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The South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) and the African National Congress of South Africa (ANC) have been consistently and nearly uniformly portrayed by the Western press and politicians as ''Marxist terrorists." Yet, as the material here points out, church leaders in Namibia and South Africa consider the groups to be authentic and in need of. support in a just cause for which the churches pray. Therefore, it is important to take a closer look at the history and stance of these movements. Among other liberation movements opposing apartheid and seeking to bring about self-determination of all people in the political, social and economic orders of Namibia and South Africa is the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC). With SWAPO and the ANC it is recognized by the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity as an official liberation movement of South Africa. But the South African government has singled out only SWAPO and the ANC as its chief adversaries. Furthermore, SWAPO and the ANC appear to be the largest such movements as well as the best organized. Finally, SWAPO and the ANC appear to have the strongest support of people living inside their respective countries. For these reasons, only the two are described here.

SOtml-WEST AFRICA PEOPLE'S ORGANIZATION The South-West Africa People's Organization was orginally organized as the Ovamboland People's Congress (OPC) in 1957 in order to protest especially the conditions imposed on migrant workers by South Africa's labor contract system. In 1958 it changed its name to Ovamboland People's Organization (OPO) and extended its opposition to forced removal of black people to Bantustans or so-called "homelands." It reorganized again as SWAPO in April 1960 with the expanded objective of the complete liberation of the Namibian people from colonialism. Herman Toivo ja Toivo and Sam Nujoma were among the chief founders of SWAPO. They had hoped to liberate Namibians through political initiatives, but their speeches and demonstrations were met with violence. The South African police harassed, wounded, detained, tortured and even killed the protesters. They arrested, banned or restricted in movement the leaders. Nujoma fled the country in 1960 to avoid arrest. I

A law was hurriedly passed in 1967 to define SWAPO's activities as illegal and made retroactive in order to convict Toivo and 36 of his colleagues. Twenty were given life sentences. Nine others, including Toivo, were sentenced to 20 years at hard labor and four to lesser time. Only four were acquitted. In March 1984 South Africa released Toivo and five others from prison, probably with the hope that this action would divide SWAPO's leadership. The continued assault by South African police against the Namibian people in response to their non-violent protests convinced SWAPO that its political activity must be accompanied by sabotage and an armed struggle. Accordingly it organized the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), which fired its first shots in August 1966. Outside of Namibia, SWAPO has major offices in London; Stockholm, Sweden; Paris; Lusaka, Zambia; and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Its headquarters is in Luanda, Angola. Since 1976 SWAPO has had observer status at the United Nations, having maintained a U.N. relationship for many years before that. It is recognized both by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the U.N. General Assembly as being the sole authentic representative of the Namibian people. SWAPO describes itself as an African nationalist organization of N~ibian patriots. Its membership and leadership are drawn from all areas of Namibia. While most of its members are black, it is a non-racial organization. Politically it has advanced a vision of a unified nation, non-racist and non-classist, which would distribute Namibia's resources in an equitable fashion. Some have expressed fears that SWAPO is dominated by the Soviet Union and that after Namibia gains its independence it will practice in conformity with a Marxist-Leninist communist ideology. SWAPO President Sam Nujoma responds as follows: '~e consider our struggle to be a just struggle and therefore feel that we deserve assistance from peace-loving people the world over. '~e receive aid from socialist countries, from OAU member states, the non-aligned movement and even from Western countries such as Sweden, Holland, Belgium, Norway, Finland, etc. But all of this aid is completely without any strings attached. '~e have no commitments toward any country or organization just because they have supplied us with aid or assistance. "I would like to single out an interesting fact. During the Second World War Gen. [Jan] Smuts sat in meetings with the commanders and army officers of the Soviet Union. South Africa, together with the other allied countries, . collaborated with the Russians to fight and eliminate a common danger that threatened entire mankind--Nazi Hitler. And their victory was a united victory over Nazism. '~e therefore accept and appreciate the support given to us by any country in our struggle against a similar kind of regime that oppresses and exploits our people. '~e are fighting to liberate the oppressed people of Namibia from racist South Africa and its illegal administration of our country, and in achieving that objective we will collaborate with peace-loving nations anywhere in the world." Namibian church leaders say: "SWAPO members are our sons and daughters, our brothers and sisters." Namibia's liberation struggle has many similarities to what happened over the past decade in Zimbabwe. There fears were also expressed in connection with its liberation movements. However, when Robert Mugabe's party came into power, he accepted the economic realities of the system he inherited. He further announced a program of modification which, while utilizing the strengths of capitalism, would be combined with a kind of extended family sharing. Such sharing has been a hallmark of African culture and, for want of a better tenn, can be described as "African socialism." There has been no threat to religious freedom in Zimbabwe. Nor is any expected in Namibia after independence. In fact, it may be enhanced--except for churches which practice racism. In its military struggle, SWAPO's primary target has been the South African military and police and its secondary target the leaders and institutions imposed on the people of Namibia by South Africa. Charges of terrorism by SWAPO against the general popUlation are not possible to document. Since 1982 church groups have made four official visits. All have reported that the people of the North--the war zone--feel more "terrorized," if the tenn is to be used at all, by the South African army than by SWAPO infiltrators. They are convinced that many of the hostile acts against civilians are carried out by South African army personnel disguised as SWAPO guerrillas. A final note is that since January 1981 SWAPO has consistently offered to sign a cease-fire with South Africa and cooperate in the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 435. This 1978 action is designed to allow the people of Namibia to choose their own leaders. South Africa has refused to enter into the agreement. SWAPO's address in the United States is 801 Second Avenue, New York NY 10017. It publishes books and periodicals. Write for infonnation on current literature.

AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS OF SOUTH AFRICA The African National Congress of South Africa was founded in 1912 in the fonner British colony, the Orange Free State, "to defend Africans against repression." The founders adopted a two-pronged strategy to attempt legally and peacefully to reason with the whites and convince them that the political situation for blacks in South Africa was unsatisfactory. From 1912 until 1949 the ANC abided by its peaceful and legal strategy in making deputations to the governments of South Africa and England. Prodded by the growing impatience of its own Youth League, the ANC in 1949 evaluated its situation and concluded that its strategy for change was taking the people backward, not forward. For example, in 1912 a few black South Africans could vote, but by 1949 no black Africans had voting rights. In 1912 many black Africans owned land, but by 1949 virtually all of them had lost their property rights. As a result of the review, the congress decided in 1949 to continue its commitment to working for change in a peaceful manner, drop its commitment to legal activity and adopt a new tactic of civil disobedience. During the 1950s large-scale campaigns of civil disobedience swept the country as part of this new program of action. The position was that blacks should intentionally violate unjust laws as a means of communicating their dissatisfaction to the white community. The hated pass laws were especially targeted, and Africans would peacefully gather to sing songs, make speeches and then burn their passes in a collective act of civil disobedience. The response of the white community was one of fear. Insisting that law and order must prevail above all else, new powers were given to the police to quell the new wave of illegality. For example, the government banned the Communist Party of South Africa and gave the minister of justice the power to detain suspected activists for a period of up to 48 hours. The first banning orders occurred during the 1950s. Today these laws have expanded to give the white regime a great deal of totalitarian authority, especially in relation to the black society. During the 1950s the ANC operated within a broad, multiracial coalition that included the South African Indian Congress, the South African Coloured People's Organization and the white Congress of Democrats. The coalition convened a historic Congress of the People on June 25, 1955. Nearly 3,000 from throughout South Africa attended, adopting the now famous "Freedom Charter" as a manifesto of the changes being sought in South Africa. Since then the charter has remained the basis of ANC policy. Here are excerpts: ''We, the people of South Africa, declare for all our country and the world to know:

• That South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of all the people. • That our people have been robbed of their birthright to land, liberty and peace by a form of government founded on injustice and inequality. • That our country will never be prosperous or free until all our people' live in brotherhood, enjoying equal rights and opportunities. • That only a democratic state, based on the will of all the people, can secure to all their birthright without distinction of colour, race, sex or belief.

"And therefore, we the people of South Africa, black and white together--equals, countrymen and brothers--adopt this Freedom Charter. And we pledge ourselves to strive together, sparing neither strength nor courage, until the democratic changes set out here have been won. "The people shall govern! "Every man and woman shall have the right to vote for and to stand as a candidate for all bodies which make laws. "All people shall be entitled to take part in the administration of the country. "The rights of the people shall be the same, regardless of race, colour or sex. "All shall be equal before the law! '~o one shall be imprisoned, deported or restricted without a fair trial. "No one shall be condemned by the order of any government official. ..

"The courts shall be representative of all the people. "All shall enjoy equal human rights! "The law shall guarantee to all their rights to speak, to organize, to meet together, to punish, to preach, to worship and to educate their children. ''The privacy of the house from police raids shall be protected by law. "All shall be free to travel without restriction from countryside to town, from province to province and from South Africa abroad. "Pass laws, pennits and all other laws restricting these freedoms shall be abolished. "There shall be work and security! "All who work shall be free to fonn unions, to elect their officers and to make wage agreements with their employers. "The state shall recognize the right and duty of all to work and to draw full unemployment benefits. ''Men and women of all races shall receive equal pay for equal work. "There shall be a 40-hour working week, a national minimum wage, paid annual leave and sick leave for all workers and maternity leave on full pay for all working mothers. "The doors of learning and of culture shall be opened! ''The government shall discover, develop and encourage national talent for the enhancement of our cultural life. "The aim of education shall be to teach the youth to love their people and their culture, to honor human brotherhood, liberty and peace. "Education shall be free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children. "There shall be peace and friendship! "South Africa shall strive to maintain world peace and the settlement of all international disputes by negotiation--not war. "Peace and friendship among all our people shall be secured by upholding the equal rights, opportunities and status of all. ''The rights of all the peoples of Africa to independence and self-government shall be recognized and shall be the basis of close cooperation. "Let all who love their people and their country now say, as we say here: 'These freedoms we will fight for, side by side, throughout our lives, until we have won our liberty. '"

