty of Arts and Science TRENT UNIVERSITY Peterborough, Ontario, Canada (c) Copyright by Boipelo Winnie Oitsile 2010 History M.A. Graduate Program May 2010 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-64083-8 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-64083-8 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada ABSTRACT Botswana and the Liberation in South Africa and Zimbabwe: The Government and People Against White Racist Rule Boipelo Winnie Oitsile This thesis presents a comprehensive look at the role played by Botswana in the struggle for freedom and independence in the white minority ruled territories of South Africa and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). It also explores socio-political, economic and security impacts of the liberation struggle on Botswana. Primary sources such as newspaper articles between the years, 1960 and 1980, hearings from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa and the Aluka Digital Archives section of Southern African Liberation struggles have been used to draw conclusions for my findings. This study asserts that, Botswana contributed substantially to the struggle by extending moral and diplomatic support to liberation movements. Political organisations that were banned in their countries entered Botswana and continued their activities inside the country and received financial support to travel to third countries for guerrilla training. The ordinary people played a pivotal role in the struggle for independence by providing safe houses and establishing escape routes for members of political organisations in exile. The impact of.the struggle and the context of Botswana in international relations have also been examined. The country's active role in international organisations made it influential in agitating for a peaceful settlement to the political problems in South Africa and Zimbabwe. n ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My deepest gratitude goes to my supervisor, Dr Tim Stapleton for his guidance and support and for taking time to review and edit my drafts. I am also thankful to my supervising committee, Dr Van-Nguyen Marshall and Dr Antonio Cazorla-Sanchez for reviewing my thesis and offering suggestions for improvement I am indebted to the staff of Trent University's Bata Library and Inter-library Loan for providing the major sources for my thesis research. The University of Botswana History Department professors, specifically, C.J Makgala, Wazha Morapedi, P. T Mgadla, Maitseo Bolaane and Lilly Mafela for allowing me to use their unpublished works from the Hashim Mbita Project for the liberation of Southern Africa. Their articles have helped me develop an understanding for the subject. I would also like to pass my sincere thanks to Patricia Heffernan, Secretary of the History Department for her continued support throughout my stay in Peterborough. Last but not least, I offer heartfelt thanks to my family for their blessings, love and advice. To everyone who has contributed to the final product of this paper, there is an old saying, "It takes the whole village to raise a child" and it holds true to me. I take responsibility for any misinterpretations of facts, oversimplifications, errors, omissions and any other shortcomings of this work. I believe that no matter how much the amount of help one receives, a few imperfections are bound to remain. iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ANC: African National Congress APLA: Azanian People's Liberation Army (Armed wing of the PAC) BCM: Black Consciousness Movement BDF: Botswana Defence Force BNF: Botswana National Front BDP: Bechuanaland/Botswana Democratic Party BPP: Bechuanaland/Botswana Peoples Party BIP: Botswana Independence Party BSAC: British South Africa Company HCT: High Commission Territories MK: Umkhonto we Sizwe (The Spear of the Nation): ANC's armed wing OAU: Organisation of African Unity PAC: Pan Africanist Congress PLAN: People's Liberation Army of Namibia RF: Rhodesia Front SABC: South African Broadcasting Corporation SASO: South Africa Student Association SACU: South African Customs Union SADC: Southern African development community SADF: South African Defence Force SWA: South West Africa SWANU: South West Africa National Union SWAPO: South West Africa People's Organisation TRC: Truth and Reconciliation Commission UANC: United African National Council UBLS: University of Botswana Lesotho and Swaziland UDI: Unilateral Declaration of Independence UN: United Nations UNHCR: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNITA: National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ZANLA: Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) ZANU: Zimbabwe African National Union ZAPU: Zimbabwe African People's Union ZIPA: Zimbabwe People's Army ZIPRA: Zimbabwe Independent People's Revolutionary Army (the armed wing of ZAPU) IV TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Page CHAPTER 1: Introduction 1 Theoretical Overview 3 Literature Review 7 Methodological Overview & Limitations 8 Botswana: Geography & History 12 Historical Background of the Liberation Struggle 14 CHAPTER 2: Bechuanaland: Independence in the Midst of the Struggle 26 Seretse Khama: Views on the Liberation Struggle 33 Botswana under Siege: White States or Black Nationalism 37 CHAPTER 3: The Humanitarian Situation in Botswana: South African & Rhodesian Refugees during the Liberation struggle 52 The Nature & Problem of South African Political Refugees in Bechuanaland 53 The 1963 Saga: The Growing Plight of South African Refugees 56 The Rhodesian Refugee Problem 63 Rhodesian Children: Refugees and Abductees. 67 CHAPTER 4: Guerrillas & Fugitives along the Botswana-Rhodesia Border 76 Security: A Challenge to Botswana-Rhodesia Relations ..80 Rhodesia's Hot Pursuits & Formation of the BDF. 94 CHAPTER 5: Security Concerns Along the Botswana-South Africa Border 100 The Impact of the Soweto Uprising on Botswana 113 The Gaborone Raid and Its Aftermath 120 CONCLUSION .135 BIBOOGRAPHY...;;.;;..;..;:.;.:.:.;..;;.:;;...::: .v..7.^T^r.v..;::.7.T7.;v..:..^13f v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION From the 1960s, Southern Africa became the scene of armed struggles between white minority regimes and national liberation movements which had been forced to employ violence to achieve freedom and independence. The struggles were not confined to these countries alone but extended into neighbouring countries and eventually into other parts of Africa and the world at large. Therefore, this study will address the role that Botswana played in the struggle for freedom and political independence in South Africa and Zimbabwe. For many years, Botswana was a safe haven for political activists and exiled members of banned political organisations in white minority ruled territories. Many Batswana risked their lives by providing safe hideouts for political activists fleeing imprisonment, torture, and death threats by the white minority regimes. Botswana had to bear the costs of hosting political refugees, administering refugee centres and providing travel expenses, education, and medical care. It was affected by the events of the armed struggle both in terms of security and economy. Botswana supported a peaceful settlement to the problems in Southern Africa. It endorsed the 1969 Lusaka Manifesto crafted by presidents Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia and Julius Nyerere of Tanzania to liberate Southern Africa. Botswana was also a member of the Frontline States and participated at the Lusaka Commonwealth Conference of 1979 and in the same year hosted negotiations between the South African Prime Minister P.W Botha