Etienne Chouard - Chercher la cause des causes

"In 2005, before the European referundum, while teaching economics and law, Etienne Chouard looked closely to the draft version of the European Constitution. What he discovered changed him forever. He woke up, policatilly. Since then, and independently from any political organizations, he warns us against our apathy, denounces our responsibility and wants to restore the true meaning of democracy. His motto : a Constitution written by citizens and representatives selected by sortition."

Russia-Ukraine Tuesday Meeting Results In

The results of the meeting in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych today are in.  The two presidents met today as scheduled to discuss the economic situation and international relations of Ukraine.

Moscow has lowered the price at which Ukraine will buy Russian gas from $400 to $268.5 per 1000 cubic meters, a cut of one third.  This price cut is in keeping with predictions announced last week by Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, who had announced that he expected Russia would lower delivery prices for Russian gas after the visit.  Moscow also agreed to buy $15 billion worth of Ukrainian government bonds--essentially a $15 billion dollar loan.

Moscow also plans to resume supplying oil to Ukraine's refinery in Odessa, which can process 70 000 barrels per day.  Russia's preliminary export schedule indicates that Russia could send 750 000 tonnes of oil in the first quarter of 2014, worth approximately $600 million.  The Odessa plant was shut down in 2010 due to poor financial performance, but was bought and reopened by VETEK last October.

Russia is Ukraine's main source of energy and bank loans, and is Ukraine's most important trading partner.  Currently Ukraine exports $16 billion to Russia in goods per year, roughly the same amount as Ukraine exports to Europe.  Ukraine is extremely dependent on Russia for oil and gas--its biggest import--which it pipes to Europe.

Ukraine already carries massive debt to Russia.  Ukraine needs to pay Russia $17 billion next year for its outstanding gas bill alone.

Also at the meeting Putin and Yanukovych discussed economic and industrial cooperation.  The two signed agreements on these issues and committed themselves to implementing the free trade deal signed two years ago.  The leaders announced that they did not discuss customs unions.

Trade between Russia and Ukraine fell 11% in 2012 and 14.5% in 2013.  Ukrainian officials have announced their priority to restore trade relations with Russia before proceeding with their stated direction of the European Union.

The Ukrainian leadership has been explicit about its direction.  It has stated that Ukraine's direction is with Europe, and it intends to one day join the EU.  The leadership has stated that its view on trade agreements with the EU and with Russia is not about foreign policy choice, but about reforms.  The leadership has stated that deals with one of these two partners does not mean turning away from the other.

Russia has so far been successful at maintaining Ukraine's loyalty by alternating punishing and rewarding economic measures .  In August, Russia banned Ukrainian chocolate imports, which might have cost Ukraine $200 million, and asked its partners Belarus and Kazakhstan to do the same.  Recently, Russia threatened to impose $46 million in sanctions against Ukraine, targeting especially Ukrainian imports.  Russia has also threatened to demand immediate payment of outstanding loans.

On the other hand, the recent withdrawal of Ukraine from an immediate EU agreement has caused some EU members to become short with Ukraine, and the USA has mentioned possible sanctions against Ukraine.

Ukraine is vulnerable to the conditions of its trading partners because the country is massively in debt.  Ukraine's debt has been rising steadily over the years and is currently $134 billion, as reported by the Ukrainian National Bank, which is 36% of GDP.  Ukraine depends heavily on Russia for its economic health, but looks to Europe for its future, hoping for reforms.

The Ukrainian people are also split over which road to take, uncertain of which set of circumstances will be worse.  They worry about becoming subject to either Russia or Poland and Germany, and have been demonstrating for both positions.  Ukraine's Research and Branding group, a non-governmental organization, released figures early this month that show that 46% of Ukrainians favor the EU, while 36% favor Russia.  Ukraine is a heavily regional country, though, with a large Russian population in the east and a large European-oriented population in the west and center.

Why Was Mandela Imprisoned?

Mandela, who died December 5, is remembered as a freedom fighter who struggled against the racist oppression of his government and suffered incarceration for 27 years, although this 27 years was a shortening of a life term imposed on Mandela in 1964.

What was Mandela charged with?

Mandela was politically active during the 50s and 60s, during the reign of the apartheid government that was elected in 1948 by the whites of South Africa, the only citizens suffered to vote.  He was a member and leader of a political party that opposed apartheid and sought equality for blacks in South Africa.

The apartheid government was characterized in large part by a series of laws it passed making racial segregation a legal order.  Dissenting political parties and civil rights groups opposed these laws, which led the apartheid government to pass laws making such actions by opposing groups illegal also.

One such law was the 1950 Suppression of Communism Act.  This act named communism as the social evil, but contained a definition of communism so broad that it could catch any politically dissenting idea or attitude in its net.  Mandela was arrested for violation of this act several times in the early 50s and jailed for short periods.  In 1952 Mandela was sentenced under this act to nine months incarceration with hard labor, but the sentence was suspended two years.  Mandela's crimes were public speaking, membership in an anti-apartheid party, association with the South African Communist Party, and public protests.

During the next few years, the government responded to political protests and actions with laws such as the Public Safety Act, 1953 and Riotous Assemblies Act, 1956.  These laws empowered the government to declare state emergencies and employ martial law for political protests, increase penalties for crimes when they were committed for political reasons, and made encouraging protests against laws, passive resistance against laws, and open-air meetings subject to criminal prosecution.

In 1955 the government allowed a huge gathering of various anti-apartheid groups.  This meeting was known as the Congress of the People, and its main topic was the drafting of a manifesto of beliefs (which opposed the policies of the government) called the Freedom Charter.  Many attendees of this meeting signed the charter.  In 1956 156 of these people, including Mandela, were arrested and charged under the Suppression of Communism Act and Riotous Assemblies Act.  This trial lasted four years and ended in acquittal.

