JOHANNESBURG — On April 5, more than 12,000 people marched behind about 15 "human shields", who have recently returned from Iraq, to oppose the US-led invasion of Iraq. The protest, organised by the Anti-War Coalition (AWC), marched through the city's black working-class townships.
Asked why the AWC decided to march there rather than in the Johannesburg city centre or the capital Pretoria, where the US embassy is, AWC spokesperson Na'eem Jeenah said the march was to demonstrate that black South Africans are united in opposition to the war.
"While we believe that South Africans generally — across all divides — are opposed to the war, we felt it necessary to take the march away from largely white areas where we have so far been protesting, like Killarney (where the US consulate is located). Today's march took in Soweto, Eldorado Park and Lenasia, three black townships created by apartheid", he said.
The human shields who led the protest were part of a group of 34 South Africans who had gone to Iraq to protect civilian installations there. Most returned only a few days before the march. Abie Dawjee, coordinator of the group, and fellow human shields Nduduzi Manana and Ridwana Jooma recounted some of their experiences in Iraq to the crowd.
In a touching tribute, Jooma lifted up a picture of a seven-year-old Iraqi boy, Saif, who she had "left behind". Saif had become very close to her during the three weeks that she was in Iraq. She said she was ready to return.
Trevor Ngwane from the Anti-Privatisation Forum slammed South Africa's state-owned Denel corporation for supplying weapons components to the British and US armed forces and called for a suspension of all such contracts. Jeenah, speaking on behalf of the Palestine Solidarity Committee, said that the situation Iraqis find themselves in is very similar to that of the Palestinians. Both are populations under occupation, he said.
The Landless People's Movement's Andile Mngxitama reminded people that the war against Iraq is not just about oil but also about land. As such, he said, landless people in South Africa fully support the struggles of the Iraqi and the Palestinian peoples to regain control of their land.
Other speakers included Mark Heywood of the Treatment Action Committee, who spoke about US imperialism's role in allowing AIDS deaths. He compared the tiny amount of money the US government has allocated to AIDS relief to the US$80 billion allocated to the war against Iraq.
Kimani Ndung'u, from the Freedom of Expression Institute, encouraged people to oppose the repressive anti-terrorism bill that has been tabled in South Africa's parliament by the African National Congress government.
The AWC, said spokesperson Salim Vally, is "growing from strength to strength". He said that this was an indication that the agenda of the coalition is not just a end to the war against Iraq is also more broadly about opposition to US imperialism and its negative effects on peoples of the world's health, environment and living standards — especially in the Third World. The AWC is holding continuous pickets outside US consulates in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.
From Green Left Weekly, April 9, 2003.
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