I am eagerly awaiting this book. From face value, it looks ***** Chuma
________________________________ From: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Tue, March 16, 2010 10:24:49 AM Subject: [PAYCO] Extract of PAC chapters in a forthcoming book. Extract from a forthcoming book on the history of the liberation movement and two chapters devoted to the PAC. Izwe Lethu. Tham ka Plaatjie The PAC’s exile politics, 1980 - 1990 By Thami ka Plaatjie Introduction This chapter will focus on the political activities of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) in exile during the 1980s. The events in the 1980s were preceded by the events in the late 1970s and it is in this regard that reference will be made to the Arusha Conference of 1978 and its outcome that saw the walkout of a sizeable group of PAC members. Those who walked out of the Arusha Conference formed themselves into a new organization called the All African People’s Revolutionary Party (APRP). They cited ideological differences for such a move. This chapter will seek to deal with these ideological differences and the effect of the departure of such a sizeable group from the PAC. Soon after the Arusha conference, relations between Potlako Leballo and David Sibeko, his erstwhile confidante, deteriorated and the result was the ousting of the former. This chapter will study the effects of the ousting of Leballo from the leadership of the PAC. Leballo did not take kindly to being elbowed out of the leadership of the PAC and resorted to the manipulation of those cadres aligned to him. This resulted in the murder of Sibeko by those closely aligned to Leballo. Once more the PAC was thrown into a deep crisis just after it had emerged from the crisis occasioned by the departure of Leballo. The impact of Sibeko’s death on the PAC was far-reaching, as it now faced serious isolation, especially from the international community. Calls for the de-recognition of the PAC by the OAU and the United Nations from its detractors became louder and seemingly unrelenting. The PAC needed a saviour who could extricate it from unremitting conflicts and internal contradictions. Nyathi Pokela was brought from South Africa to bolster the exile leadership of the PAC and effect the much needed stability. The coming of Nyathi Pokela to save the PAC from apparent organizational chaos will be evaluated in this chapter as well. The extent to which Pokela succeeded will also be evaluated. He was faced with formidable odds and with little experience of the exile situation found himself thrown into the deep end. The ascension into power of Johnson Mlambo in 1985, who replaced Pokela after the latter’s sudden death, will also be analyzed, including the effect it had on the PAC. The decision by the PAC to appoint Zephania Mothopeng as the Second President of the PAC in 1986 was a bold and courageous move in the face of the changing political atmosphere in South Africa, especially the prospects of negotiations with the apart5heid regime. The late 1980s saw the intensification of the military activities of the PAC inside the country in an attempt to stamp their authority in the country. The establishment of a visible PAC presence in the country was attained, as Pokela had wanted. However, the difficulty of understanding the changing political situation and providing a viable alternative to other organisations proved to be one the shortcomings of an organization that was finding favour with vast numbers of oppressed people, especially the rural poor and urban marginalized. The formation of the APRP (All Africa People’s Revolutionary Party) Following the establishment of itself in exile, the PAC faced new political and ideological influences. Many of its cadres were exposed to the Chinese brand of Communism after the formation of the PAC’s armed wing and the invitation to its founder leaders to go to China for military training in the mid 1960s.1 The first group that went to China included leaders such as Tempelton Ntantala, Matthew Nkoane, Edwin Makoti, Zebulon Mokoena and others. Upon their return, they styled a new army along the ideological outlook of the Chinese and argued for what they called Scientific Socialism as opposed to what was called African Socialism.2 At the time of its formation, the PAC under the leadership of Sobukwe characterized its ideology as that of an Africanist Socialist Democracy. This was widely equated with African socialism, which was now thought to be obsolete, especially by those who had found a new ideological affinity in the Chinese brand of Communism. During the Cold War years organizations wished to be known and identified by their ideological purity or orientation, and Cold War conditions dictated that such alignments be made. Access to resources and international connections were linked to strategic ideological partners and allies. The PAC was no exception, as it desperately needed resources to prosecute the struggle. The PAC convened a broad consultative Conference in Arusha, Tanzania in 1978. The aim of the conference was to address the debilitating internal challenges that the organization faced. A section of the membership of the PAC, with the support mainly from the army and its High Command, argued for the resolution of the ideological