In 1960 amidst country-wide unrest, the government proclaimed martial law under the Public Safety Act.  Mandela was arrested and jailed without charge for several months until the state emergency was lifted and prisoners were released.

Later in 1960 the government passed the Unlawful Organizations Act, which made the political party Mandela led an illegal organization.

Shortly thereafter, Mandela decided that violence would be necessary to overthrow the apartheid government.  Mandela directed a violent wing of his political party and went underground.  The violence was confined to explosions where there would be no loss of life.  Mandela traveled Africa and visited London, gaining support, funds, and guerrilla warfare training before returning to South Africa.

The government soon passed the General Laws Amendments Acts of 1962 and 1963 which made receiving training that could further "communism," and advocating change by violent means and with foreign aid illegal.  It also allowed police detainment for 90 days without legal counsel or visitors, and unlimited detainment for sabotage.

In 1962 Mandela was caught and charged with incitement to strike and leaving the country illegally.  He was sentenced to five years incarceration.

A year later, while Mandela was in jail, several other political leaders were arrested and Mandela was charged with them for sabotage and attempting to overthrow the state.  This trial ended in 1964 and Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment.

The trial and incarceration became a global issue.  Many nations and the EU criticized South Africa for it, and many placed sanctions on the South African government.  Mandela's wife labored throughout his jail term for his release.

Mandela was released in 1990 when the President of South Africa legalized his political party and released Mandela.  This act was commemorated in the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, which was shared by the two politicians.

Mandela: Two Speeches: "No Easy Walk to Freedom" (1953) and "I am Prepared to Die" (1963)

Mandela made two particularly well-known speeches during his anti-apartheid struggle in the 50s and 60s. 

"No Easy Walk to Freedom" (text) is a 4553-word speech by Mandela read to the African National Congress party in 1953.  It contextualizes the actions of South Africans from all walks of life and all races who participated in the Campaign for the Defiance of the Unjust Laws.  Mandela talks to how these people sacrificed their jobs and elected to go to jail for the cause, and this bound them together and voiced their opposition to the unjust government in office.  It talks about the "Suppression of Communism" and "Public Safety" Acts that allow the government to imprison anyone, even for calling on another person to "defy", and allowed the government to use marshal law against protesters.  It lists the people who have been charged under these laws.

There are several sections of normal political rhetoric about social and economic grievances and (in this case racist) policies unfair to his constituency.  He lists orders to his supporters to publicize and support the Congress.  He instructs them that if they can't meet publicly (because of the legal prohibition), they should meet anywhere else, in their factories or on buses.

He blames on the branch authorities the less-than-desirable members of his party, makes note of enemies within the ranks of the party, detailing some who have been found, and stating that the others have not been found yet.  He then states that those who are "friends of the people' are willing to make the sacrifices (life and death) for his party, and enemies are recognized by their unwillingness to sacrifice.  He points out that "almost all the people who oppose the "M" Plan are people who have consistently refused to respond when sacrifices are called for, and whose political background leaves much to be desired.  These shade characters by means of flattery, bribes and corruption, win the support of the weak-willed and politically backward individuals, detach them from Congress and use them in their own interests."  After rhetoric to do with racism and universal rights, he speaks of one of the oppositions facing his party:

"We are exiled from our own people for we have uncompromisingly resisted the efforts of imperialist America and her satellites to drag the world into the rule of violence and brutal force, into the rule of the napalm, hydrogen and the cobalt bombs where millions of people will be wiped out to satisfy the criminal and greedy appetites of the imperial powers. We have been gagged because we have emphatically and openly condemned the criminal attacks by the imperialists against the people of Malaya, Vietnam, Indonesia, Tunisia and Tanganyika and called upon our people to identify themselves unreservedly with the cause of world peace and to fight against the war policies of America and her satellites...."

He then lists some of the specific outrages committed on people in these war-torn regions and states that "We are prisoners in our own country because we dared to raise our voices against these horrible atrocities and because we expressed our solidarity with the cause of the Kenya people."

He then quotes Nehru to the effect that people's desires will come after difficult tribulations, and closes:

"Dangers and difficulties have not deterred us in the past, they will not frighten us now. But we must be prepared for them like men in business who do not waste energy in vain talk and idle action. The way of preparation for action lies in our rooting out all impurity and indiscipline from our organisation and making it the bright and shining instrument that will cleave its way to Africa's freedom."

"I am Prepared to Die" (text) was a 14326-word speech recited by Mandela during his 1963 trial for sabotage and attempting to overthrow the state.  In 1963 ten ANC leaders (including Mandela, who was serving a 5 year sentence for incitement to strike and leaving the country illegally) were arrested and charged.  It was generally assumed that state would move for the death penalty, and all defendants plead guilty.  Mandela believed he would likely receive the death sentence, and for this reason Mandela retained the final, "I am prepared to die" statement despite his lawyers advice, although Mandela added, "if needs be."

Mandela prepared the speech about South African legal injustice, aimed at the international audience, receiving aid from a writer and a journalist (who judged the delivery of the speech to be "most... effective" and "hesitant, boring"), and took as example Castro's 4-hour long "History Will Absolve Me" speech (1953) delivered at Castro's sentencing for charges related to violent revolutionary acts.

The first third explains the rationale and contextualizes the motivation for finally forming a wing of the ANC that uses violence (sabotage). Mandela then speaks to separating the ANC's violent wing and their directives from violent acts committed by other groups. He talks about how, after black violent acts, whites became more reactionary, and whites and blacks became more separated in the struggle which threatened to become a racial civil war. At this point, the white government threatened blacks committing sabotage with death, necessitating--Mandela says--stepping up the level of ANC violence from sabotage to terrorism. Mandela then talks about his tour of Africa, his preparation for guerrilla war, various false charges by the state. He then talks about the ideals and political goals of the ANC, distinguishes the ANC from the Communist Party and explains their inter-relationship. Mandela states his own political beliefs, and speaks praisingly of British and American political institutions. Mandela explains his connections with communism and Communists, details the funding of the ANC, describes the South African economy and labor conditions and the effects of poverty, and closes stating that Apartheid is the reason for these ills, and that he is committed to ending racial segregation.

