Congress resister, Jul. 1985

Use of the Aluka digital library is subject to Aluka’s Terms and Conditions, available at http://www.aluka.org/page/about/termsConditions.jsp. By using Aluka, you agree that you have read and will abide by the Terms and Conditions. Among other things, the Terms and Conditions provide that the content in the Aluka digital library is only for personal, non-commercial use by authorized users of Aluka in connection with research, scholarship, and education.

The content in the Aluka digital library is subject to copyright, with the exception of certain governmental works and very old materials that may be in the public domain under applicable law. Permission must be sought from Aluka and/or the applicable copyright holder in connection with any duplication or distribution of these materials where required by applicable law.

Aluka is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to creating and preserving a digital archive of materials about and from the developing world. For more information about Aluka, please see http://www.aluka.org/.

Page 1 of 6 Alternative title Congress Resister Author/Creator Transvaal Indian Congress (Crown Mines) Publisher Transvaal Indian Congress (Crown Mines) Date 1985-07-00 Resource type Journals (Periodicals) Language Afrikaans, English Subject Coverage (spatial) Coverage (temporal) 1985 Source Digital Imaging South Africa (DISA) Rights By kind permission of the Transvaal Indian Congress (TIC). Format extent 3 page(s) (length/size)

Page 2 of 6 THESE FREEDOMS WE WILL FIGHT FOR...The TIC together with other progressiveagartisadone In the country are com-msmoradng Oft year-the 30th arvtiver-sary of the . Over theyears the goverrxnent has tried to stMethe Freedom Charter begktnhp with themissive 1968 Treason Trial. But we sayto the goverrtrnerd as part of the oppes-sed people of this country that we will con-%s to fight for the heedoms within theFreedom Charter."THE PEOPLE SHALL GOVERN"This opening clause of the Freedom Char-ter aptly visualises the future of SouthAfrica enshrined in the Freedom (barter.It demands the transfer of political powerto ALL the people of S.A.-be they blackor white, workers, peasants, professionalsfit" vtdon of South Africa-free ofwhite minority rule and the sWtent - that makes the Freedom Charterswii A'6psMM; Up tothis day for those who strive towards anon-racial and democratic S. Africa. It isthis vision too that scares the governmentof P.W. Botha, Rajbansi and Hendricksecausing them to ban us from celebratingthe 30th anniversary of the FreedomCharter.The Freedom Charter was adopted at theCongress of the People (COP) at Klip-town on June 26 1955. Over 7 000 obser-vers and 2 884 delegates from the lengthand breadth of this country attended thegathering, making the (barter the mostdemocratic document ever produced inthis country.But the most striking feature of the Char-ter was the period before the COP wherethe demands for the Freedom Charterwere being collected.In March 1954, 200 organisationsattended a planning conference where aNational Action Council composed ofCongress Alliance members was estab-lished. Its task was to popularise the COPand the Freedom Charter.Hundreds of mass meetings, rallies andhouse - meetings were held and intensivedoor-to-door canvassing was undertaken.Ordinary people listed their grievancesand demands to be incorporated into theCharter. These were written on sheetsfrom exercise books, on little dog-earedscraps of paper and at the back of COPleaflets. People from every town, farmand factory discussed the changes neededto usher in a free South Africa of thefuture.The (barter therefore is based on thewill of the people and is thereforeregarded as the People's document enjoy-ing widespread popularity today - 30years after it was formulated. AU the1~"r.e I.-- -.-wnclauses within the Charter envisages a soc-iety that is totally different from the pre-sent S. Africa.Examples are "The people shall govern" talks about ademocratic form of government. It says"all bodies of minority rule, advisoryboards, councils and authorities shall bereplaced by democratic organs of self-gov-ernment." Today this could be referring tothe tri-cameral parliament, the Bantus-tans and community councils as these per-petuate the apartheid system and areNOT representatives of the people of thiscountry. "The people shall share in the country'swealth" and "the land shall be sharedamongst those who work it" is a dearreference to a more equitable societywhere there is no vast imbalance betweenrich and poor. This also makes the Charteranti-capitalist because it declares "themineral wealth beneath the soil, the banksand the monopoly industries shall betransferred to the ownership of the peopleas a whole", and "all the land" will be "re-divided amongst those who work it, tobanish famine and land hunger." At pre-sent about 909'0 of this country's wealth isowned by the white minority. We there-fore have a situation where a largernumber of black people are landless,homeless, hungry and poor. "There shall be work and security",envisages a society where "the state shallrecognise the right and duty of all to work,and to draw full unemploymentbenefits." It furthermore recognises theright of workers to form trade unions anddeclares "men and women of all racesshall receive equal pay for equal work." InS. Africa today unemployment is increas-ing daily. Black people are still discrimi-nated against, in industries. TradeUnionists like 'Ibozamile Gqweta areharassed, detained and charged fortreason. All this makes this clause abeacon of hope for those most oppressedand exploited by the apartheid regime. To the people in Duduza, Vaal,Kwa-Thema, Uitenhage, Soweto, Crossroadsand other townships where they are battl-ing against insufficient housing, poor liv-ing conditions and high rents the clauseheaded "them shall be houses, securityand comfort" speaks of a society to whichthey (and we) aspire for. It says "all thepeople shall have the right to live wherethey choose, to be decently housed ... rentand prices shall be lowered ... slums shallbe demolished and new suburbs builtwhere all shall have transport, roads,lighting, playing fields, creches and socialcentres ..." All these necessities are recog-nised as the responsibilities of the State. At present the Apartheid regime is atwar with the people of Namibia andAngola. It has recently invaded Bots-wana. It is also at war with the people of S.Africa itself. The SADF is used intownships to quell the unrests there. TheFreedom Charter in the clause titled"there shall be peace and friendship"states that "S. Africa shall be a fully inde-pendant state, which respects the rightsand sovereignity of all nations" and "shallstrive to maintain world peace and settle-ment of all international disputes bynegotiation, not war." The other clauses: "All national groupsshall have equal rights ", "All shall beequal before the law", "All shall enjoyhuman rights", "the doors of learning andculture shall be open" can all similarly bedemonstrated to be of equal importancetoday as when they were drafted 30 yearsago.The Charter therefore is a clear call tothe action for unity and is a fine statementof re-dedication by all freedom lovingpeople to realise a democratic society ofthe future.Hence the preamble states"And we pledge to strive together, sparingniether our strenght nor courage, until thedemands ( here set out ) have been won".At the same time the Charter is a life-longcommitment to the struggle by all whohave accepted the (barter for it concludesby saying : "These freedoms we will fightfor, sideby side, throughout our lives untilwe have won our liberty."

