mandela and the african liberation struggle

8/13/2019 Mandela and the African Liberation Struggle

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Mandela And The AfricanLiberation Struggle

by Horace CampbellCounterpunch

( December 13, 2013, Beijing, Sri Lanka Guardian) On Thursday December 5,2013 the people of South Africa lost one of the foremost freedom fighters andre olutionary !ho made his mar" on humans e ery!here# $elson %olihlahla &andela !as born in South Africa in 1'1( and matured as Africans in South Africa rose to thechallenges posed by the most brutal social and economic system of that moment, thesystem called apartheid# &andela has no! )oined the ancestors and he has left hismar" beside those great humans *such as &ahatmas +andhi, &artin uther -ing .r,%osa /ar"s, mm -ulthum, he +ue ara and %osa u emburg !hose greatness
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emerged from the mo ements that created them# The forms of struggle that emergedfrom South Africa inspired the refinement of the philosophy of buntu# This is aphilosophy that says one4s humanity is being enriched by another4s and that as humans !e are lin"ed to a !ider uni erse and spiritual !orld# &andela had said clearly ofbuntu, The spirit of buntu 6 that profound Africa sense that !e are human beingsonly through the humanity of other human beings 6 is not a parochial phenomenon, but has added globally to our common search for a better !orld#7

The philosophy of Ubuntu challenged the ideals of individualism, greed, unhealthycompetition, obscene self-enrichment and those destructive forms of human association thathave brought the planet to the brink of extinction. When the movement elevated elson!andela to the position as "resident of a politically free #outh $frica in %&&', after () years ofincarceration, the political leadership of #outh $frica sought to give practical meaning to the

philosophy of Ubuntu by establishing a Truth and *econciliation Commission +T*C . n all parts of the orld, the international media remember !andela and his contributions to peaceand reconciliation but the same corporate media seeks to confuse the youth by marketing

!andela as an unusual individual ho performed the /miracle0 of ending apartheid. n the process of the all to all media coverage of the celebration of the life of elson !andela, it isimportant that the voice of $frica is clear on the meaning of !andela. !andela as againstracism and the dehumani1ing social system that created hierarchies.

$s peace activists it is vital that e remember !andela as a defender of peace and social 2ustice and the fact that he as an extraordinary human being. What is important to rememberis a product of a social movement3 the extraordinary circumstances of the oppression ofapartheid created this !andela. !andela 2oined a social movement, the anti-apartheidmovement and for a moment in history, he became the symbol of the struggle against ar and

apartheid. His freedom came from the sacrifices of millions, especially the youth of #o etoand the orkers from the !ass 4emocratic !ovement ho laid do n a marker for the netactics of revolution. While he as the "resident of #outh $frica, !andela orked for peace in5urundi and Central $frica and orked hard to end the estern manipulation of ho can be

branded as a terrorist.

Those ho branded !andela as a terrorist are seeking to program the minds of the youth to see!andela as some sort of visionary leader 6dropped from heaven7 ithout links to real strugglesfor peace. !andela as very clear that his life as linked to the collective struggles of humansevery here, and hen he as released in 8ebruary %&&9 he said, 6$mandla, $mandla : greet you all in the name of peace, democracy and freedom for all. stand here before you notas a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people.7

This media coverage of elson !andela challenges contemporary freedom fighters tocontemplate ne tactics, ne tools of struggles and ne net orks for peace in order tocomplete the tasks of ending global apartheid. The $frican ational Congress in governmenthad been trapped by its inheritance of the social capital of the apartheid state. e forms oforgani1ation and ne ideas ill be needed as humans gird themselves to fight against thenefarious forms of racism, exclusion and oppression that have been refined by global capital as


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unbridled capitalism seeks to turn our youths into mindless consumers. t is up to the youth togird themselves for the ne phase of internationalism and peace activism so that e can createthe conditions for the inspiration presented by the life of elson !andela to be grasped in allcorners of the globe. !andela lived a full life and e ant to add to the tributes as e celebratehis life of struggle.

