Comparative (International) Management

Assignment # 01
Reviewed and submitted by: Mansoor Ali Seelro (A !III)

Apartheid
The anti-apartheid movement was an international effort to abolish (end) the decades-
old system of racial segregation in South Africa. (The word apartheid means
"separateness" in the South African language of Afrikaans.) Under apartheid, which
was formalized in 1948 by the Afrikaner Nationalist Party, minority whites were given
supremacy over nonwhites. The system further separated nonwhite groups from one
another so that mulattos (those of mixed race), Asians (mostly Indians), and native
Africans were segregated from whites. The policy was so rigid that it even separated
native Bantu (black) groups.
Apartheid did not allow blacks to vote, even though they were the majority population.
The system also was destructive to the society as a whole and drew protest at home and
abroad. However, the South African government maintained the system, claiming it
was the only way to keep peace among the country's various ethnic groups. In 1961 the
South African government withdrew from the British Commonwealth (an association
of self-governing countries) in a dispute over the issue.
Anti-apartheid

The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) was founded in 1960 to
campaign for the eradication of apartheid. AAM grew out of the Boycott Movement
which began in 1959. AAM, sometimes referred to as the British Anti-Apartheid
Movement, operated in Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). AAM did not cover
Northern Ireland which was covered by the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement. AAM
resolved to work for the total isolation of the apartheid system in South Africa and to
support those struggling against the apartheid system. AAM grew out of the Boycott
Movement when members saw the need for a more permanent organization. The AAM
drew its support from a country-wide network of local anti-apartheid groups, some of
which had previously been local boycott committees, from individual members and
from affiliated organizations such as trades union councils and constituency political

Comparative (International) Management
Assignment # 01
Reviewed and submitted by: Mansoor Ali Seelro (A !III)
parties. Professional and special interest groups arose which worked with the AAM as
did Local Authorities against Apartheid to co-ordinate local authority action. The AAM
co-operated with similar anti-apartheid groups which existed in many countries around
the world, exchanging information and meeting at international conferences. During the
1980s groups in Europe formed the Liaison Group of National AAMs in the European
Community in order to lobby the European Parliament and Council of Ministers. The
AAM's campaigning work covered a wide range of areas. The consumer boycott
remained a constant element but other economic campaigns became equally prominent,
particularly ones concerning investment in South Africa by British and international
companies and banks. In the area of economic campaigns the AAM collaborated
closely with End Loans to Southern Africa (ELTSA) for which see the ELTSA archive
at the Bodleian Library of Commonwealth and African Studies at Rhodes House (MSS
Afr. s. 2350). The efforts to isolate apartheid South Africa were pursued through
lobbying for boycotts of sporting, cultural and academic contacts and for the cessation
of military and nuclear links. Campaigning on behalf of political prisoners was an
important area of work, organized during the 1960s through the World Campaign for
the Release of South African Political Prisoners and later through SATIS (Southern
Africa: the Imprisoned Society). Campaigning on behalf of Nelson Mandela began at
the Rivonia trial and was reinvigorated from the time of his 60th birthday in 1978 until
his release in February 1990. The AAM's work did not focus solely on South Africa but
also on the Southern African region in which South Africa had so much influence. It
supported the struggles for freedom in Namibia, Zimbabwe and the former Portuguese
colonies of Angola, Mozambique and, in West Africa, Guinea-Bissau. In this the AAM
co-operated with African liberation movements, particularly the African National
Congress (ANC) of South Africa and the South West African Peoples' Organization
(SWAPO) of Namibia. A significant number of the Ministers and senior officials in
South Africa's first non-racial government, including figures such as Kadar Asmal,
Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Mac Maharaj, Pallo Jordan, Aziz Pahad and Abdul Minty
participated in AAM activities and several held senior positions in the organization.
Likewise many prominent figures in British political life were active in the AAM. For
example, amongst those who held the office of AAM President were Barbara Castle,
David Steel and Trevor Huddleston, whereas Neil Kinnock, Joan Lestor and Frank
Dobson are amongst those who served on its Executive Committee. Following the first
democratic elections in South Africa in April 1994 an extraordinary general meeting of
the AAM decided to dissolve the Movement and create a successor organization to
promote peace and development in the Southern African region.