Page 3 of 6 Professor Z.K. Matthews raised the idea of a document whichrepresented the peoples' vision of our future South Africa.Let us speak of the rich foods we grow, and the lawsthat keep us poor. Let us speak of harsh treatmentand of children and women forced to work. Let usspeak of private prisons, and beatings of passes.Stta~LET US SPEAK OF FREEDOM.Volunteers collect the demands of the people.F4lfcit~voriForLet us speak of the good things we make and themom, Equat P~ bad conditions of our worklet us speak of themany passes and the few jobs. Let us speak of fore-men and transport and of trade unions; of holidaysand of houses. LET US SPEAK OF FREEDOM.V- Yeedvco,1 ionThe people respond to the "Call to Freedom Document"which asked them to state their demands - at theCongress of the People.A view of one of the proceedings at the Congress of the People.The Congress of the people was held inKliptown in 1955 to draw up the FreedomCharter to express the desires of theoppressed people of South Africa.Delegates from every corner of ourcountry came together to speak of thehardships of their communities and toSPEAK OF FREEDOM. This documenttoday still represents a beacon of hopein our struggle for freedom and liberation.Let us speak ot the wide land, and the narrow stripson which we toil. Let us speak of brothers withoutland, and of the children without schooling. Let usspeak of taxes and of cattle, and of famine. LET USSPEAK OF FREEDOMLet us speak of the dark shafts, and the cold com-pounds far from our families. Let us speak of heavylabour and long hours, and of men sent home todie. Let us speak of rich masters and poor wages.LET US SPEAK OF FREEDOM.The "Call to Freedom" documenturleaders chargedfortreasonforpartthey were all acquitted.Indian women at the Congress of the People- ledby Dr Dadoo's aged mother.Dadoo's mother receives the prestigious Isitwalandwe award onbehalf of her banned son at the Congress of The People.This Is the highest honour bestowed upon any South African bythe oppressed people of South Africa.Recipients of the Isitwalandwe awards - Dr Yusuf Dadoo,Chief Albert Luthull and Father Trevor HuddlestoneHUMBE1956Let us speak of the light that comes with learning,and the ways we are kept in darkness. Let us speakof great services we can render, and of the narrowways that are open to us. Let us speak of laws, andgovernment and rights. LET US SPEAK OF FREEDOM.Let us speak of the fine children that we bear, andof their stunted lives. Let us speak of the manyillnesses and deaths, and of the few clinics andschools. Let us speak of high prices and of shantytowns. LET US SPEAK OF FREEDOM.

