South African Activists

SA ACTIVISTS during 1970s
(by HE. Prof. KONG RITHRINA, MD)

HE. HARRY SCHWARZ (13 May 1924-5 February 2010 (aged 85)
Achievements:
As an opposition member of Parliament from 1974 to 1989, he was among the most vociferous campaigners against apartheid, the South Africa Jewish Board of Deputies said. Schwarz forcefully denounced the government’s racial policies and spoke out strongly against anti-Semitism. From 1990 to 1994 Schwarz served as South Africa’s ambassador to the United States.
As an attorney, he served on the defense team of Nelson Mandela and other anti-apartheid activists during the 1963-64 Rivonia Trial, in which ten leaders of the African National Congress were accused of overthrowing the apartheid system. Schwarz was also active in Jewish communal affairs, serving from 1983 to 2000 on the National Executive, Management Committee and Gauteng Council of the Jewish Board of Deputies.
“Harry Schwarz will be remembered for his signal contribution to the development of our democracy,” Helen Ziller, the leader of the Democratic Alliance, of which Schwarz was a co-founder, said in a statement. “He had strong leadership qualities and could inspire people to great achievements. He was an outstanding debater, both inside and outside Parliament.”

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (17 October 1931-Unknown As of December 1, 2010, he is still alive.)
Achievements:
In 1976, the protests in Soweto, also known as the Soweto Riots, against the government's use of Afrikaans as the compulsory language of instruction in black schools became a massive uprising against apartheid. From then on Tutu supported an economic boycott of his country. He vigorously opposed the "constructive engagement" policy of the Reagan administration in the United States, which advocated "friendly persuasion".[18] Tutu rather supported disinvestment, although it hit the poor hardest, for if disinvestment threw blacks out of work, Tutu argued, at least they would be suffering "with a purpose". In 1985, the US and the UK (two primary investors into South Africa) stopped any investments. As a result, disinvestment did succeed, causing the value of the Rand to plunge more than 35 percent, and pressuring the government toward reform.[citation needed] Tutu pressed the advantage and organised peaceful marches which brought 30,000 people onto the streets of Cape Town.[19]

Tutu was Bishop of Lesotho from 1976 until 1978, when he became Secretary-General of the South African Council of Churches. From this position, he was able to continue his work against apartheid with agreement from nearly all churches. Through his writings and lectures at home and abroad, Tutu consistently advocated reconciliation between all parties involved in apartheid. Tutu's opposition to apartheid was vigorous and unequivocal, and he was outspoken both in South Africa and abroad. He often compared apartheid to Nazism; as a result the government twice revoked his passport, and he was jailed briefly in 1980 after a protest march. It was thought by many that Tutu's increasing international reputation and his rigorous advocacy of non-violence protected him from harsher penalties. Tutu was also harsh in his criticism of the violent tactics of some anti-apartheid groups such as the African National Congress and denounced terrorism and Communism.

Helen Suzman (7 November 1917 – 1 January 2009)
Achievements:
Suzman and eleven other liberal members of the United Party broke away to form the Progressive Party in 1959. At the 1961 general election all the other Progressive MPs lost their seats, leaving Suzman as the sole parliamentarian unequivocally opposed to apartheid for thirteen years from 1961 to 1974.[3][4] She was often harassed by the police and her phone was tapped by them. She had a special technique for dealing with eavesdropping, which was to blow a whistle into the mouthpiece of the phone.[5]

An eloquent public speaker with a sharp and witty manner, Suzman was noted for her strong public criticism of the governing National Party's policies of apartheid at a time when this was atypical of white South Africans. She found herself even more of an outsider because she was an English-speaking Jewish woman in a parliament dominated by Calvinist Afrikaner men. She was once accused by a minister of asking questions in parliament that embarrassed South Africa, to which she replied: "It is not my questions that embarrass South Africa; it is your answers".[6]