Defiance campaign continues
The release of Walter SISULU and seven other political prisoners on 15 October, and the regime's announcement in November of its intention to repeal the Separate Amenities Act, were major victories for the Mass Democratic Movement (MDM) which had demanded both as part of the defiance campaign. After the releases, large marches continued throughout the country, with protesters demanding the release of all political prisoners, the unbanning of the ANC and all proscribed organisations, the lifting of the State of Emergency and the withdrawal of troops from townships as conditions necessary for political negotiations with the regime.
Defiance campaign
The ANC leaders, Walter Sisulu, Raymond MHLABA, Ahmed KATHRADA, Elias MOTSOALEDI, Andrew MLANGENI, Wilton MKWAYI and Oscar MPETHA, were released, along with Jafta MASEMO-LA, a member of the PAC, into a defiance campaign which had begun in August.
In the last two weeks of September alone, an estimated 200,000 people took part in protest marches. These actions spread to small rural towns like Acorn-hoek, where about 30,000 people marched to the local police station, and Galeshewe township in Kimberley where 7,500 people demanded lower rents and the disbanding of the local council. A protest march organised by Women Against Repression on 22 September was forcibly dispersed by police who used whips and teargas to attack the thousands of marching women. Other marches were also broken up by police. On 6 October, a month after the police had opened fire on a march by priests in Stutterheim, over 10,000 residents marched for peace in the town. This was followed by death threats against priests and church wardens.
In a joint action, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the National Council of Trade Unions (NACTU) declared on 14 October that they planned 29 protest marches against the restrictive Labour Relations Amendment Act. In the Western Cape a two-week selective consumer boycott was launched on 7 October, targeting businesses of 'collaborators' in the tri-cameral system, and urging people to withdraw their accounts from banks sponsoring a rebel rugby tour. In Worcester, on 7 October, about 10,000 people led by Allan Boesak, President of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, marched to demand the release of all political prisoners and an end to the State of Emergency.
On 11 October an estimated 60 — 80,000 people marched through Uitenhage. Police reinforcements were brought in from other parts of the country, but were not used. In Secunda, residents went ahead with a march on 14 October despite being denied permission for it by the local magistrate. In Witbank marchers were escorted by police in Casspir armoured vehicles as they marched through the town on 14 October.
ANC leaders released
News broke of the government's decision to release the eight prisoners after consultations between Nelson Mandela and representatives of the MDM on 11 October. In making the announcement, President de Klerk emphasised that the government had fully consulted with Mandela on the matter, underlining its acceptance of the centrality of the ANC to the resolution of the political conflict in South Africa. The freed leaders pledged their commitment to a negotiated settlement, but pointed out that there was 'no clear indication that the government is serious about negotiations. All their utterances are vague'.
The MDM established a National Reception Committee (NRC) to co-ordinate celebrations of the releases. The leaders were met by jubilant crowds who were controlled by the NRC, supported by stewards clad in the uniform of the ANC's military wing Umkhonto we Sizwe. ANC flags were raised at the gates of the former prisoners' homes and large crowds sang freedom songs and shouted ANC slogans. Students in Soweto reportedly abandoned their classrooms to pay visits to them. As a Soweto Students Congress (SOSCO) representative explained: 'These senior comrades have shown the way to the new society and it is only right for us to pay tribute to them'. The leaders were also visited by church leaders such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Frank Chikane, General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches.
Mass reception
The seven ANC former prisoners issued a statement on their release and addressed a press conference in the name of the ANC, thus expressing their defiance of the regime's restrictions and becoming part of the defiance campaign. A mass rally at Soccer City in Johannesburg on 29 October attended by over 80,000 people was presented as an ANC function, although it was organised by the NRC, who informed the chief magistrate for Johannesburg about the event. Under pressure to ban the rally, the Minister of Law and Order stated that the event was intended to welcome the released ANC political leaders but was not an ANC event. However, he threatened to act against anyone promoting the objectives of the ANC. The Johannesburg Chief Magistrate also complained about the advertising of the rally, which he maintained was seen to be promoting the ANC, although he did not ban it. There were also threats from right wing groups which threatened to violently disrupt the rally.
The rally left observers with no doubt that it was the highest point of the defiance campaign so far and marked the virtual unbanning of the ANC. The NRC organised 300 buses to transport people from different parts of the country, although some, including those from Bophuthatswana, were stopped. Stalls sold ANC T-shirts and flags, and huge banners of the ANC and South African Communist Party (SACP) were displayed in the stadium. Posters proclaiming 'ANC lives, ANC leads' filled the rally. The seven ANC leaders were joined by leading members of the MDM and their colleague Govan MBEKI, who was granted special permission to attend the event. Shortly afterwards the restrictions on Mbeki were lifted.
At least 76 international and local organisations, governments and the United Nations, sent messages of support. Messages from ANC President Oliver Tambo, SACP General Secretary Joe Slovo and the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) were read. In a keynote speech, Sisulu said that the ANC was ready to negotiate a peaceful end to apartheid when the government created conditions conducive to doing so. He emphasised the need for increased pressure on all fronts, including sanctions and the armed struggle, until the government was forced to abandon apartheid. All the leaders stated that they remained loyal and accountable to the ANC as the leading force in the struggle for liberation.
In November the deputy leader of the Conservative Party laid charges against the NRC and the speakers, alleging that the rally was in breach of the Internal Security Act. However the MDM continued its defiance campaign, and was planning a march to Victor Verster Prison where Mandela is held.