Page 4 of 6 DUDUZA, SEBOKENG, UITENHAGE,KWA-THEMA-where next?TOWNSHIPSUNDER SIEGEAll over the country thetownships are under siege. By moving7000 troops into Sebokeng last year theSADF declared war on the townships.The battlefields have now moved fromthe borders to the townships. Mercilessand barbaric acts have been carried outagainst innocent youth, old people andwomen. The agents of apartheid have car-ried out brutal acts of terror to maintain apolitical system that is rejected internallyand condemned internationally. Daily,people are detained, killed or gone mis-sing. The ultimate tragedy of this terror islooking for a friend or one's family in thehospitals, jails or graveyards.sire whites uniting together for a democ-ratic S.A.Township residents have exposed theshocking behaviour of the police and theSADF. The wearing of balaclavas, the useof sophisticated war machinery, the use ofsjamboks and teargas has demonstrated tothe people that the Nationalist Party isusing its armed might against unarmedand innocent people.The oppressors have tried to blame theviolence in the townships on the UDF andAZAPO. These organisations may haveideological differences but both maintainthat the enemy will always be the tri-cam-eral parliament, community councils andthe bantustans. The plot to play off oneorganisation against the other is beingused to try and stifle the deep anger andfrustration being expressed against thegovernment. The distribution of fakeUDF and AZAPO leaflets proves this.Change in S.A cannot be achieved by theelimination of either the UDF or AZAPObut only by the ending of white minorityrule. The struggle for freedom is notadvanced by UDF fighting AZAPO, butonly by the oppressed blacks and progres-Potion hn-10ey in thewere y a the Congress .TheTICis h te in collecting informa-tion, documents, photographs of past struggles in S.A. If you are able to help in anyway, we will appreciate it if you could contact the TIC office. The TIC promises toPub N I btr tM TFawavwl hmsn CoaprssP.O. trim titer Cmww tiwm ==The massacres in the ,Duduza and Kwa-Themes have become adaily event. Nobody is fooled about whowas behind the killings of the so-called`hand grenade' victims. A peaceful vigil atGuguletu cinema was broken up with tear-gas and more people killed. Suchatrocities are carried out whilst theUitenhage massacre is still fresh in ourminds. In CRADOCK, community leader- Matthew Goniwe and three of his com-rades - , Sparrow Mkhontoand Sicelo Mhlawuli go missing and theirmutilated bodies are subsequently found.The people of the townships are angry,and have laid the blame on the agents ofApartheid. These savage murders are adevastating blow. Many leaders and polit-ical activists have gone missing, or havehad their homes attacked by grenades andpetrol bombs. The TIC pays tribute toMatthew Goniwe, Fort Calata, SparrowMkhonto and Sicelo Mhlawuli.`Murdered but not forgotten; the lightyou have lit will blaze on. You have fallencomrade, but in all the small towns of ourland thousands of Goniwe's are emerg-ing.'The TIC will pay its respect to these mar-tyrs by sending representatives to theirfuneral in CRADOCK. We call on ourpeople to intensify the struggle againstapartheid.The SADF is the oppressors army. Werefuse to allow our children to be con-scripted into the SADF to- kill our brothersand sisters. There cannot be peace andfriendship under apartheid.REJECTPFPThe TIC condemns the decision ofthe Progressive Federal Party(PFP) to participate in the Houseof Delegates and House of Rep-resentatives. This betrays thewishes of our people, which wasclearly articulated in our rejectionof the tri-cameral parliament.It is clear that the government'sdecision to scrap the Political Inter-ference Act is designed to give cre-dibility to the tri- cameral parlia-ment. Non-racial organisationslike the UDF have always ignoredand defied the Act whilst it was inoperation. Thus the scrapping ofthis Act applies only to those polit-ical parties working within theframework of the apartheid