Mandela and South African Apartheid Laws, 1949-1964

This post looks at the laws instituted by the Apartheid government in South Africa which were used first to create legal segregation, then expanded to protect the policies of the government against the public it governed, who sought to remove them.

This series of laws can be used to illustrate the points of Mandela's and other South African's struggle against apartheid between 1948 and 1963 when Mandela was imprisoned the final time.

The Apartheid government that was elected in 1948 passed several segregation laws.  Among these were prohibition of mixed marriages, registration of all South Africans as one of four racial groups, and relocation of racial groups into segregated zones in urban areas.  These laws were passed in 1949 and 1950.  In 1950 the SUPPRESSION OF COMMUNISM ACT was also enacted in response to political groups who opposed the ruling government.  This act was used in Mandela's 1956-1961 Treason Trial and his 1963-1964 Rivonia Trial.

The first laws we will consider are the six laws taken up by the ANC and the South African Indian Congress in their 1952 non-violent Defiance Campaign. the GROUP AREAS ACT of 1950, the STOCK LIMITATION ACT of 1950, the SUPPRESSION OF COMMUNISM ACT of 1950, the SEPARATE REPRESENTATION OF VOTERS ACT of 1951 (with sequels), the BANTU AUTHORITIES ACT of 1951 and the NATIVES ABOLITION OF PASSES & COORDINATION OF DOCUMENTS ACT of 1952.  The Defiance Campaign had three stages: first, the ANC recruited people who would defy these laws publicly by carrying out such acts as refusing to carry passes, entering European-only places and restricted areas.  Second, the recruits were to be increased in order to clog up the judicial and administrative system, and third, "industrial action" would increase political pressure on a countrywide scale.  In this campaign 8400 were arrested and 5000 jailed (speech about the campaign by Mandela).

The SUPPRESSION OF COMMUNISM ACT declared communist parties, promotion of "communist activities", publishing "certain publications", and "certain communist activities" unlawful.   It defined "communism" as "any doctrine or scheme.... which aims at... a system of government based on the dictatorship of the proletariat under which one political organization only is recognized and all other(s)... are suppressed or eliminated," or promotes or uses means which include the promotion of disturbance or disorder by unlawful acts or omissions or threats of same, or acting with directions, guidance, or cooperation with any foreign government or institution whose purpose (professed or not) is to promote a communistic government (as described above), or which aims to encourage feelings of hostility between Europeans and non-European races in order to achieve any such communistic aims.  In this Act, a "communist" is defined as a person who professes or is deemed by the State to have advocated, advised, defended, or encouraged (ever after the passing of this Act) the achievement of any communistic act or omission which is deemed to have furthered any such achievement or purpose.

Mandela was charged under this law several times in the early 50's.  In 1952 Mandela was arrested three times for violating this act and sentenced along with 20 other Defiance Campaign leaders, to nine months imprisonment, sentence suspended two years, and banned from public speaking.

The NATIVES ABOLITION OF PASSES & COORDINATION OF DOCUMENTS ACT of 1952 coodinated and expanded the system of carrying passes applied since 1797 to blacks moving in white areas.  (This act was amended in 1956 to explicitly include women.)

The government's reaction to the ANC's civil disobedience campaigns, particularly the Defiance Campaign, was the PUBLIC SAFETY ACT, 1953, which empowered the government to declare a state of emergency and do whatever they deem necessary to deal with the emergency.  The government also passed the CRIMINAL LAW AMENDMENT ACT No 8, 1953, making any act that may cause another person to commit a crime by way of protest against the law or any passive resistance against any law illegal.

From the PUBLIC SAFETY ACT, 1953; Section 3: "The Governor-General [later, State-President] may... make such regulations as appear to him to be necessary or expedient for providing for the safety of the public, or the maintenance of public order and for making adequate provision for terminating such emergency or for dealing with any circumstances which in his opinion have arisen or are likely to arise as a result of such emergency" Any laws made during a state of emergency could be made retrospective for four days to cover any emergency action taken by the police. The emergency regulations could suspend any act of Parliament, with a few exceptions. If the justice minister or administrator of South West Africa deemed it necessary, they could declare a state of emergency but the governor general had to approve their action within ten days"

From the CRIMINAL LAW AMENDMENT ACT No 8, 1953: "Any person who in any way whatsoever advises, encourages, incites, commands, aids or procures any other person ... or uses language calculated to cause any other person to commit an offence by way of protest against the law... shall be guilty of an offence" Also, "passive resistence against any law (is) illegal." This law also increased penalties for all crimes when a law was broken for political reasons.

In June, 1955 the ANC, South African Indian Congress, the Colored People's Congress, the South African Congress of Trade Unions, and the Congress of Democrats convened.  3000 people attended from these and various other groups.  The Freedom Charter was the main issue at this meeting.

After the 1955 Congress of the People, the RIOTOUS ASSEMBLIES ACT was passed in March, 1956.  This act empowered the Minister of Justice to deem open-air gatherings dangers to the public peace, after which they were prohibited.  It included banishment as punishment.  This law was used in Mandela's 1956-1961 Treason Trial.

In 1956 Mandela was arrested as one of 156 anti-apartheid political leaders who attended the 1955 Congress of the People and signed the Freedom Charter.  All were charged with treason, citing their participation in drawing up the Freedom Charter, which sought to abolish segregation.  The prosecution argued that ending segregation would necessarily mean the overthrow and destruction of the existing state, and this implied necessary violence, since there was no other means by which this end could be achieved.  The defendants were also charged with communism and establishing alternative appendages to the government because the African National Congress sought universal adult suffrage divided into electoral districts and a general election for representatives.  This trial lasted four years, ending in acquittal.  