The society that created elson !andela$s soon as it became clear that the most obscene forms of hite supremacy could not surviveafter the massive resistance of peoples in all parts of the globe, international ne s programmers

began to present elson !andela ho, as a visionary leader, single handedly ended apartheid.5ooks, films, documentaries, blogs and other mainstream media seek to present the changes in#outh $frica ithout reference to the reality that elson !andela al ays represented aliberation movement. nevitably, as the movement mobili1ed around the release of elson!andela hen he had been incarcerated for () years, !andela became a symbol of the anti-apartheid struggle. $s the struggle matured in the final phase after his release from 2ail on8ebruary %%, %&&9 the myth making as developed as part of an election campaign. t is this

mythmaking that ensured the positive and the negative in the representation of elson !andelato a generation that as not yet born hen the liberation struggles ere at the peak.When !andela as born in the village of ;unu, in the province that as called Cape "rovince,the Union of #outh $frica had been formed eight years earlier. The Union government hadcelebrated the crushing of the 5ambata rebellions and in the face of the failure of open militaryrebellions by regional military forces, the $frican ational Congress had been formed in %&%(.!andela gre up in #outh $frica in the turbulent period of the %&Union society could not escape the effects of the deformities ofsegregation and dehumani1ation. !issionaries ere deployed to teach sons of chiefs and it asfrom one of the missionaries that !andela received the name elson because the missionarieshad difficulties saying *olihlahla. $fter this missionary education !andela as sent to 8ortHare University and it as in this University here the other famous anti-apartheid and anti-colonial stal arts ere groomed. ?. @. !atthe s, Aovan !beki, Bliver Tambo, oshua

komo, Walter #isulu, *obert #obuk e, 4esmond Tutu and *obert !ugabe ere some of thenotable students in the forties at this University. $s an activist he as expelled from 8ort Hareand he ent on to study Da at the University of Wit atersrand.

elson !andela 2oined the $frican ational Congress +$ C in %&'( and in %&'', along ithWalter #isulu, *obert #obuk e, and Bliver Tambo, they formed the Eouth ing of the $ C.This youth ing 2oined the hundreds of anti-colonial movements all over the orld and henthe repressive legal structures of apartheid ere formalised to support the social divisions, the

peoples responded ith a 8reedom Charter. The #harpeville massacres of !arch (%, %&F9


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foreclosed all possibilities of a peaceful non >violent opposition to apartheid and in %&F(!andela as dispatched to the independent states of $frica to gain support for the armed ingof the $ C, Umkhonto e #i1 e +abbreviated as !@, translated as 6#pear of the ation .!andela as one of the co-founders of !@ and he received training in many $frican countries

before he returned to #outh $frica. !andela participated in the debates about unity and strugglethat ere at that time raging in the "an $frican 8reedom !ovement for Gast and Central $frica+"$8!GC$ .#elf Brgani1ation of the Eouth of #o eto#outh West ohannesburg +#o eto as one of those dormitory to ns that ere a reservoir ofcheap labour for the rich and middle class hites in the suburbs of ohannesburg. !andela asarrested in %&F( for planning 6sabotage7 of the government and as branded a terrorist by the#outh $frican state. The U# military and intelligence agencies orked hand in glove ith theapartheid military to crush opposition from the $frican ma2ority. 8rom %&)< the orkers of4urban had given notice that there ould be ne organi1ational forms to oppose apartheid andthe youth of #o eto follo ed ith the massive uprisings of %&)F. These rebellions are centralto the kind of politics that developed in the period hen !andela as incarcerated after the

*ivonia trials in %&F'.

The sacrifices of the youth and their determination had created ne alliances and thesealliances matured in the !ass 4emocratic !ovement and the United 4emocratic 8ront +U48 .While elson !andela as a la yer had been groomed to focus on the legal =uestions of theapartheid la s, the social =uestions of health, education, housing, police brutality placed thefight against apartheid on a ne terrain as the $ C orked to remain alive in the heat of theconservative push of *onald *eagan and !argaret Thatcher. The formation of the U48 had

provided for an alternative source of political po er at the grassroots and strengthened thecapacity of the resistance to transform their conception of the long term struggles to create an

alternative to the social system.