tri-cameral parliament.The PFP's decision to join handswith Reddy's Solidarity andInkatha exposes the blatant oppor-tunism of the PFP.The TIC calls on the Indianpeople to refuse to support thePFP. The PFP represents theinterests of the Harry Oppenheim-ers. It does not represent theinterest of the oppressed people.Joining the PFP will be tantamountto selling out the oppressed peopleof S.A.UNITY BRINGS BUS VICTORYLenasia bus commuters have scored a major victory by forcing the Lenasia Bus Service(LBS) to scrap a 20% fare increase.The entire Lenasia Community united under the FRA participated to make the victorypossible. Over 90% of commuters boycotted the bus for just under 4 weeks. Car andKombi owners helped by offering lifts to commuters.The Federation of Residents Association (FRA) was supported by many organisationsincluding the TIC, UDF, Health Workers Association, LYL, Call of Islam and theReform Church. The 20% increase followed close on two other increases of 10% each. Atotal increase of 40% over 6 months.The TIC salutes the people and their democratic organisations for their determined andunited stand despite intimidation from the police and transportation board. It hasproved that one can achieve greater results working outside the tri-cameral parliamentand management committees. The alternative to participation on these dummy institu-tions is to form our own community organisations to take up our day-to-day problems.It is only when people get involved in trying to solve their own problems that we canachieve such victories.At a mass meeting called during the boycott, the TIC noted that the Lenasia MP's in theHouse of Delegates and the Management Committee had done absolutely nothing aboutthe transport problems experienced by our people. In fact, during the transport votes inthe House of Delegates, the MP's concentrated on trying to legalise prostitution.The TIC also slammed Dennis Pillay's attempt at winning credibility for himself byclaiming he was negotiating a better bus service with the authorities. Where was DennisPillay during the boycott?TIC sees transport as the responsibility of the Central Government and the Johannes-burg City Council. Our people are forced to live far from their places of work because othe Group Areas Act. The government must thus pay for our transport costs.The TIC supports the call for greater subsidisation from the National Transport Com-mission as well as from the Johannesburg City Council.TIC otflces at the AEL centre,thrd floor, in Fordsburg (78 Mint Road.)TIC P.O. Box 658 Crown Mines 2075Phone: M2689/i3&2894UNRESTS:UNITEDRESPONSEThe TIC calls on the Indian community toidentify with the African community in allthe unrest areas, like Duduza, Kwa-Thema, Sakhile and Uitenhage. This wasthe message given to the people of Stan-derton by the TIC at a meeting called tounite the Indian, Coloured and Africancommunities of Standerton.The Indian people must examine recentevents in the townships very carefully.

Page 5 of 6 Wemust do so because the way we respond tothe unrest in the townships will affect ourfuture in this country. Rumours that Afri-can people are about to attack Indianshops and houses are false and are beingspread deliberately by stooges of Apar-theid.These rumours are designed to causedivisions and tensions between the Indianand African people. This is in keepingwith the Nationalist Party policy of divideand rule. We must not allow theserumours to generate anti-African emo-tions in our communities.The WORST reaction to this situation isto form armed patrols and vigilantegroups. This will only heighten tensionbetween Indian and African communities.The BEST response would be to developmeaningful contact and communicationwith the African people and their realleaders, and to identify with and supportthem in their struggles. This is the bestLONG-TERM solution for the security ofour CHILDREN.We need to support and join organisa-tions like the TIC and UDF which aim tounite Indian, African, and Colouredpeople.

Page 6 of 6