South Africa repeals apartheid laws: Black majority still denied democratic rights

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After decades of apartheid, the sys. tem is so entrenched that the end of the legal basis of apartheid is not required to keep Blacks in this degrading status. Apartheid is 16 SOCIALIST ACTION JULY 1991 The white capitalist rulers of South Africa are determined to maintain their economic and political domination of a country where the Black majority is denied basic democratic rights.

Since early June, major concessions have been made to the oppressed majority population in an attempt to divide the liberation forces and build a new coalition of collaborators with the white regime. The concessions have been hailed by world imperialism, led by President George Bush—who hosted the top Black collaborator, Chief Gatsha Buthelezi of the Inkatha Freedom Party, at the White House on June 20.

Bush calls for an immediate end to sanctions against South Africa imposed by the United States in 1986. The Reagan administration, including Bush, opposed those sanctions at the time. Reagan's veto was overturned by Congress.

The U.S. sanctions bar the export of military hardware, computer technology, and nuclear items. They also prohibit the import of food and agricultural products, iron, steel, coal, gold coins, sugar, and oil and petroleum products from South Africa.

Apartheid laws scrapped

Four significant laws that serve as the legal basis for apartheid have been revoked by the white capitalist rulers.

On June 17, the parliament scrapped the Population Registration Act, enacted in 1950. That law classified all South Africans by race from birth. Under the new law, all babies born after June 17 will no longer be classified by race-as Blacks, Asians, Coloreds (mixed race), and whites.

On June 5, the Land Acts, which set aside 87 percent of all property for whites, and the Group Areas Act, which dictated where South Africans could live on the basis of their race, were repealed. Blacks (including Africans, Asians, and Coloreds) are approximately 34 million of South Africa's 39 million people. African Blacks (some 30 million people) are denied the right to vote and had the fewest rights under apartheid One year earlier, the parliament repealed the Separate Amenities Act, which allowed municipal officials to bar Blacks from parks, swimming pools, toilets, and other public accommodations. Municipal and township councils, however, remain segregated.

And on June 21, the parliament modified the 1982 Internal Security Act, which allowed the police to indefinitely hold opponents of the regime in jail without a trial. The new law allows detention for up to 10 days. Renewals require that the victim go before a judge first. Detainees are also granted access to their own lawyers, doctor, and family members.

What is apartheid?

The legal changes in the apartheid system have been welcomed by liberation forces in South Africa. All formations, however-from the largest group, the African National Congress (ANC), to unions and church organizations—add that the changes do not go far enough. Repeal of apartheid laws are not identical to ending the system of discrimination and national oppression.

The new laws do not mark a fundamental change to the capitalist apartheid system. Apartheid is more than laws on the books. It is an institutionalized social, economic, and political system based on white domination of the Black majority. It is a system based on total control of all aspects of a Black person's life.

Black life is not only made inferior by lacking the right to vote, but by having substandard housing, schools, and medical care. Blacks have been denied access to land and equal pay for equal work.

After decades of apartheid, the system is so entrenched that the end of the legal basis of apartheid is not required to keep Blacks in this degrading status. Apartheid is institutionalized. The system of discrimination continually recreates and reproduces itself. It must be rooted out to bring fundamental change.

Take, for example, the new law on race classification. Only babies born after June 17 will not be registered by race. But their parents remain classified. The old lists will not be changed until after a new constitution is written. Who will write the constitution? The white regime says it will be written by qualified people representing all components of society. Moreover, it says it will take several years to do so. Until then, the current minority regime will govern under modified laws that maintain white rule.

The ANC and other liberation forces strongly oppose this setup. They correctly point out that a Constituent Assembly based on democratic representation is required to write a constitution.

In addition, the ANC demands that an interim goverment be immediately formed to organize the assembly. President F.W de Klerk rejects that demand out of hand. Buthelezi, his main Black collaborator, agrees with him.

