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The Anti-Apartheid Movement the Anti-Apartheid Movement the Anti-Apartheid Movement the Anti-Apartheid Movement 89 Charlotte Street London WIP 2DQ Tel 580 5311 MINUTES OF NATIONAL COMMITTEE MEETING Saturday 4 March 1972 : 15 Gordon Street WCI PRESENT: Bishop Reeves (Chairman), Paul Blomfield (York AA), Ursula Brown, Wilfred Brutus (Barnet AA), Sonia Bunting, Bob Cant, Sam Chatterjee, Chris Cornwall, Joan Darling (Hampstead AA), Sarah Darling, Caroline de Crespigny, Ethel de Keyser, John Ennals, Paul Fauvet, Ruth First, Polly Gaster (CFMAG), Christabel Gurney, Ruth Harrison, marcia Heinamann, Rice Hodgson (D&A), Peter Jones, Frank Judd MP, Peter Katjavivi (SWAPO), Abdul Minty, Patricia Moberley, Jean Middleton, Betty Northedge (West London AA), Tony O'Dowd, Vella Pillay, Dorothy Robinson, Roger Trask, Mary Turok (SACTU), Nancy White, Jack Woddis. APOLOGIES: Joan Lestor MP, David Steel MP., Trevor Huddleston (Bishop of Stepney), Mike Gerrard, Jack Halpern, Connie mager (mid-Sussex AAC), Terry Trench (Rep. of ACTT), Dr. L. K-essel (Rep. of Communist Party), John Sprack, Roger Currell (Mid-Harts Anti-Racialist Group), Africa Bureau. 1) PINUTES OF MEETING OF 7 DECEMBER 1971 Agreed. 2) MATTERS ARISING (a) Item 2(b) Cultural Boycott: Ethel de Keyser reported that since the last meeting it had been ascertained that television in South Africa would be segregated and that ACTT and Equity were being approached to insert a clause in future contracts saying that artists and technicians would not allow their work to be sold for use on South African television. She further reported that an African group would be taking pert in the World Theatre Season at the Aldwych, presemting mbatha - a play based on macbeth; the money which had enabled it to take part had been partly put up by the South African Government, and she felt though there should be no public demonstration that we should stick to our agreed policy ef boycott if approached by the press in regard to this. After discussion this was agreed. (b) Item 2(d) Architects and Town Planners: Ethel de Keyser reported that RIBA in response to a request had decided to send out a representative to South Africa to assist in overseeing exams, etc. One architect member of the committee felt that we should approach Prof. Hinton who is to go and ask him to look into facilities available to Africans, Coloureds and Indians for studying architecture, and that we should not proceed until his return. (c) Item 6 Political Prisoners: Sonia Bunting reported the question of 3 Robben Island prisoners being placed in solitary confinement had been taken up with the ICJ, Red Cross and other organisations, asking them to make representations and protest to the South African Government. Publicity for this had been obtained in THE TIMES and following this report Pelser had denied it. We now have information that one of the three is no longer in solitary confinement and it is assumed that the other two were also in the same position. An international mailing was being sent out and would include information on Rhodesia and Namibia and also the treatment of guerilla fighters who are captured, who are treated as civilians and tried as such. A Red Cross Conference is to take place in Geneva in May to discuss the up-dating of the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of prisoners of war, and she felt that we should press that guerilla fighters should be treated as prisoners of war. The South African Government would be taking part, and it was important that the AAM be present, if not officially then at least to lobby. Various demonstrations were planned for Sharpeville, one of which will be on political prisoners outside South Africa House from 12.45 to 2.15pm. On the Geneva Conference in May., Abdul Minty said the movement had been invited to attend one of, the preparatory conferences and that we would therefore be receiving the documents for the conference. It was agreed that we should consult with the liberation movements before making any recommendations to the Conference. National ommitt e 4 March (d)Item4SouthernAfricaEducationProject: ar 1Y i dthat theUNGeneralAssembly'h as&ePs iqisport4 f theProject A and that a decision was awaited from UNESCO which had been instructed by the General Assembly to produce the kit. 25 schools in Britain had been circulated with the pilot scheme and we were in touch with people in Ireland to get it started there; a copy1had al .. gone to Uganda.