In March, 1960 a demonstration outside the Sharpville police station where 5000 Africans gathered without their mandatory passes alarmed police, who had no means by which to arrest or imprison so many people.  After a scuffle near a gate through the wire fence surrounding the police station , some police opened fire without orders, and continued to fire upon the group as they fled.  180 were wounded, most shot in the back; 69 killed.  Rioting broke out across South Africa, at which time Mandela burned his pass.  The government declared a state of emergency and proclaimed martial law (under the 1953 PUBLIC SAFETY ACT, used for the first time in this way).  Mandela and 30 other activists were arrested that month and imprisoned without charge.  They were released when the state of emergency was lifted in August.  While Mandela was in prison, a countrywide (95% of the workforce) labor strike took place.  The situation was controlled by the military, townships were cordoned off, and an emergency was declared.  Thousands of people were arrested.

In response to the 1960 meetings of the African National Congress and the Pan African Congress and a few weeks after the Sharpville Massacre, the government passed the UNLAWFUL ORGANIZATIONS ACT, 1960, which allowed the government to ban these organizations.  Another Act passed by the government following Sharpville was the INDEMNITY ACT, 1961, which protected the government and its officers after 224 civil claims for damages served against the Minister of Justice by the victims of Sharpville and their families.

The UNLAWFUL ORGANIZATIONS ACT of 1960 was aimed explicitly at the PAC and ANC, and stated that if the Governor General deemed the public order to be seriously threatened or be likely to seriously threatened by such an organization, or in consequence of the actions of such an organization, he could proclaim it illegal.  This act referred extensively to the SUPPRESSION OF COMMUNISM ACT, 1950 for provisions.

The INDEMNITY ACT of 1961 stated: "No proceedings, whether civil or criminal, shall be brought in any court of law against the President" and other other people working for the government or under its authority, between March 21 and the date of this act, and all proceedings that may have been brought in that time are void.

In 1961, Mandela went underground and organized his movement and protests.  The police put out a warrant for his arrest.  Mandela met with reporters and warned that the anti-apartheid forces would soon begin violence.  Mandela organized the violent wing of the ANC called the Spear of the Nation.  The group began acts of sabotage, including bombings where there would be no loss of life.  In 1962 Mandela traveled around Africa and visited London.  On this trip he raised support and funding, and learned some guerila warfare.

In response to the international tour of Mandela the government passed the GENERAL LAWS AMENDMENTS ACTS, 1962 and 1963 to add more political activities to the list of crimes, including receiving training that could further communism, advocating economic or social change in South Africa by violent means (remember, in 1956 the prosecution for the Treason Trail argued that any political change against the government's policies should be deemed violent because it could reasonably be expected to happen no other way) with the aid of a foreign government or institution.  These amendment acts also gave police power of detention without charge for 12 and then 90 days without legal council or visitors.  It gave the government (though not the police) power to detain those sentenced for sabotage or similar crimes for an unlimited time.

Mandela in prison around 1962

After 17 months underground, Mandela was arrested again in 1962 and charged with incitement to strike, and leaving the country illegally.  He was sentenced to five years imprisonment.

In 1963, while Mandela was serving his 5 years for the 1962 offences, several other leaders were arrested and Mandela was charged with them for sabotage and attempting to overthrow the state. Among the charges were:

- recruiting persons for training in the preparation and use of explosives and in guerrilla warfare for the purpose of violent revolution and committing acts of sabotage
- conspiring to commit the aforementioned acts and to aid foreign military units when they invaded the Republic,
- acting in these ways to further the objects of communism
- soliciting and receiving money for these purposes from sympathizers in Algeria, Ethiopia, Liberia, Nigeria, Tunisia, and elsewhere.

Mandela opted to recite a political speech rather than proceed with a regular legal defense.  The trial ended in 1964.  The defendants were found guilty of sabotage and sentenced to life imprisonment.  This trial was condemned by many nations and the UN. Some nations placed international sanctions on the South African government.  

Mandela served 27 years of his life sentence, ending in 1990.   In 1989 the South African President had begun meetings with him.  The next President stated that Apartheid was unsustainable and released all political prisoners except Mandela.  Later that year, the same President made moves (opposed by some of his cabinet) to legalize the ANC and release Mandela.  Mandela was released early in 1990.  (The two politicians shared the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize.)

Arapahoe High School Shooting, Dec. 13 2013

Arapahoe High School, Centennial, Colorado.  Friday, Dec. 13, a high school senior, Karl Pierson, 18, entered his school at 12:30 p.m. with a shotgun and injured at least one student.

Pierson did not conceal the weapon as he entered near the library.  Students ran in the halls, yelling "Get out!  Get out!"  Counsellors and staff ran through the halls shouting to close classroom doors.  Acting in accordance with training given and drilled into them after the 1999 Columbine incident, called "standard lockdown proceedure," students and teachers locked themselves in classrooms and closets.  Classroom lights were shut off and classes huddled together on the floor.

Pierson wore tactical gear and carried a shotgun--bought legally Dec. 6--in addition to three explosives, possibly Molotov cocktails, and a machete.

Upon entering, Pierson called out for his debate coach (also a librarian at the school), Tracy Murphy.  Pierson reportedly fired a total of 5 shots.  He fired one shot down the hallway.  He fired the second shot point blank in the face of a senior girl, Claire Davis, who was sitting with a friend.  He fired the third shot down the hallway.  Pierson entered the library and set off an explosive.  He fired a fourth shot.  He then ran to the back of the library and shot himself.  Pierson was dead within 80 seconds of entering the school.

It is uncertain whether Davis was targeted, and also uncertain whether she was known to Pierson.  She was critically wounded in the head.  Reportedly, one of the shots was fired at Tracy Murphy but missed.  It was reported that Murphy exited the school, with escort, when he was told by other students that Pierson was calling for him.

The school's resource officer, an Arapahoe County deputy sheriff went looking for the source of the gunfire, but arrived after Pierson was dead.