differences within the organization. They saw the conflict within the PAC as caused, mainly, by ideological differences. The formation of the APRP resulted from the walkout of about 72 PAC members at the Arusha consultative conference.3 These PAC members had for some time argued for the adoption of a Maoist position in relation to the ideology of the PAC. Most had gone to China to study revolutionary warfare. They had authored two books that they regarded as their ideological blueprints. These books were the New Road to Revolution and the Field Marshals Guide. These books were banned by the PAC. Ntantala, then a member of the Central committee of the PAC, recorded the events that were linked to the walkout of his group from the Arusha conference.4 He argues that Leballo’s determination to deal with his opponents within the Central Committee of the PAC resulted in his desire to expel some of his earnest critics. In a long letter that he wrote on the 4 April 1978, he agonizes over the problems in the PAC: For example, he (Leballo) has for a long time been urging the Central Committee to expel first Makoti, then Jaco, and Gqobose. His reasons have always been varied and various, but always totally unequal to the proposed punitive action.5 All these individuals were regarded as the intellectuals of the PAC at the time. Thus, it could be argued that Leballo’s action bordered on an anti-intellectual crusade. Ntantala further indicates that the differences he and his group had with Leballo were mainly based on ideological grounds. “Thus, our political, organizational and military differences have always stemmed from, and then boil down, to ideological differences as a matter of fact.”6 Ntantala, after a long exposition on the vexing internal challenges that were visited upon the PAC, comes to one painful conclusion. Those leaders of the Party with whom he (Leballo) … has quarreled in the past four months are faced with the unpalatable prospect of coexisting with him further and stomaching more of his foul doings. Thus, until the PAC is in a position to choose for itself a leader worthy of the responsibility of leadership, especially in the wake of our beloved Sobukwe’s untimely death, it seems natural and inescapable that a marriage of convenience be contracted – for the sake of responding to the pressing current demands of our struggle’s present phase.7 Leballo on the other hand remained with other influential members of the PAC including David Siibeko and Vusi Make. The APRP Challenge With the breakaway of the APRP, the PAC was effectively divided into two halves. Many among those who remained in the PAC sympathized with the APRP. Some, owing to the division in the PAC, took the conscious decision to become politically inactive. A great deal of them pursued other personal interests, such as studying. Thus, the PAC lost a considerable number of cadres who were both experienced in politics and knowledgeable about the organization. In addition, the disaffected cadres included some of the best trained members of the PAC and APLA, and their loss to the PAC was devastating. Many of them were its outspoken ideologues such as Ntantala. One of the cadres who left with the APRP was Zebulon Mokoena, who was a survivor of the famous Villa Peri Operation where APLA cadres were infiltrated into South Africa. In the past, the internal contradictions in the PAC would result in the suspension or expulsion of an individual. In other cases it would be two to three individuals. Never before had such a large group of people left the organization at once. What compounded the situation was that most of these individuals were very influential and held strategic positions in the organization, especially in the army. They left with a great reservoir of intellectual property that could have benefited the PAC. Potlako Leballo is deposed Leballo’s relations with members of the Central Committee deteriorated after the Arusha Conference. He was publicly humiliated at an event held to celebrate the PAC’s 20th anniversary on April 1979. Cadres stood up, booed and jeered as Leballo prepared to deliver the keynote address. They shouted ‘for twenty years you have been wrecking this organization’, and sang a Zulu song, the lyrics of which, literally translated, mean, ‘growing old in exile for the sake of money’. Leballo was humiliated in the presence of diplomats, Tanzanian government officials and representatives of other national liberation movements.8 It was this incident, and the resulting attack carried out by Leballo’s loyalists against those who humiliated him, that resulted in the death of three PAC members. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ South Africa's premier free email service - www.webmail.co.za ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ For super low premiums, click here http://home.webmail.co.za/dd.pwm -- Sending your posting to [email protected] Unsubscribe by sending an email to [email protected] You can also visit http://groups.google.com/group/payco Visit our website at www.mayihlome.wordpress.com -- Sending your posting to [email protected] Unsubscribe by sending an email to [email protected] You can also visit http://groups.google.com/group/payco Visit our website at www.mayihlome.wordpress.com