8or ard planers for the investors in the ohannesburg #tock Gxchange ere sufficientlyalarmed hen the rebellions of the youth rendered #outh $frica ungovernable and apartheidun orkable. $fter the killing of #teve 5iko, the planners sought out the brightest from amongthese rebellious youth to send them to be trained as future leaders in orth $merican andGuropean Universities. Those educated in the schools of the West became the experts afterreturn to #outh $frica to be at the forefront of the negotiations for the form of society to be

built after apartheid. 8ree !andela Committees ere an integral of the global antiapartheidstruggles. n response to these local, regional and international alliances to end apartheid the#outh $frican 4efence forces +#$48 spread death and destruction in the to nships and acrossthe region of #outhern $frica. The terrorism of apartheid along ith the killing of more than (million in the neighboring states did not break the ill of the people. f anything, internationalsolidarity intensified ith the support of the Cubans assisting the $ngolans to fight theapartheid army at Cuito Cuanavale.The importance of Cuito CuanavaleBne of the many tasks of estern propaganda organs has been to do nplay the sacrifices of the

peoples of the region of #outhern $frica for the independence of amibia %&&9, the release of elson !andela, and the negotiations to end apartheid. The epic battles at Cuito Cuanavale


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bet een Bctober %& ) and une %& changed the history of $frica. The #$48 had invaded$ngola ith the plan to impose onas #avimbi in Duanda and to defeat the freedom fightersfrom amibia of the #outh West $frica "eople0s Brgani1ation +#W$"B . The apartheid army

became bogged do n at the crossroads of t o rivers in #outhern $ngola. n order to intimidatethe peoples of $frica the #$48 had manufactured tactical nuclear eapons ith the assistanceof the sraeli state. When the #outh $frican army became bogged do n the "resident of #outh$frica, ".W.5otha fle to the frontlines of the battles in $ngola to broker a debate bet een thegenerals on hether #outh $frica should deploy and use its nuclear capabilities.

The international isolation of the hite racist regime meant that there as no sympathy for thisoption, even from the conservative *eagan $dministration. The racist army had to fight againsta confident $ngolan military ith Cuban reinforcements. $fter nine months fighting the #$48as roundly defeated ith the remnants of the #$48 retreating on foot to orthern amibia.n order to rescue the #$48 so that the military ould not be routed as the 8rench army asrouted at 4ien 5ien "hu in %&I', in stepped the U# $ssistant #ecretary of #tate for $frican$ffairs, Chester Crocker to broker the decent ithdra al of the #$48 from amibia. This

battle as episodic and 8idel Castro rightly asserted that the History of $frica ill be ritten asthat of before Cuito Cuanavale and after Cuito Cuanavale.

elson !andela and the #outh $frican struggles after Cuito Cuanavale elson !andela0s alk of 8reedom out of incarceration in %&&9 had represented a ma2or stepin the peoples of the orld for a ne system after apartheid. Ho ever, those ho o ned the

banks, the mines, the insurance companies and the land ere planning for a post-apartheidsociety here the capital remained in the hands of the hite minority along ith ne blackallies. nternational capital had grasped the full implications of black partners in societies suchas @enya, ?imbab e, Cameroons, $lgeria and igeria. Hence even hile the negotiations

ere on going for the e #ociety in The Convention for a 4emocratic #outh $frica+CB4G#$, the more far sighted elements such as the Bppenheimer family of $nglo-$mericanCorporation orked to support those ithin the movement that believed that the end of$partheid as for the development of a class of black entrepreneurs under 5lack GconomicGmpo erment +5GG . The nature of the ine=ualities in #outh $frica today demonstrates thesuccess of the plan to create black allies. Cyril *amaphosa is the poster child of a militant tradeunion leader of the anti-apartheid era ho became a mining magnate after apartheid, exploitingthe very orkers he had vo ed to defend. The image of Cyril *amaphosa ho had escorted

elson !andela out of "rison in %&&9 operating and multibillionaires as one sign of the classformation in #outh $frica. n (9%(, the political leaders of the $ C oversa a government thatshot


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#outh $frica in %&&& after one term.Ubuntu in practice, the Truth and *econciliation Commission +T*CBne of the sterling contributions of the #outh $frican struggle as to be able to clarify thedifferences bet een restorative 2ustice and retributive 2ustice, based on Ubuntu. n fact,!andela not only embraced Ubuntu, under his political leadership, there as an attempt to

bring the ideas of Ubuntu from its philosophical level to the level of practical politics in aysthat helped avert bloodbath to form a better society, ho ever imperfect. $nd this as in partdone through the establishment of a Truth and *econciliation Commission.n the three years after the release of !andela, the international media as predicting a

bloodbath in #outh $frica if 5lacks ere to emerge victorious from the first democraticelections in %&&'. Those ith strategic control over the means of violence sought to make this

bloodbath a reality right up to the moment hen !andela as inaugurated in !ay %&&' as thefirst 5lack "resident of a 4emocratic #outh $frica. Bne year after !andela became "resident,the "arliament of #outh $frica established the "romotion of ational Unity and *econciliation$ct, o.