Police arriving on the scene followed post-Columbine protocol, immediately entering the school rather than setting up a perimeter.  Converging on scene were a police swat team, a fire team, and bomb squad.   Helicopters circled above.

Authorities found Pierson's body about 20 minutes after the first call alerted them.  Police were at the locked doors of the classrooms in approximately 30 minutes and escorted students out of the building.  Parents met students at predesignated "reunion centers," a measure which lessens interference with law enforcement.

All schools in the area were put on lockdown, and parents and students were invited to meet at a neighborhood church.

Fellow students described Pierson was outspoken about politics, a gifted debater on the school's team, and a member of the track team.  He cultivated his speaking skills and sometimes debated teachers.  He had friends.  Pierson's character was reported by fellow students as "increibly humble and down to earth....  A little geeky but in a charming way."  Pierson aspired to enter the US Air Force Academy.  There are mixed reports about whether Murphy had suspended Pierson and kicked him off the debate team for threatening Murphy--threats which were not made directly to Murphy but reported to Murphy by other students--in September or whether Pierson had threatened Murphy after being suspended from the debate team.  Reportedly, Pierson was a target of bullying, but did not show other students that it bothered him.

This is the 25th school shooting in America since Dec 14, 2012.

Arapahoe High School is attended by 2200 students.  It belongs to the same school district as Columbine High School, and is a few miles from the Aurora cinema building where there was a shooting July 2012.

"No Easy Walk to Freedom" Speech - Mandela (1953)

Mandela read this speech to the African National Congress party in 1953 as his Presidential Address.  

It is not a bad read.  For those not going to read it I will summarize:

First, Mandela contextualizes the actions of South Africans from all walks of life and all races who participated in the Campaign for the Defiance of the Unjust Laws.  Mandela frames the sacrifices made by all people who gave up their jobs and chose prison as part of this struggle.  He states that these actions bound the people together and voiced their opposition to the unjust government in office.  Mandela then talks about the "Suppression of Communism" and "Public Safety" Acts that allow the government to imprison anyone, even for calling on another person to "defy", and allow the government to use marshal law against protesters.  Mandela tells the stories of some of the people who have been charged under these laws.  There are several sections of normal political rhetoric about social and economic grievances and (in this case racist) policies that are unfair to his constituency.  He gives a list of orders to his supporters to publicize and support the Congress.  He instructs his supporters that if they can't meet publicly (because of the legal prohibition), then they should meet somewhere else else, even in their factories or on the buses on which the commute.  Mandela blames the ANC branch authorities for the less-than-desirable members of his party, makes note of enemies within the ranks of the party, details some who have been found, and states that the others have not been found yet.  Mandela then states that those who are "friends of the people' are willing to make sacrifices ("life and death") for his party, and enemies are recognized by their unwillingness to make such sacrifices.  He points out that "almost all the people who oppose the 'M' Plan are people who have consistently refused to respond when sacrifices are called for, and whose political background leaves much to be desired.  These shady characters by means of flattery, bribes and corruption, win the support of the weak-willed and politically backward individuals, detach them from Congress and use them in their own interests."  After some rhetoric to do with racism and universal rights, Mandela speaks of some of the other enemies of his cause, for which the cause has suffered: "imperialist America and her satellites" and Britain, who "massacred" "the Kenya people."  Mandela then lists some of the dramatic outrages committed on people in these war-torn regions and states that "We are prisoners in our own country because we dared to raise our voices against these horrible atrocities and because we expressed our solidarity with the cause of the Kenya people."  Mandela closes by quoting Nehru to the effect that people's desires will come after difficult tribulations, and calls for his audience to be prepared to face dangers and difficulties, to act not talk, and cleanse the ANC from impurity and indiscipline for the sake of Africa's freedom.

Full text of the speech:

Since 1912 and year after year thereafter, in their homes and local areas, in provincial and national gatherings, on trains and buses, in the factories and on the farms, in cities, villages, shanty towns, schools and prisons, the African people have discussed the shameful misdeeds of those who rule the country. Year after year, they have raised their voices in condemnation of the grinding poverty of the people, the low wages, the acute shortage of land, the inhuman exploitation and the whole policy of white domination. But instead of more freedom repression began to grow in volume and intensity and it seemed that all their sacrifices would end up in smoke and dust. Today the entire country knows that their labours were not in vain for a new spirit and new ideas have gripped our people. Today the people speak the language of action: there is a mighty awakening among the men and women of our country and the year 1952 stands out as the year of this upsurge of national consciousness.

In June, 1952, the AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS and the SOUTH AFRICAN INDIAN CONGRESS, bearing in mind their responsibility as the representatives of the downtrodden and oppressed people of South Africa, took the plunge and launched the Campaign for the Defiance of the Unjust Laws. Starting off in Port Elizabeth in the early hours of June 26 and with only thirty-three defiers in action and then in Johannesburg in the afternoon of the same day with one hundred and six defiers, it spread throughout the country like wild fire. Factory and office workers, doctors, lawyers, teachers, students and the clergy;Africans, Coloureds, Indians and Europeans, old and young, all rallied to the national call and defied the pass laws and the curfew and the railway apartheid regulations. At the end of the year, more than 8,000 people of all races had defied. The Campaign called for immediate and heavy sacrifices. Workers lost their jobs, chiefs and teachers were expelled from the service, doctors, lawyers and businessmen gave up their practices and businesses and elected to go to jail. Defiance was a step of great political significance. It released strong social forces which affected thousands of our countrymen. It was an effective way of getting the masses to function politically;a powerful method of voicing our indignation against the reactionary policies of the Government. It was one of the best ways of exerting pressure on the Government and extremely dangerous to the stability and security of the State. It inspired and aroused our people from a conquered and servile community of yesmen to a militant and uncompromising band of comrades-in-arms. The entire country was transformed into battle zones where the forces of liberation were locked up in immortal conflict against those of reaction and evil. Our flag flew in every battlefield and thousands of our countrymen rallied around it. We held the initiative and the forces of freedom were advancing on all fronts. It was against this background and at the height of this Campaign that we held our last annual provincial Conference in Pretoria from the 10th to the 12th of October last year. In a way, that Conference was a welcome reception for those who had returned from the battlefields and a farewell to those who were still going to action. The spirit of defiance and action dominated the entire conference .

