Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let your email find you! -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] Date: Mon, 12 Sep 2011 05:48:44 To: Xola Tyamzashe<[email protected]> Reply-To: [email protected] Cc: <[email protected]>; Chief Siyaya Nkonyeni<[email protected]>; Justice Mvakali<[email protected]>; Hulisani Mmbara<[email protected]>; Sbusiso Xaba<[email protected]>; Tembelani Xundu<[email protected]>; Jaki Seroke<[email protected]>; Baliwinile Kwankwa<[email protected]>; <[email protected]>; Malaika wa Azania Mahlatsi<[email protected]>; Ras Aviwe Tyumre<[email protected]>; <[email protected]>; Mangaliso Petse<[email protected]> Subject: COMMEMRATION OF THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF POQO/APLA - By Sam Ditshego
As we are marking the fiftieth anniversary of the PAC’s military wing APLA and its forerunner POQO, we must reflect on the role they played in our struggle for liberation. They were there when the oppressed African people needed them. The war waged by APLA and its forerunner, POQO was a continuation of the wars of resistance waged by our forefathers against foreign encroachment and usurpation of our land over four hundred years ago. We should celebrate the twelve heroes of Operation Crusade who did battle with Portuguese forces around Vila Peri in 1968 in Mozambique on their home-going programme. They were Gerald Kondlo, Samuel Madodana Guma, Oscar Ntoni, Qhasana, Menzeleli, Twala, Bele, Enoch Zulu and Zeblon Mokena. We must also pay tribute to the more than a hundred POQO cadres most of whom were hanged in the early 1960’s and those who were jailed on Robben Island. Not much is known about these POQO/APLA heroes in Azania. We know that history is written in the corridors of power. However, it is our duty to inform the people of this country about these heroes. This information must be recorded in the annals of this country’s history for posterity. The operations of APLA during the 1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’smust also be celebrated. Our detractors might say why we celebrate since some people lost their lives while others lost their limbs. My answer is that war is ugly. Moreover, we didn’t initiate it. As we celebrate the successes of APLA, we must also do some introspection. Cadres who took part in Operation Crusade were the cream of APLA which included their well-trained Commander, Gerald Kondlo. Some argue that it was a mistake on our part to have sent the cream of APLA on a mission that saw ten of them killed. We should have sent other cadres instead. Others counter by saying the PAC believed in leaders being in the fore front. With the benefit of hindsight, could we have done things differently? Many people expect that we must have learnt from our exile experiences how to resolve organizational problems such as factionalism and blind loyalty to a leader. What has brought us together is our belief in what the PAC stands for. People are difficult to lead and have different perspectives on and approaches to different issues. Therefore, there is bound to be disagreements in any organization because some people believe that their perspectives and approaches are the best while others also believe that it is their perspectives and approaches that are the best. When a situation such as this arises, we should always look for those things on which we agree and thereafter attend to those things on which we don’t agree or discard them. It is how leaders manage disagreements and conflicts that will keep the PAC and its formations united. Many people like to emulate the leadership style of our founding President Mangaliso Robert Sobukwe because he was altruistic and selfless. This is also true of the second President of the PAC Zeph Mothopeng. LEADERSHIP What constitutes good leadership? Is it to be elected in Polokwane or at any elective conference? The term leader conjures up the image of an exemplary figure; of someone who can help others set goals and achieve them. It also implies the capacity to control, shape or direct an entity, an activity or a process. This capacity requires creative and imaginative thinking, innovation and entrepreneurship. Leadership has to be defined in terms of driving or motivating an organization, a state, a government or any group to achieve something. It is the ability, willingness and commitment to mobilize and utilise the best resources, operational skills and techniques available to attain a given goal or resolve a problem. In other words, good leaders must demonstrate a commitment to seek the best means, or make the necessary sacrifices to pursue the goals that they have set or provide a solution to an existing problem. They should also be able to motivate or inspire their constituents to pursue their goals with confidence. Another problem is that we are net consumers of knowledge than producers of knowledge. As net consumers of knowledge, we apply knowledge that was determined or shaped by non-African contexts. We know that we were torn asunder by ideological schisms like Marxism-Leninism, Maoism and Nationalism. There is nothing wrong with applying Marxist-Leninist or Maoist analytical tools as Sobukwe pointed out in his 1970 interview that they used Marxist analysis to challenge the Communists using their analytical tools. But Sons and Daughters of Africa should these analytical tools divide the PAC to the extent of threatening its very existence? Another problem is that state organs and resources are being used to destroy the PAC. There is also an attempt to expunge from history books the role the PAC and its military wing played in our struggle for liberation. These are some of the challenges facing the PAC. We must have the resolve to overcome them because they are not insurmountable. Another challenge for us is the nefarious intentions of the West to recolonise Africa. This is well documented. I refer you to a publication of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) of February 1994 which called for the recolonisation of Africa. What is the CFR? Formed in 1921 it is an organization made up of prominent Americans in business, government, law and the mass media. It provides personnel to the US government. It influences US foreign policy. President Jacob Zuma addressed the CFR in 2008 and his deputy Kgalema Motlanthe in May this year. Do they know and agree with the agenda of the CFR? The CFR advocates the creation of a world government which they call “the new world order”. This reminds me of what former Nigerian head of state Ibrahim Babangida was quoted as having said in Azania News of the 1980’s. He said “a new world order must be collectively designed”. It means Babangida was saying we can’t be expected to be part of a “new world order” we didn’t help to design. The ultimate implication of this “world government” is that all power would be centralized in a single global authority; national identities and boundaries would be eliminated. This all-powerful one-world government is going to be dictatorial. The invasions of Afghanistan, Iraq, Yugoslavia, Libya and Ivory Coast `are part of the agenda of the CFR and another organization called the Bilderberg Group which was established in 1954. The Bilderberg Group holds its annual meetings before the meetings of the G8 countries and the G8 countries take their cue from the Bilderberg Group. My submission is that in future APLA will be summoned to defend the continent against this “new world order”. Izwe Lethu! Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let your email find you! -- 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