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as victims of gross human rights violations ere invited to give statements about theirexperiences, and some ere selected for public hearings. "erpetrators of violence could alsogive testimony and re=uest amnesty from both civil and criminal prosecution. Witnesses hoere identified as victims of gross human rights violations ere invited to give statementsabout their experiences, and some ere selected for public hearings. "erpetrators of violencecould also give testimony and re=uest amnesty from both civil and criminal prosecution.$ ne politics as being developed in the context of seeking restorative 2ustice beyond the

uremberg !odel of inners0 court. The Healing po er of the process as manifest in therituals that emanated from victims and oppressors, creating a space that could be the basis ofholding the society together. This ritual of the T*C ith the spiritual underpinnings offorgiveness and healing as a po erful antidote to the three hundred years of hite racistoppression. !alidoma #ome had ritten a book on the Healing Wisdom of $fricaK 8inding Dife"urpose Through ature, *itual, and Community. t as in the T*C here one sa some ofthe ideas being orked out. 4uring the Hearings of the T*C there ere public hearings as thenarratives of perpetrators and victims moved in a constant motion across time +from present to

past and present to future and space +spiritual, social, physical, emotional in a movement that

may be called recursive.

Here as a profound moment in the history of #outh $frica as the $frican people offered acrucible for healing the society. elson !andela and 4esmond Tutu ill go do n in history asindividuals ho opened up the possibilities for another form of society. This healing processoffered by the T*C, despite its imperfections, placed Ubuntu on the philosophical map

breaking the ideation baggage of individualism, greed, competition and revenge.f the 5lack people and the oppressed ma2ority ere illing to turn a corner, internationalcapital as not. "lans for the *econstruction and transformation of #outh $frica ere shelvedin the face of the timidity of the political leadership in calling for the cancellation of the

apartheid incurred debt. The repercussions of managing the neo-liberal programe ofinternational capital cut off the top leadership of the $ C from the rank and file. ;uestions ofthe social reconstruction after apartheid had to be shelved until ne emancipatory formationsarise in #outh $frica. nternational capita took the lessons of #outh $frica to heart and soughtto promote a neo-liberal agenda here a small minority collaborated ith international capitalin the ne template for the exploitation of the ma2ority. This form of class rule came to beunderstood as the globali1ation of apartheid ithout its racial baggage.

!andela and Ubuntu overseas!andela as opposed to the Western designation of states as sponsoring terrorism and openlysupported 8idel Castro of Cuba, Easser $rafat of the "alestine Diberation Brgani1ation +"DBthe #ahar i $rab 4emocratic *epublic and the political leadership in Dibya. $s one ho had

been placed on the U# list of international terrorist, !andela in %&&( had made a clearstatement about the standoff bet een Dibya and the West over the do ning of the %&& "an$merican $ir ays flight %9


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leaders and !uammar Aaddafi the head of the Dibyan state, !andela struck a deal hereAaddafi handed over the t o suspects in return for the lifting of international sanctions againstDibya. Aaddafi accepted the offer of elson !andela and offered to pay U# L(.) billion ,approximately L%9 million for each of the victim0s families. Aaddafi ent further to open uphis economy to estern oil companies and in (99' dumped his plans for the ac=uisition ofChemical and 5iological eapons. 4espite this opening and the intense investments of theWest, nternational capital as not satisfied and in (9%% orchestrated the invasion, bombing anddestruction of Dibya under the banner of *esponsibility to "rotect. Aaddafi as executed andhumiliated as the West sought to roll back all ideas of $frican Unification and Diberation.

!andela as a "eace maker $fter elson !andela as rid of the responsibility of managing the structures of the apartheideconomy, he became even more outspoken against ine=ualities. He as assertive on the=uestion of the need for health for all and the provision of retroviral medicine for those affected

by H J $ 4# even hile other leaders of the $ C ere e=uivocal over the response of thegovernment of #outh $frica to this pandemic. Butside of #outh $frica !andela shamed the

leaders of the Brgani1ation of $frican Unity +B$U ho had stood by hile the fastestgenocide unfolded in * anda in %&&'. $fter the passing of ulius yerere in %&&&, elson!andela engaged the peace process in 5urundi and thre his considerable international stature

behind a tough process of negotiations to end the decades of arfare in 5urundi.!andela as opposed to the deployment of U# military personnel in $frica and he spoke outfirmly against the $frica Crisis *esponse nitiative +$C* , the forerunner to the current $fricaCommand. When Aeorge W. 5ush started his buildup for the ar against the peoples of ra=!andela offered himself up as a peace maker to be a human shield against U# bombs. n anintervie ith e s eek !aga1ine in (99( prior to the invasion, !andela called the U#$ athreat to the peace of the orld.

