Defiance Campaign and Sharpeville Massacre

Argument Counter Argument Other

- Mandela emerges as a - Mandela became The Sharpeville Massacre

key figure because of uneasy with the policy
the Defiance campaign – of non-violence but The Pan-Africanist
notoriety as a figure respected the strict Congress (PAC), a splinter
of the liberation movement. adherence to it by the group of the African
ANC. National Congress (ANC)
- People volunteer to break created in
laws and go to - In the process ANC 1959, organized a
Prison. leaders became a countrywide demonstration
target of police for March 21, 1960, for the
- The Defiance Campaign harassment: in 1956 abolition of South Africa’s
involves people from many of its leaders pass
different race groups – were arrested and laws.
multi-racial resistance charged with treason –
against Apartheid laws. slowed the growth of Participants were
Walter Sisulu, Oliver the movement instructed to surrender
Tambo, and somewhat. their reference books
Mandela,galvanized the Continuing and (passes) and invite arrest.
movement. intensified repression, Some 20,000
closing avenues for blacks gathered near a
- Under the presidency of peaceful protest, police station at
Albert Luthuli, the ultimately convinced Sharpeville, located about
ANC after 1952 began many leaders that they 30 miles (50 km) south of
sponsoring nonviolent had no choice but to Johannesburg.
protests, strikes, boycotts, give up their firm
and marches commitment to After some demonstrators,
against the apartheid nonviolence according to police, began
policies that had been The campaign did not stoning police officers and
introduced by the National achieve the desired their armoured cars, the
Party government aim of overturning the officers opened fire on
that came to power in apartheid laws. them with submachine
1948. guns. About 69 blacks
- The Government used were killed and more than
- Party membership grew the Suppression of 180
rapidly. Communism act to wounded, some 50 women
It brought together the arrest, detain and put on and children being among
movements of the trial important ANC the victims.
oppressed people of South leaders.
Africa which Police actions were A state of emergency was
demonstrated great often swift and harsh, declared in South Africa,
organizational ability.
- Membership grew from
7000 – 10 000.
The resistance won United
Nations recognition
that the South African
racial policy was an
international issue and a
UN Commission was
established to investigate
the situation
- 8000 people go to jail for
breaking Apartheid
Laws.
- Membership increased
significantly.
- This period marked the
beginning of non-racial
co-operation in the
resistance to apartheid
which would be further
cemented by the
formation of the Congress
Alliance in 1954 in
the run up to the Congress
of the People.
Ordinary people arrested
by the police in large
groups – this shows the
resolve of the people,
in this case mostly women
– they are willing to
go to jail for their cause.
The ANC began the 1950s
with mass action
campaigns marked by
boycotts, strikes and
civil disobedience.
- The most dramatic
non-violent act of
resistance ever seen in
arresting people
without too much
hesitation. This may
have demoralized
people.
The South African
government resorted
to violent repression.
- Used deadly force
against protestors at
Sharpeville, killing 69
People.
- Leaders of the ANC
movement decide on
creating an armed
wing – marks the end
of peaceful resistance.
Government increases
repressive measures,
forcing leaders to flee.
Some were
incarcerated at
Robben Island prison.
Mandela points out
that in the face of
increasing government
repression, violent actions
against the
Apartheid state were
inevitable. He also
shares that it was not
the path that they
wanted to choose, as their
record of non-
violent protest suggests.
They were
open to negotiations,
but government
closed all avenues for
this and prevented
Dialogue.
- We chose to defy the
law. We first broke the
more than 11,000 people
were detained, and the
PAC and ANC were
outlawed. The SACP was
also banned.
The Sharpeville Massacre
also led to the adoption of
the ‘Armed Struggle’ by the
ANC and the PAC.
Reports of the incident
helped focus international
criticism on South Africa’s
apartheid policy. Following
the
dismantling of apartheid,
South African President
Nelson Mandela chose
Sharpeville as the site at
which, on
December 10, 1996, he
signed into law the
country’s new constitution.
The Freedom Charter
In 1955, the ANC sent
volunteers into
communities to collect
‘freedom demands’
from ordinary South
Africans.
In June 1955, at Kliptown
in Soweto, the Congress of
the People, officially
adopted the Freedom
Charter.
This document would
serve as the manifesto of
the ANC and included its
stance
on issues such as
employment, land,
education and governance.
 South Africa and the
first campaign pursued
jointly by all racial
groups under the
leadership of the African
National Congress (ANC),
the South African
Indian Congress (SAIC)
and the Coloured
People Congress, was
launched – non-racial
foundations of the ANC
and solidarity among
different racial groups in
their resistance to
Apartheid.
law in a way which
avoided any recourse
to violence; when this
form was legislated
against, and then the
Government resorted
to a show of force to
crush opposition to its
policies, only then did
we decide to answer
violence with violence.
The document was also
notable for its non-racial
plan for the future of South
Africa.
There were some in the
ranks of the ANC who held
‘Africanist’ ideas –
believing
that the future of South
Africa was one of Africa for
Africans.
This led to the formation of
the PAC by Robert
Sobukwe.

Although the campaign did not achieve the desired aim of overturning the apartheid
laws, it was successful in a number of other respects. The resistance won United
Nations recognition that the South African racial policy was an international issue and a
UN Commission was established to investigate the situation. During the campaign more
than 8 000 people went to jail for defying apartheid laws and regulations and the ANC
membership rose by tens of thousands. These years were crucial as the Defiance
Campaign saw the movement of the ANC from moderation to militancy.
The campaign also demonstrated the potential power of African leadership and its
organisational skill and discipline. This period marked the beginning of non-racial
co-operation in the resistance to apartheid which would be further cemented by the
formation of the Congress Alliance in 1954 in the run up to the Congress of the People.

The Armed Struggle

The main liberation movements adopted armed struggle only after decades of polite
protest and non-violent civil disobedience failed to yield results – and after the apartheid
government responded to anti-apartheid organizing with increasingly violent repression.
It was in response to the 1960 Sharpeville massacre and the government declaring both
the African National Congress and the Pan Africanist Congress illegal and detaining
many of their leaders that these organizations formed armed wings, called Umkonhto
we Sizwe (MK) and Poqo, respectively. Their first armed actions, taken by small
underground cells, were acts of sabotage designed to damage state-controlled facilities
without injuring any people. With the ANC and PAC banned, a number of their members
went into exile, some for military training. Following the adoption of a Programme of
Action in the 1949 annual congress, the ANC began the 1950s with mass action
campaigns marked by boycotts, strikes and civil disobedience. On 26 June 1952 the
Defiance Campaign, the most dramatic non-violent act of resistance ever seen in South
Africa and the first campaign pursued jointly by all racial groups under the leadership of
the African National Congress (ANC), the South African Indian Congress (SAIC) and
the Coloured People Congress, was launched. At the behest of young activists like
Nelson Mandela, the ANC began to change its direction to a mass-based movement
intent on liberation from apartheid in South Africa. Growing resistance culminated in the
Sharpeville Massacre in March 1960, during which the police killed 69 protestors. In
panic the government declared a state of emergency and banned the ANC and other
liberation movements. The ANC responded by going underground and establishing an
armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe, which was at the forefront of the South African
apartheid struggle. The government, in turn, tightened its repressive measures,
attempting to crush the movement and forcing those leaders who were not incarcerated
on Robben Island, to flee overseas.