Some Africans were concerned about the nature of their coalition with whites, coloureds and Indians. They felt that the ANC had become unduly influenced by the cultural styles and political agendas of these minority groups. The critics were adherents of a "pan-African" philosophy which was sweeping the continent during the 1950s and which asserted that Africans, as the majority population, should dominate nationalist movements. The critics of coalition-building decided in 1959 to break away and fonn the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC). This split remains a highly controversial occasion in the history of nationalist politics in South Africa and is a complex, sensitive affair which cannot be adequately treated here. Persons interested in learning more about it are encouraged to read Gail M. Gerhart's "Black Power in South Africa: Evolution of an Ideology" (Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, 1979). The Pan-Africanist Congress represented an aggressive new force in South African politics and thus grew rapidly during its first year of existence. This frightened the white regime and led to an escalation in the violence with which it responded to black demonstrations. As a result, March and April of 1960 proved to be a watershed period in the history of black politics in South Africa. On March 21, 1960, the congress opened a new campaign of civil disobedience focused on opposition to the hated pass laws. During a peaceful gathering of unarmed men, women and children in front of the police station at the town of Sharpeville, people burned their passes and surrendered themselves for mass arrest. The intention was to demonstrate that black dissatisfaction with the pass laws existed on a scale so massive that the white government would not be able to contain so many "criminals." The police response was to open fire on the crowd, killing 67 people and wounding another 186. Most were shot in the back as they fled the police guns. A month later the African National Congress and the Pan-Africanist Congress were banned as illegal organizations. With their legal opportunity for peaceful resistance now completely exhausted, the ANC and PAC turned to highly selective acts of military sabotage. In December 1961 ANC's military wing organized under the Zulu name, "Umkhonto We Sizwe," meaning "Spear of the Nation," and a campaign of sabotage against the "symbols of apartheid" began. Favorite targets were police stations. The initial campaign was cut short when in 1963 the police tracked down the underground ANC headquarters and arrested its leaders. A year later they were tried and sent to prison. Among them was an attorney, Nelson Mandela, whose sentence was for life. Some leaders who were not captured went into exile to carry on the work. They included another attorney, Oliver Tambo, current ANC president. Now the congress attempted to bring about change through diplomacy by telling its story to the international community. Violence by the South African police and administration continued and increased inside the country. Detentions, bannings and executions multiplied. The world community could not--or would not--exercise the kind of pressure required to change the apartheid system and prevent the repression. As a result, in the 1970s guerrilla and sabotage activities increased but in a controlled, almost restrained manner. Chosen targets were property, not people. Only recently have the tactics changed in response to South Africa's continued assault on the black population. The most brutal examples are the massacre of up to 1,000 unarmed schoolchildren and youth in June 1976 and the slaying of Steve Biko, a detainee, in 1977. The South African government regards the African National Congress and the Pan-Africanist Congress as Marxist terrorist organizations. Both have been banned. South Africa's army has bombed sites in Mozambique, claiming they were pre-emptive strikes against ANC military installations. There is no evidence to support South Africa's contention. Such attacks inside neighboring sovereign states along with economic reprisals have forced some of the states to sign non-aggression pacts with South Africa. A diplomat from one of the neighboring front-line states has commented wryly that non-aggression pacts would imply that both parties are capable of aggression, whereas South Africa alone has both the military and economic power to be aggressive. Such pacts are not a result of diplomatic negotiation but of military assault in an undeclared war by South Africa against neighboring states. What about the charge that the ANC is under Soviet influence? Anthony Lewis, a columnist for The New York Times, directed this question to Oliver Tambo in February 1982. Here is Tambo's answer: "The Soviet Union has no influence on the ANC any more than Canada has. What has really happened is that we found ourselves, decades ago, fighting against racism--and relatively weak. We went in search of friends, to Canada, the United States, Europe, India and elsewhere. Some received us well, some were lukewarm, some turned us down. "The Soviet Union gave us support. So did other countries--Sweden, for example. Sweden gives us assistance without strings except that no funds may be used to buy guns. The Soviet Union does not have to say that because it gives us guns. The supposed stigma of getting assistance from the Soviet Union has no meaning whatever in southern Africa. There would be no independence for anyone without those weapons. That's what ordinary people think. Where would we be without that assistance? Could we go to Washington? "We are called terrorists. After 70 years, what would anybody do if the response had been murder, torture, life imprisonment? Who is a terrorist? Is it not the person who has been persecuting human beings simply because they are black? We think southern Africa could be a glorious part of the world, with rich cultural values and natural wealth, people moving freely across borders. That kind of southern Africa is of course in the making. It's just a matter of time. We know we have to pay for it in plenty of blood. But it will come." While this summary has mentioned only Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela by name, this does not mean that the ANC is lacking in leadership. What it really means is that the list is too long to mention others in the history of the movement, both men and women, black and white, who have given leadership in a variety of ways. Currently members of the African National Congress, due to the non-aggression pacts, are no longer welcome in Mozambique, Swaziland or Lesotho even though they may be simply refugees. The ANC maintains its headquarters in Lusaka, Zambia, and has offices in many other places in the world. Its United States address is 801 Second Avenue, New York NY 10017. It maintains two monthly publications, Sechaba and ANC Weekly News Briefings, which are available for $25 annually.