The law changing segregated education is also full of holes. Whites-only public schools may be integrated, but only if 72 percent of the parents at a school vote to accept children of all races. So far, few schools have been integrated. And the government has taken no steps to equalize funding to Black schools.

Even the new amendments to the Internal Security Act are inadequate. The government still has the right to ban political groups it declares are seeking change through violence. Preventive detention is still possible.

Radical land reform needed The key issue to move towards real equality and full democracy in South Africa concerns land ownership. Under apartheid's old laws Blacks could only own land on 13 percent of the country. Today they can legally buy land anywhere. But few Blacks have the resources to do so, even if they could get a white to sell them back land stolen from their parents and ancestors.

To achieve fundamental radical change in South Africa, the oppressed Black majority must be able to work and own land freely. This means that land must be redistributed to all those who wish to work it-backed up by cheap credit and other affirmative action measures to benefit those who want to farm or own their own home. Nationalization of major white holdings is a necessary first step to give Blacks some economic control over their lives.

What is most significant about the end of legal apartheid is the fact that it gives the revolutionary and democratic forces in South Africa impetus and confidence to step up their fight for a total dismantling of the capitalist apartheid system. It provides more political space to organize the movement and unite all progressive-minded forcesBlack and white—in a determined effort to end the system.

De Klerk and his supporters in Washington, London, and other imperialist centers, understand the revolutionary dynamics of the anti-apartheid struggle for democratic rule. This is why they seek to refurbish the system without fundamentally changing it.

White domination is institutionalized. It is like racism in the United States. Many significant changes have occurred in this country since the demise of Jim Crow-segregation in the 1960s. But institutionalized discrimination in income and employment-twice the average joblessness compared to whites, for example-education, housing, and other aspects of life remain entrenched.

Not surprisingly, the ruling Nationalist Party (NP), political architect of the system, is now accepting Asian, Colored, and Black collaborators directly into the racist party. De Klerk is seeking to establish the NP as a party representing all South Africans, not just whites.

Keep international sanctions But de Klerk's and Bush's problem remains a very big one despite all the maneuvering: the Black majority is discriminated against and not allowed the right to vote. Blacks are without real political power. Black political prisoners remain in jail. Police-organized violence against Blacks is still rampant. Segregation is still a reality.

It is in this context that international sanctions fit. They must be maintained and strengthened against the capitalist apartheid regime. The sanctions are working. That's why De Klerk, Buthelezi, and Bush want to repeal them as soon as possible.

But the liberation forces in South Africa say, "No!" Opponents of apartheid in the United States must give the same answer.

Edolphus Towns, Democrat from Brooklyn and chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus (a group that helped write the 1986 law) responded to Bush by saying, "We feel it's very important not to lift sanctions now until we're certain the situation in South Africa is irreversible."

Under the 1986 law, five conditions were set before sanctions could be lifted. They were: Ending the bans on all political parties in South Africa while insuring that groups can take part freely in politics, freeing all political prisoners, lifting a government-imposed state of emergency, eliminating the laws that formed the structure of apartheid, and receiving assurances that negotiations over a new government are under way.

The White House says four of the five conditions have been met. What's left is freeing remaining political prisoners.

Supporters of the revolutionary democratic struggle in South Africa, however, say freeing the political prisoners is not enough. The sanctions must be maintained until a new constitution is written where the right of Blacks to vote, to be full citizens, is made law.

On June 15-16, the ANC and other forces organized large rallies and meetings to mark the 15th anniversary of the Soweto uprising, which relaunched the liberation struggle.

ANC leader Nelson Mandela said that the ANC would step up its agitation until all political prisoners are freed, an interim government is formed, and a constituent assembly is established. On July 2-6 in Durban, the ANC is holding its first national conference in South Africa since it was banned in 1960 Supporters of the revolutionary struggle against the capitalist apartheid system must step up our solidarity by demanding that sanctions be fully enforced and by backing all efforts by the oppressed Black majority and its allies to bring down the regime and move towards a democratically elected constituent assembly.

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