South Africa – 20 years of democracy
The date of April 27 marks the 20th anniversary of first democratic election held in South Africa. This is a special day to be celebrated; it almost coincides with the new general elections involving the whole population. On the one hand – 20 years is not a large period of time, those who have gone through thick and thin fighting apartheid are still very much alive.1 One the other hand, those who were born after the collapse of the system will vote for the first time in their lives. Are they well acquainted with the history of their country? I asked a 10-year old boy to tell me what he knew about his homeland. He asked in return, “Do you know what apartheid is?” I told him I did and that I was sorry it ever took place. The boy said he was born after the apartheid but it hurt him to know his parents had to go through all the hardships of those days …
The regime of apartheid
I’m sorry that racism still remains to be the reality of our times in South Africa and the world. But South Africa is a historic precedent. It was the country of apartheid (racial segregation) – the inequality of races backed by law. The black population had its place down below the social ladder. 2 The existing laws were shocking those days, for instance, interracial marriages and even extramarital love affairs between the people of different races were forbidden (the punishment for violation was severe, including even death sentence), there were bans on free movement with the country’s borders, certain job positions, the use of native tongue and many others. The system was repulsive; it went as far as putting signboards on benches reading “For whites only”.
The fight of South Africa’s indigenous people for freedom in the country occupied by the whites lasted for a few centuries. It started as a peaceful protest to continue this way for a long time, but at the beginning of the 1960s the African National Congress took a decision to switch over to armed struggle. It created the Umkhonto We Sizwe – a military wing. I have met a lot of Umkhonto vets and quite often we spoke…Russian! Montagane Serote, the famous writer, was the one.3 Sipho Mabuse, a leading country’s musician, was actively involved in arms smuggling.4 The editor-in chief of the Thinker, 5 the leading national intellectual outlet, Essop Pahad was involved in underground activities…
The Soviet Union rendered enormous aid to the African National Congress and the Umkhonto We Sizwe, in particular. 6 For instance, in 1969 the members of Umkhonto in Tanzania became too vulnerable to the attacks by South African “death squadrons”, so they were evacuated to the USSR.
In 1965 the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination was adopted and opened for signature and ratification by General Assembly resolution 2106 of December 21, 1965
to enter into force on January 4, 1969 in accordance with Article 19. But there is a wide gap between apartheid and racial discrimination with the first one backed up by law, so the fight against it requires special measures. In 1973 the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid was adopted.7 Apartheid was labelled as crime against humanity. 8
Dozens of years elapsed from the day the convention became effective to the moment the savage system of apartheid collapsed.
The native people of South Africa had to go a long way to achieve freedom.9 About 20 years ago – on April 27, 1994 – the regime of apartheid fell. The first general election brought to power the African National Congress with the support of 62%. It got even more votes in 1999 (66%) and 2004 (69%).
The democratically elected government destroyed the apartheid but racism remained alive. Racial problems remain to be a serious headache for the country. Some political parties like the Democratic Alliance (the leading opposition party) are believed to be tainted by racial prejudices. There are even worse cases. A few days ago South Africa paid tribute to its great hero. Chris Hani was the leader of the South African Communist Party and chief of staff of Umkhonto We Sizwe. A fierce opponent of the apartheid, he was assassinated by a Polish immigrant at the entrance to his own house twenty one years ago, on 10 April 1993. His role in the history of the country could hardly be exaggerated. He was really hated by racists. It was a matter of honor for me to visit his grave in Boksburg. That was the day the Freedom Front party called a meeting demanding the release of Janusz Waluś who killed Chris Hani. Racists remain in South Africa; they behave with impudence being ostentatiously aggressive in public. It’s not without purpose they call their party a “front” – they are still fighting the war lost a long time ago to defend their “white exclusiveness”.
The little bricks of Soweto
There is a little museum in Soweto, a suburban town near Johannesburg. It is called after Hector Pieterson. He is not a designer or a painter as one may assume by his name. The house is a tribute to the children shot in Soweto. The first victim was a little boy named Hector.
The murder of children is always horrible. What the racist regime did in 1976, it was really unbelievable. On July 11, 1976 police killed 23 black school children; they wanted to kill as many as they could as an act of intimidation.
A protester is carrying the body of Hector Pieterson
Walking around the yard one can see scattered bricks. Looking at them more attentively one can see that every one of them has a name scrolled on it. This is the name of a killed child. There many of them. You just go on reading the names while walking around.
The bricks have also dates. Holding back the tears you can read them: June 16, the dates of July, August and October. It was a real hunt, mass murder. The children went to protest after the day of June 16 – it means they realized that there was no way to escape death, they would not be spared but they went on…
These little bricks of Soweto in the yard of Hector Pierson museum have made a great contribution into the victory of the South African people over the racist regime. After the events the word Soweto became a symbol. It was clear back then that the regime could not be transformed – it could only be overthrown. Probably it was the only event in history when children, not adults, conscientiously made a sacrifice to achieve the decisive victory for the people of their homeland…
To understand what the 20th anniversary means for South Africans, we should remember the Soweto’s little bricks…
Twenty years of African National Congress in power: gains and achievements
The victory of African National Congress in 1994 was pre-destined. The Congress and its military wing Umkhonto We Sizwe had made the decisive contribution into the liberation of South African people. But the years since then have not been filled with great achievements making one’s head go round only; there have also been serious problems the government has failed to solve as yet. After 20 years since the liberation the black population owns only 13 percent of land. About 14% is owned by the state. The remaining land belongs to the whites who account for only 10 percent of the total population. Look at what takes place in South African economy. The whites hold 72% of key management positions with only 12% of top jobs going to black people. Experts say the progress is on the way, the goal of racial equality is not abandoned, but with the present tempo it will require 100 years to reach it.10
At that, the achievements are obvious. 6 million houses have become people’s property for free; over 95% of people have got access to pure drinking water (South Africa faces water access problem); around 60 percent of students receive financial assistance while going to universities; AIDS-infected people get medicine (very expensive) for free to keep them alive. Some of these reforms are unheard of even in rich and democratic countries.
Expecting new elections
South Africa will have the fifth general election on May 7. The African Union has already sent a 53-men strong mission headed by former President of Ghana John Kufuor to monitor the event. There is little doubt the African National Congress will win. At that the situation is not as simple as twenty years ago. The party has been losing popularity since 2008. It got only 66% of votes in 2009. It’s 4 percent more than at the first election, but 3% less in comparison with the last one. Thousands are leaving the Congress to create new political organizations. The last new party was created a year ago, according to polls, it could become the third political force in the country. Could the African National Congress win the election and form a cabinet? A lot depends on who will win to lead the country for the next five years, be it economy, or the country’s place in the world as an alternative to the existing order in the capacity of BRICS member.
10 days are left. I want to congratulate the South African people on the anniversary of their victory. It was a real great day! Back then Russia made an important contribution to make it a reality. Amandla!11
South Africa
Durban-Pretoria-
April 15-25, 2014