Browse the AAM Archive

The April issue led on South Africa’s attacks on Angola and Mozambique. A four-page report recorded the findings of a UN Special Committee Against Apartheid seminar on nuclear collaboration with South Africa. Sam Makari, whose brother had been hanged, accused the British Government of complicity in illegal executions in Zimbabwe. AA News accused the South African Government of sabotaging UN proposals for democratic elections in Namibia. It showed how in the aftermath of the 1976 Soweto uprising, thousands of young South Africans had been put on trial and many had joined the ANC’s armed wing, uMkhonto we Sizwe.

The May issue mourned Solomon Mahlangu, a young ANC activist hanged by the apartheid government on 6 April 1979. It announced the formation of the World Campaign Against Military and Nuclear Collaboration with South Africa, launched in March. It exposed the Muldergate scandal and how the South African Government had spent millions of Rand on secret overseas projects. A centrespread looked at South Africa’s segregated education system. Margaret Ling reported on her visit to Zambia, where she had seen at first hand the result of South African napalm attacks against a Zimbabwean refugee camp. 

AA News warned of Conservative Government plans to agree a ‘sell-out’ deal with the Smith regime in Zimbabwe. It examined the Wiehahn Commission’s proposals for the reform of apartheid labour law. It announced the formation of a new AAM Teachers Network and plans for the annual NUS-AAM student conference. British observers of Rhodesia’s ‘internal elections’ described them as a ‘gigantic confidence trick’. AA News accused South Africa of ‘torpedoeing’ the UN peace plan for Namibia. It reported on a British Council of Churches report calling for economic disengagement from South Africa.

This issue again led on the British Government’s plans for a settlement with the Smith regime. It announced the formation of a Zimbabwe Emergency Campaign Committee to coordinate opposition to the proposals. It exposed the South African interests of ministers in the new Conservative Government. A centrespread reproduced the action programme adopted by the AAM’s conference for trade unionists on 2 June. ZAPU leader T G Silundika told of the growing unity between ZAPU and ZANU. AA News reported on an attack on a Soweto police station by ANC guerrillas. Local AA Groups all over Britain held sponsored walks for the ANC Freedom School in Tanzania.

AA News explained the terms on which the Zimbabwe Patriotic Front would take part in the British Government conference on Zimbabwe. It asked Prime Minister Thatcher not to grant immunity to Ian Smith unless he stopped the hangings of Zimbabwean freedom fighters. It announced an international week of action against Barclays Bank and reported on the UN Committee Against Apartheid's appeal for government action to stop banks collaborating with South Africa. It exposed how British sports bodies were undermining the sports boycott. A centrespread featured a UN conference on apartheid's impact on children. Basil Davidson reported on his visit to Mozambique.

The October issue called for support for the Zimbabwe Patriotic Front in the Lancaster House constitutional talks. It reported that at least 7000 people were still held under martial law regulations in Zimbabwe. It exposed the sale of radar equipment by the British electronics firm Plessey in contravention of the UN arms embargo. A centrespread highlighted plans to protest against the South African Barbarians rugby tour of Britain. Basil Davidson remembered MPLA leader Agostinho Neto, who died on 10 September. SWAPO representative Shapua Kaugungua again accused Western governments of undermining negotiations for Namibian independence.

The November issue led on South African attacks against Zambia and Mozambique. It recorded the standing ovation for ANC President Oliver Tambo at the Labour Party Conference in September. It again alleged that Western governments were backtracking on the UN peace plan for Namibia. It exposed South African ‘reforms’ on trade unions, the pass laws, housing and education as ‘a new mask’ for apartheid. ZAPU women’s leader Jane Ngwenya told of the intimidation of women in Zimbabwe. South African lawyer Shun Chetty described South Africa’s rigged legal system.

As the Lancaster House talks on Zimbabwe drew to a conclusion, AA News warned that the British Government must not impose a settlement before a cease-fire agreement. It announced the launch of a campaign to save the life of ANC guerrilla James Mange, sentenced to death in Pietermaritzburg. Abdul Minty wrote about South Africa’s nuclear capacity. AA News reported on SWAPO’s rejection of the new Western plan for Namibia. It reviewed the conclusions of the AAM-UN Committee Against Apartheid international seminar on the role of transnational corporations in South Africa. It exposed Israel’s growing links with the apartheid government.