0 071

0 071

Joe Slovo joined the Communist Party of when he was 16. For the next 52 years he remained a dedicated revolutionary in the party and ANC. In these five decades his activism spanned all the key moments of our struggle - the great mineworkers' strike of 1946, the period of mass mobilisation through the 1950s, the turn to armed struggle in 1961, the dangerous and testing years of exile, the dramatic global changes from 1989, the opening up of negotiations in SA in 1990, and the ANC election victory and entry into government. Throughout these years, Slovo played a leading, and often a central role. Here, in his own words, are some of the themes that preoccupied comrade Joe, through this eventful and heroic period: On the leading role of the ANC "We've had examples of radical youth, and quite a few radical workers too have come to us and said: 'We're not joining the ANC, we're waiting for the party to come out', and we've told them on that basis there's no place for them in the party because they'll have to be reeducated politically. And it's not because we want to have a presence in the ANC, it's because we believe that the task of the party has been and must continue to be, to strengthen the most important national force." The armed struggle "In 1961 history left us with no option but to engage in armed action as a necessary part of the political struggle. It was a moment in which (to use Lenin's words) 'untimely inaction would have been worse than untimely action.' We could not refuse to fight. We had to learn how to do so. And, in many respects, we had to learn on the ground, in the hard school of revolutionary practice." On religion "It is my contention that there is a major convergence between the ethical content of marxism and all that is best in the world's religions. But it must also be conceded that in the name of both marxism and religion great damage has been done to the human condition. Both ideologies have produced martyrs in the cause of liberation and tyrants in the cause of oppression." "Let us (socialists and believers) stop concentrating exclusively on the debate about whether there is or is not a paradise in heaven. Let us work together to build a paradise on earth. As for myself, if I eventually find a paradise in heaven, I will regard it as a bonus." On the regime's disinformation campaign against him "For the past decade and a half they have been saying that I am a KGB colonel. I must be the most unsuccessful spy in the world - in 15 years I haven't had a promotion!" The working class and the national democratic struggle "If we pose the question by asking only whether our struggle is a national struggle or a class struggle, we will inevitably get a wrong answer. The right question is: what is the relationship between these two categories. A failure to understand the class content of the national struggle and the national content of the class struggle in existing conditions can hold back the advance of both the democratic and socialist transformations which we seek." Has socialism failed? "For our part, we firmly believe in the future of socialism; nor do we dismiss its whole past as an unmitigated failure...But it is more vital than ever to subject the past of existing socialism to an unsparing critique in order to draw the necessary lessons. To do so openly is an assertion of justified confidence in IIou J t Itr the future of socialism and its inherent moral superiority. And we should not allow ourselves to be inhibited merely because an exposure of failures will inevitably provide ammunition to the traditional enemies of socialism: our silence will, in any case, present them with even more powerful ammunition." (1989) Has capitalism succeeded? "The wretched of this earth make up over 90% of humanity. They live either in capitalist or capitalistoriented societies. For them if socialism is not the answer, there is no answer at all." (December 1991)