- John Ennals said that we must bring pressure to bear nn UNESCO and it wes agreed that he should pbcne the Assistont General Secretary about it. The Chairman axpressed the gratitude of the National Committee to the Education# Project Committee, 3) RHODESIA CAMPAIGN de Keyser (a) ReCent Activities; Ethei/roported that following the decision at the lest Nationsl Committee mc.ting, amostiog of a wide spectrum of organi8ations, political. parties, trade unions, youth and church groups was called otn29 December! Attendance far exceeded expectations; it was 6 useful meeting and the Rhodesia Emergency Campaign Committee'was set up under the joiht chairmanship of Colin Morris and Stuaft Hall, to work speifically on the demonstratio opp 13 February. A number of demonstrations were organised leading up to that date, and about 100 meetings were sevicL with speakers in the six weekp before the rally. -Regarding Bishop Tdzoreaa's visit, w had asked for someone-'to come from Zimbabwe and it war decided'in Zi.mbabte that the Bishop himself shoutld come. It was his committee's decision that he should come and that his visit should last for ten days. Wa,were responsible fpr coordinating his visit, which went off vary well. The rally was good, Iih" a substantial turn-out and a good line-up of speakers, followed by th s march on Rhodesia House where there had bean a number of arrests. The Chairman added that he had represented the Mnvement on as deputation to the Foreign Secretary of a number of C grchmen. It had been strictly off- the record so he could not report what had taken place, except that they had spent an hour with. him and their discussion had been wide-ranging, despite the rather limited terms of reference. (b) Reports from AA Cnmmittees: Roger Blomfield from York said that in the buildup" to the' February 13 defnistre'tin' they. had been efletting, collecting signature for the petition, etc., along with UNA Yoth and student groueps. A meeting had been held in York- and at the Univer ity. They had been "ti lng to build uq , contacts wit,, groups other than students. Betty Northedga .from West Loniov said that they had concentrated their. efforts on getting people to the demonstration inm London since they were so nar. Joan Darlin9 from Hempstead said they had been concentrating on getting, signatu m to the petition, response to which had-been overwhelming. They had been selling the newspaper and lafletting; and literature sales were high. Roger Trask said that there had been activities on Rhodesia in most lodnl area~s, end there was a big me'eting in Edinburgh today at which John Sprark wa representing the -ovement. He said he had been asked by Connie fager of the Mid-Sussex Committee to report on the boycottwhich they had initiate5 d in the Brighton Co-op Society and for which they needed support in th erato ensure that' it was implemented. Also, i Welee there was opposition to .he planned tour of Rhodaesir by the Llanelli Rugby Football team in June, and the Labour Couicil had formally opposed the tour. At this point the Chairman welcomed Ambasador Fearah of Somalia to the meeting and asked him to address these present. Ambassador Fahra, ho ls- Somalia's pe manent representative at the UN, -a member of the Security Council 'ad Chairmen of the UN Committee on Apartheid, spoke about the role of the UN on Southern Africa and the recent meeting of the Se.-trity Council in Addie Ababa, and-stresmed the need for idesS and information from the Movement to essist the Sec'urity Council in its stork on Southern Africa. Following the Ambassador's talk, the- Chairman asked Ab.dul Minty to report on the Security eCouncilmeeting in Addis Ababa, which he had ttetnded on behalf ofV Canoh Colline and where he made representations on behalf of the AA. :He repbrted t.at the first few days of the meet-ing had' been taekn up by speeches frq the gove rument re4presentatives; three resolutions had been tabled - on South ArcRhodesia and Namibia - endthr awendiscussiononthe Portugese colonies. He had been dist~urbed b~y the resolution on Namibia, whicph had reulted in an agreement that the, Secretary-Ceneral should go to South Africa, because it gave the impression that there were dfaetby of dealing with the problem. He said that we should be thinking of the ole of the UN in terms of Southern Africa; what we would get out of the UN system that would help the liberation struggle and the work of the Movement; and National Committee 4 march 1972 . that we should come up with two or three points to put to the UN for consideration. He went on to say that the UN Committee on Apartheid were holding a seminar in March, he had been asked to go to a different meeting in Wshington a few days laterand Ambassador Farah had asked him to cbme earlier to take pert in the Committee's meeting in New York. He had alsb been asked to appear before the, Committee of 24. He spoke of a dangerous trend noticeable at the meeting he had just attended in Germany on the Cunene River Scheme: several people who had supported the movement's stand on the isolation of Southern Africa in the past were now moving towards the positions of the "Polaroid Experiment" and "Dialogue", and he suggested a meeting to discuss this matter, Polly Gaster formally proposed that we should call a meeting to deal with this question, and it was agreed that the Executive be asked to plan such a meeting following Abdul minty's return from Washington, in early April.
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