Today we meet under totally different conditions. By the end of July last year, the Campaign had reached a stage where it had to be suppressed by the Government or it would impose its own policies on the country.

The government launched its reactionary offensive and struck at us. Between July last year and August this year forty-seven leading members from both Congresses in Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Kimberley were arrested, tried and convicted for launching the Defiance Campaign and given suspended sentences ranging from three months to two years on condition that they did not again participate in the defiance of the unjust laws. In November last year, a proclamation was passed which prohibited meetings of more than ten Africans and made it an offence for any person to call upon an African to defy. Contravention of this proclamation carried a penalty of three years or of a fine of three hundred pounds. In March this year the Government passed the so-called Public Safety Act which empowered it to declare a state of emergency and to create conditions which would permit of the most ruthless and pitiless methods of suppressing our movement. Almost simultaneously, the Criminal Laws Amendment Act was passed which provided heavy penalties for those convicted of Defiance offences. This Act also made provision for the whipping of defiers including women. It was under this Act that Mr. Arthur Matlala who was the local [leader] of the Central Branch during the Defiance Campaign, was convicted and sentenced to twelve months with hard labour plus eight strokes by the Magistrate of Villa Nora. The Government also made extensive use of the Suppression of Communism Act. You will remember that in May last year the Government ordered Moses Kotane, Yusuf Dadoo, J. B. Marks, David Bopape and Johnson Ngwevela to resign from the Congresses and many other organisations and were also prohibited from attending political gatherings. In consequence of these bans, Moses Kotane, J. B. Marks, and David Bopape did not attend our last provincial Conference. In December last year, the Secretary General, Mr. W. M. Sisulu, and I were banned from attending gatherings and confined to Johannesburg for six months. Early this year, the President-General, Chief Luthuli, whilst in the midst of a national tour which he was prosecuting with remarkable energy and devotion, was prohibited for a period of twelve months from attending public gatherings and from visiting Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and many other centres. A few days before the President-General was banned, the President of the SAIC, Dr. G. M. Naicker, had been served with a similar notice. Many other active workers both from the African and Indian Congresses and from trade union organisations were also banned.

The Congresses realised that these measures created a new situation which did not prevail when the Campaign was launched in June 1952. The tide of defiance was bound to recede and we were forced to pause and to take stock of the new situation. We had to analyse the dangers that faced us, formulate plans to overcome them and evolve new plans of political struggle. A political movement must keep in touch with reality and the prevailing conditions. Long speeches, the shaking of fists, the banging of tables and strongly worded resolutions out of touch with the objective conditions do not bring about mass action and can do a great deal of harm to the organisation and the struggle we serve. The masses had to be prepared and made ready for new forms of political struggle. We had to recuperate our strength and muster our forces for another and more powerful offensive against the enemy. To have gone ahead blindly as if nothing had happened would have been suicidal and stupid. The conditions under which we meet today are, therefore, vastly different. The Defiance Campaign together with its thrills and adventures has receded. The old methods of bringing about mass action through public mass meetings, press statements and leaflets calling upon the people to go to action have become extremely dangerous and difficult to use effectively. The authorities will not easily permit a meeting called under the auspices of the ANC, few newspapers will publish statements openly criticising the policies of the Government and there is hardly a single printing press which will agree to print leaflets calling upon workers to embark on industrial action for fear of prosecution under the Suppression of Communism Act and similar measures. These developments require the evolution of new forms of political struggle which will make it reasonable for us to strive for action on a higher level than the Defiance Campaign. The Government, alarmed at the indomitable upsurge of national consciousness, is doing everything in its power to crush our movement by removing the genuine representatives of the people from the organisations. According to a statement made by Swart in Parliament on the 1 8th September, 1953, there are thirty-three trade union officials and eighty-nine other people who have been served with notices in terms of the Suppression of Communism Act. This does not include that formidable array of freedom fighters who have been named and blacklisted under the Suppression of Communism Act and those who have been banned under the Riotous Assemblies Act.

Meanwhile the living conditions of the people, already extremely difficult, are steadily worsening and becoming unbearable. The purchasing power of the masses is progressively declining and the cost of living is rocketing. Bread is now dearer than it was two months ago. The cost of milk, meat and vegetables is beyond the pockets of the average family and many of our people cannot afford them. The people are too poor to have enough food to feed their families and children. They cannot afford sufficient clothing, housing and medical care. They are denied the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, old age and where these exist, they are of an extremely inferior and useless nature. Because of lack of proper medical amenities our people are ravaged by such dreaded diseases as tuberculosis, venereal disease, leprosy, pellagra, and infantile mortality is very high. The recent state budget made provision for the increase of the cost-of-living allowances for Europeans and not a word was said about the poorest and most hard-hit section of the population - the African people. The insane policies of the Government which have brought about an explosive situation in the country have definitely scared away foreign capital from South Africa and the financial crisis through which the country is now passing is forcing many industrial and business concerns to close down, to retrench their staffs and unemployment is growing every day. The farm labourers are in a particularly dire plight. You will perhaps recall the investigations and exposures of the semi-slave conditions on the Bethal farms made in 1948 by the Reverend Michael Scott and a GuardianCorrespondent;by the Drum last year and the Advance in April this year. You will recall how human beings, wearing only sacks with holes for their heads and arms, never given enough food to eat, slept on cement floors on cold nights with only their sacks to cover their shivering bodies. You will remember how they are woken up as early as 4 a. m. and taken to work on the fields with the indunas sjambokking those who tried to straighten their backs, who felt weak and dropped down because of hunger and sheer exhaustion. You will also recall the story of human beings toiling pathetically from the early hours of the morning till sunset, fed only on mealie meal served on filthy sacks spread on the ground and eating with their dirty hands. People falling ill and never once being given medical attention. You will also recall the revolting story of a farmer who was convicted for tying a labourer by his feet from a tree and had him flogged to death, pouring boiling water into his mouth whenever he cried for water. These things which have long vanished from many parts of the world still flourish in SA today. None will deny that they constitute a serious challenge to Congress and we are in duty bound to find an effective remedy for these obnoxious practices.