6 f you look at those matters, you ill come to the conclusion that the attitude of the United#tates of $merica is a threat to orld peace. 5ecause hat M$mericaN is saying is that if you areafraid of a veto in the #ecurity Council, you can go outside and take action and violate thesovereignty of other countries. That is the message they are sending to the orld. That must becondemned in the strongest terms.7 $s a peace activist, !andela took issues personal ithAeorge 5ush over the decision to invade ra=. $ddressing the nternational Women0s 8orum inohannesburg in (99


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the $ C and his membership of the organi1ation pointed to the differences bet een the promises of the anti-apartheid struggles and the realities of the enrichment of a ne class of$frican exploiters. t as appropriate that this celebration of the life of !andela marked a nestage for the corrupt leadership of the $ C.

n the period of the anti-apartheid struggles, funeral ceremonies ere occasions for massmobili1ation and education The entire proceedings played out before over &9 heads of statesand governments reflected the ne relationship bet een the $ C and the mass of the poor.4espite the fact that this occasion represented a huge logistical challenge, one could negativelycompare the planning of the leadership on this occasion ith the World Cup in (9%9. Hence,for one of the most important public events in the history of #outh $rica, for most of the timethe stadium as half empty. The $ C did not provide transportation to the stadium as

promised. The poor travelled from near and far by train only to find that there ere no buses totake them up to the stadium. Gven those ho braved the do npour of rain to make it to thestadium as not allo ed to celebrate the ay #outh $fricans are used to celebrate at suchevents. nstead they ere expected to sit and listen like little children. $t such events people

ould sing and dance. n fact, before each speaker someone ould raise a song and peopleould follo and sing until the speaker as ready to speak. Gven ?uma ould start a song anddance before he spoke. acob ?uma, the leadership and Cyril *amaphosa anted the people toforget the kind of mass mobili1ation that as engineered to end apartheid. They are afraid thatthis mass mobili1ation ill s eep the billionaires from po er.

The political leadership of elson !andela in the anti-apartheid struggle had both focusedattention on him as an individual and released the energies of various groups hose task as toclarify the details of the real meaning of transformation beyond apartheid. n this and in manyother ays, elson !andela symboli1ed the dialectic of resistance and transformation. His

o n life has mirrored the ay in hich a social movement shaped individuals. Hence, theyouth ho are hearing the tributes to !andela are faced ith the contradiction bet eenfocusing on great leaders and the kind of media coverage that is geared to ards thedepolitici1aion of the youth. *ichard 8alk summed up very lucidly the place of !andela forhumans every here hen he rote,6 t as above all !andela0s spiritual presence that created such a strong impression of moralradiance on the part of all of us fortunate enough to be in the room. as reinforced in myguiding belief that political greatness presupposes a spiritual orientation to ard the meaning oflife, not necessarily expressed by ay of a formal religious commitment, but al ays impliesliving ith an unconditional dedication to values and faith that transcend the practical, theimmediate, and the material.7n his earthly life, !andela could not escape this tension bet een the spiritual and the material.The spiritual energies of the peoples had been unleashed to fashion a non-racial democracy.Diberal conception of democracy could not understand this attempt to transcend the ideas of theWestern Gnlightenment, hich itself built on human hierarchies that carved a supreme spacefor the enlightened hite man. elson !andela had been reared in these ideas at 8ort Hare andas a la yer but the struggles elevated him to be special human beings among revolutionaries.The orld salutes elson !andela and e 2oin ith those ho are sending tributes to hisfamily.


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We ill also add that the people should not mourn but organi1e for the next round of struggle.Horace A .Campbell, a veteran "an $fricanist is a Jisiting "rofessor in the #chool ofnternational *elations, Tsinghua University, 5ei2ing. He is the author of Alobal $TB and theCatastrophic 8ailure in Dibya, !onthly *evie "ress, (9%

mandela and the african liberation struggle

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