ANC representative in Wollongong

ANC representative in Wollongong

By Bernie Brian

WOLLONGONG — The deputy representative of the African National Congress in Australia, Mahlubandile Radebe, told 200 students at Wollongong University on September 10 that a "soft war" was being carried out by the de Klerk government against the democratic movement in South Africa.

Radebe was invited to Wollongong by Green Left Weekly and the University Resistance Club, and his trip was sponsored by a broad range of people and organisations, including local parliamentarians, unions and left political parties.

That evening, he told a public meeting of about 40 people that "Bantus like Ciskei are nothing more than an extension of the South African government. De Klerk is directly responsible for the massacres, and he must control his charges.

"The ANC can't negotiate in this climate. There is a need for the people to demonstrate that they've had enough, and the only way they can do this is to demonstrate en masse in the streets."

Motions were passed condemning the South African government for the massacre in Ciskei, supporting the union picket outside the South African embassy in Canberra, and calling on the federal government to expel the South African ambassador and staff and to reimpose sanctions if requested by the ANC.

The South Coast Labour Council has also passed a resolution against regional trade links with South Africa.

From GLW issue 71