The Government has introduced in Parliament the Native Labour (Settlement of Disputes) Bill and the Bantu Education Bill. Speaking on the Labour Bill, the Minister of Labour, Ben Schoeman, openly stated that the aim of this wicked measure is to bleed African trade unions to death. By forbidding strikes and lockouts it deprives Africans of the one weapon the workers have to improve their position. The aim of the measure is to destroy the present African trade unions which are controlled by the workers themselves and which fight for the improvement of their working conditions in return for a Central Native Labour Board controlled by the Government and which will be used to frustrate the legitimate aspirations of the African worker. The Minister of Native Affairs, Verwoerd, has also been brutally clear in explaining the objects of the Bantu Education Bill. According to him the aim of this law is to teach our children that Africans are inferior to Europeans. African education would be taken out of the hands of people who taught equality between black and white. When this Bill becomes law, it will not be the parents but the Department of Native Affairs which will decide whether an African child should receive higher or other education. It might well be that the children of those who criticise the Government and who fight its policies will almost certainly be taught how to drill rocks in the mines and how to plough potatoes on the farms of Bethal. High education might well be the privilege of those children whose families have a tradition of collaboration with the ruling circles.

The attitude of the Congress on these bills is very clear and unequivocal. Congress totally rejects both bills without reservation. The last provincial Conference strongly condemned the then proposed Labour Bill as a measure designed to rob the African workers of the universal right of free trade unionism and to undermine and destroy the existing African trade unions. Conference further called upon the African workers to boycott and defy the application of this sinister scheme which was calculated to further the exploitation of the African worker. To accept a measure of this nature even in a qualified manner would be a betrayal of the toiling masses. At a time when every genuine Congressite should fight unreservedly for the recognition of African trade unions and the realisation of the principle that everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests, we declare our firm belief in the principles enunciated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that everyone has the right to education;that education shall be directed to the full development of human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among the nations, racial or religious groups and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. That parents have the right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

The cumulative effect of all these measures is to prop up and perpetuate the artificial and decaying policy of the supremacy of the white men. The attitude of the government to us is that: "Let's beat them down with guns and batons and trample them under our feet. We must be ready to drown the whole country in blood if only there is the slightest chance of preserving white supremacy."

But there is nothing inherently superior about the herrenvolk idea of the supremacy of the whites. In China, India, Indonesia and Korea, American, British, Dutch and French Imperialism, based on the concept of the supremacy of Europeans over Asians, has been completely and perfectly exploded. In Malaya and Indo-China British and French imperialisms are being shaken to their foundations by powerful and revolutionary national liberation movements. In Africa, there are approximately 190,000,000 Africans as against 4,000,000 Europeans. The entire continent is seething with discontent and already there are powerful revolutionary eruptions in the Gold Coast, Nigeria, Tunisia, Kenya, the Rhodesias and South Africa. The oppressed people and the oppressors are at loggerheads. The day of reckoning between the forces of freedom and those of reaction is not very far off. I have not the slightest doubt that when that day comes truth and justice will prevail.

The intensification of repressions and the extensive use of the bans is designed to immobilise every active worker and to check the national liberation movement. But gone forever are the days when harsh and wicked laws provided the oppressors with years of peace and quiet. The racial policies of the Government have pricked the conscience of all men of good will and have aroused their deepest indignation. The feelings of the oppressed people have never been more bitter. If the ruling circles seek to maintain their position by such inhuman methods then a clash between the forces of freedom and those of reaction is certain. The grave plight of the people compels them to resist to the death the stinking policies of the gangsters that rule our country.

But in spite of all the difficulties outlined above, we have won important victories. The general political level of the people has been considerably raised and they are now more conscious of their strength. Action has become the language of the day. The ties between the working people and the Congress have been greatly strengthened. This is a development of the highest importance because in a country such as ours a political organisation that does not receive the support of the workers is in fact paralysed on the very ground on which it has chosen to wage battle. Leaders of trade union organisations are at the same time important officials of the provincial and local branches of the ANC In the past we talked of the African, Indian and Coloured struggles. Though certain individuals raised the question of a united front of all the oppressed groups, the various non-European organisations stood miles apart from one another and the efforts of those for co-ordination and unity were like a voice crying in the wilderness and it seemed that the day would never dawn when the oppressed people would stand and fight together shoulder to shoulder against a common enemy. Today we talk of the struggle of the oppressed people which, though it is waged through their respective autonomous organisations, is gravitating towards one central command.

Our immediate task is to consolidate these victories, to preserve our organisations and to muster our forces for the resumption of the offensive. To achieve this important task the National Executive of the ANC in consultation with the National Action Committee of the ANC and the SAIC formulated a plan of action popularly known as the "M"Plan and the highest importance is [given] to it by the National Executives. Instructions were given to all provinces to implement the "M"Plan without delay.

The underlying principle of this plan is the understanding that it is no longer possible to wage our struggle mainly on the old methods of public meetings and printed circulars. The aim is:
to consolidate the Congress machinery;
to enable the transmission of important decisions taken on a national level to every member of the organisation without calling public meetings, issuing press statements and printing circulars;
to build up in the local branches themselves local Congresses which will effectively represent the strength and will of the people;
to extend and strengthen the ties between Congress and the people and to consolidate Congress leadership.