On his return to SA from 27 years exile "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted..." The negotiations "The starting point for developing a framework within which to approach some larger questions in the negotiating process is to answer the question: why are we negotiating? We are negotiating because towards the end of the 80s we concluded that, as a result of its escalating crisis, the apartheid power bloc was no longer able to continue ruling in the old way and was genuinely seeking some break with the past. At the same time, we were clearly not dealing with a defeated enemy and an early revolutionary seizure of power by the liberation movement could not be realistically posed." (September 1992) "For the past three years we politicians have all had our say. It is time now for the people to have their day. For the past three years we politicians have spoken to each other, at each other and past each other. We have been in bilaterals and multilaterals. But beyond the walls of the World Trade Centre there is growing impatience with our speechifying." (March 1993) "The negotiated package that was finally signed on the night of November 17-18 (1993) at Kempton Park was a famous victory. It represents both the culmination of decades of struggle and the starting-point of a new struggle. The critical question now is implementation." (November 1993) On certain English liberals "Bashing the Afrikaner is a popular pastime among certain English liberals, and it gets my goat. Jo Sl "It stems from a combinationof poemw English jingoism and an attempt to evade collective white guilt In is of for our racist inheritance by piling it all It' n onto the . anyone can It also creates a !t' e. smokescreenover Yo'e- not therealroots of soyo canracismbygiving It's ago| pride of place to the f ethnic factor rather than to economic exploitation. Mealy- a I sI mouthedshedding of responsibilityand I . blamingit all on the a-ainst st boers is, at best, T explit ahistorical and, at crimeworst,aformof bt weI', racism. If anyone it isth-eegroupistoblamefor Iti ma the modem foundations of apartheid it is the non-Afrikaner upper strata which but t l dominated the seat Ititheofpowerformore shardtothan75 yearsbefore1948.Iamnot .- - lt -l arguing for one randlord, one bullet', but we must get our history straight." The SACP's secret weapon "Commentators continue to be puzzled by the staying power of the SACP in a world in which socialist parties are in decline. It is time to divulge one of the lesser known secrets of our public relations success. No, we have no contract with Saatchi and Saatchi who are already working for the NP. We rely on the firm of De Klerk and Botha, whose public relations work for our party is unsolicited, unintended and free. "Every time this old firm launches a salvo against us, our popularity rating among blacks takes a further leap." On multi-party democracy "The single party state, except at rare moments in history, is a recipe for tyranny. What we've learnt from the Soviet experience and from the African experience is that the concept of the party as a vanguard which has the right to rule by virtue of calling itself something and which is entrenched in the constitutionasafaout permanentgodfayBerl therofsociety,isa disaster." immunism The challenges of a new SA "It is our task to give desta Ii. millions of South Africans an essential epor pieceofdignityin 2sptheir lives - the dignitythatcomesngf fromhavingasolid abouti. roofover your head, 11itsui runningwater and idc1it other services in an established commu- *ty nity." clt Lookingback "As far as I am concerned, what I fime. did, I did without ess,but anyregrets.I - decided long ago in dle mylifethatthere is only one target and that target is to es thi-ng removetheracist regime and obtain power for the tI people."December 1994 I e la

Comrade Joe Slovo, Your militant and unswerving commitment to the ANC embodies many values which we wish to honour today. There are some people who, by pursuing their own convictions and without being self-conscious about it, touch the lives of millions of others. Such has been your life. I am not sure, comrade Joe, if you have ever particularly thought of yourself as a white South African. Nevertheless, the fact remains that your decades of activism have served as an outstanding example for hundreds of thousands of activists coming into our ranks, and indeed for millions of other South Africans. In a country in which there is a racially oppressed majority, nonracism is not an outlook that can simply be taken for granted. You have contributed immensely, through your personal example, to nurturing that outlook which is so evident in our ranks and, increasingly, 'in our country today. Let those politicians who have based themselves on narrow ethnic constituencies, supposedly to safeguard minority interests, now ponder on your example. Comrade Joe, you also symbolise and personify the alliance of the ANC and the SACP. It is an alliance whose durability continues to bewilder our opponents. They fail to understand its deep historical roots and its ongoing practical relevance. In your recent capacity as Minister of Housing, I believe that you are underlining what that alliance is all about. It is about a common commitment to overcoming, as the absolute priority, the terrible legacy of national oppression. It is an alliance based on serving the social needs of our people. Your contributions to our struggle are many. But it is, I think, especially as a strategic thinker that you are held most dear by so many in our ranks. You have played a role, often a central role, in most of the outstanding strategic documents of our struggle. In the decades of exile I know that your's was a crucial role in the regrouping and consolidation of . You have always been able to respond practically and dynamically to changing circumstances. You have had the courage of your convictions, spelling out the implications of new situations which sometimes we, as a movement, have found hard to admit. I think, most recently, of your contributions to analysing the complex negotiations process. We are extremely fortunate to have within our ranks such an outstanding revolutionary, who has combined a rigorous mind with attention to practical organisational work. It is with a sense of real pride and emotion that I announce today the decision of the National Executive Committee to confer upon you, comrade Joe Slovo, the Isitwalandwe Seaparankoe Award. - President , December 1994