This plan is being implemented in many branches not only in the Transvaal but also in the other provinces and is producing excellent results. The Regional Conferences held in Sophiatown, Germiston, Kliptown and Benoni on the 28th June, 23rd and 30th August and on the 6th September, 1953, which were attended by large crowds, are a striking demonstration of the effectiveness of this plan, and the National Executives must be complimented for it. I appeal to all members of the Congress to redouble their efforts and play their part truly and well in its implementation. The hard, dirty and strenuous task of recruiting members and strengthening our organisation through a house to house campaign in every locality must be done by you all. From now on the activity of Congressites must not be confined to speeches and resolutions. Their activities must find expression in wide scale work among the masses, work which will enable them to make the greatest possible contact with the working people. You must protect and defend your trade unions. If you are not allowed to have your meetings publicly, then you must hold them over your machines in the factories, on the trains and buses as you travel home. You must have them in your villages and shantytowns. You must make every home, every shack and every mud structure where our people live, a branch of the trade union movement and never surrender.

You must defend the right of African parents to decide the kind of education that shall be given to their children. Teach the children that Africans are not one iota inferior to Europeans. Establish your own community schools where the right kind of education will be given to our children. If it becomes dangerous or impossible to have these alternative schools, then again you must make every home, every shack or rickety structure a centre of learning for our children. Never surrender to the inhuman and barbaric theories of Verwoerd.

The decision to defy the unjust laws enabled Congress to develop considerably wider contacts between itself and the masses and the urge to join Congress grew day by day. But due to the fact that the local branches did not exercise proper control and supervision, the admission of new members was not carried out satisfactorily. No careful examination was made of their past history and political characteristics. As a result of this, there were many shady characters ranging from political clowns, place-seekers, splitters, saboteurs, agents-provocateurs to informers and even policemen, who infiltrated into the ranks of Congress. One need only refer to the Johannesburg trial of Dr. Moroka and nineteen others, where a member of Congress who actually worked at the National Headquarters, turned out to be a detective-sergeant on special duty. Remember the case of Leballo of Brakpan who wormed himself into that Branch by producing faked naming letters from the Liquidator, De Villiers Louw, who had instructions to spy on us. There are many other similar instances that emerged during the Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Kimberley trials. Whilst some of these men were discovered there are many who have not been found out. In Congress there are still many shady characters, political clowns, place-seekers, saboteurs, provocateurs, informers and policemen who masquerade as progressives but who are in fact the bitterest enemies of our organisation. Outside appearances are highly deceptive and we cannot classify these men by looking at their faces or by listening to their sweet tongues or their vehement speeches demanding immediate action. The friends of the people are distinguishable by the ready and disciplined manner in which they rally behind their organisation and their readiness to sacrifice when the preservation of the organisation has become a matter of life and death. Similarly, enemies and shady characters are detected by the extent to which they consistently attempt to wreck the organisation by creating fratricidal strife, disseminating confusion and undermining and even opposing important plans of action to vitalise the organisation. In this respect it is interesting to note that almost all the people who oppose the ''M"Plan are people who have consistently refused to respond when sacrifices were called for, and whose political background leaves much to be desired. These shady characters by means of flattery, bribes and corruption, win the support of the weak-willed and politically backward individuals, detach them from Congress and use them in their own interests. The presence of such elements in Congress constitutes a serious threat to the struggle, for the capacity for political action of an organisation which is ravaged by such disruptive and splitting elements is considerably undermined. Here in South Africa, as in many parts of the world, a revolution is maturing: it is the profound desire, the determination and the urge of the overwhelming majority of the country to destroy for ever the shackles of oppression that condemn them to servitude and slavery. To overthrow oppression has been sanctioned by humanity and is the highest aspiration of every free man. If elements in our organisation seek to impede the realisation of this lofty purpose then these people have placed themselves outside the organisation and must be put out of action before they do more harm. To do otherwise would be a crime and a serious neglect of duty. We must rid ourselves of such elements and give our organisation the striking power of a real militant mass organisation.

Kotane, Marks, Bopape, Tloome and I have been banned from attending gatherings and we cannot join and counsel with you on the serious problems that are facing our country. We have been banned because we champion the freedom of the oppressed people of our country and because we have consistently fought against the policy of racial discrimination in favour of a policy which accords fundamental human rights to all, irrespective of race, colour, sex or language. We are exiled from our own people for we have uncompromisingly resisted the efforts of imperialist America and her satellites to drag the world into the rule of violence and brutal force, into the rule of the napalm, hydrogen and the cobalt bombs where millions of people will be wiped out to satisfy the criminal and greedy appetites of the imperial powers. We have been gagged because we have emphatically and openly condemned the criminal attacks by the imperialists against the people of Malaya, Vietnam, Indonesia, Tunisia and Tanganyika and called upon our people to identify themselves unreservedly with the cause of world peace and to fight against the war policies of America and her satellites. We are being shadowed, hounded and trailed because we fearlessly voiced our horror and indignation at the slaughter of the people of Korea and Kenya. The massacre of the Kenya people by Britain has aroused world-wide indignation and protest. Children are being burnt alive, women are raped, tortured, whipped and boiling water poured on their breasts to force confessions from them that Jomo Kenyatta had administered the Mau Mau oath to them. Men are being castrated and shot dead. In the Kikuyu country there are some villages in which the population has been completely wiped out. We are prisoners in our own country because we dared to raise our voices against these horrible atrocities and because we expressed our solidarity with the cause of the Kenya people.

You can see that "there is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow (of death) again and again before we reach the mountain tops of our desires"*.

Dangers and difficulties have not deterred us in the past, they will not frighten us now. But we must be prepared for them like men in business who do not waste energy in vain talk and idle action. The way of preparation for action lies in our rooting out all impurity and indiscipline from our organisation and making it the bright and shining instrument that will cleave its way to Africa's freedom.