In January 1975, when covering the annual conference of the Labour Party for the Daily News at the Transkei Hotel in Umtata, there were two developments that drew headline attention.
The first was a speech about majority rule “baaskap” delivered by a Transkei opposition leader, Mr Knowledge Guzana. The second was the ejection of two white journalists because the hotel only catered for blacks only.
Mr Guzana, who was the leader of the Democratic Party in the Transkei Bantustan, caused a stir among the mainly coloured delegates at the conference when he said “majority rule in South Africa would result in one form of racial ‘baaskap’ substituted by another form of racial ‘baaskap’.
He said: “Today we have a ‘majority rule’ of a minor population group in South Africa. If majority rule in its truly democratic concept was instituted, then it would result in majority rule of the major population group.”
After I filed this story, the Daily News published the article under the headline: “Black leader warns of majority rule ‘baaskap’ ” on January 2 1975.
The other development at the conference that attracted attention was the ejection of two white journalists, Mr Arthur Rose, of the East London Daily Dispatch, and Mr Bill Krige of the Natal Mercury, from the hotel because they were whites.
Although the reporters resisted their ejection, the manager of the hotel, Mr Nkoyeni, said he had no alternative but to ask the reporters to leave because of the regulations governing their operations.
“My licence stipulates that I must not admit whites at all and if you persist in remaining here, I will be in trouble,” Mr Nkoyeni told Rose and Krige.
What was even more interesting was that following this incident, a young white couple who asked to use the telephone were also told to leave the hotel.
This article was published under the headline: “Apartheid laws hit two white journalists” on January 2 1975.
(Mr Sonny Leon)
The Labour Party leaders, who participated in the ruling National Party’s Coloured Representative Council (CRC), included Mr David Curry, Mr Sonny Leon, Rev Alan Hendrickse, Mr Norman Middleton, and Mr Fred Peters.
(Mr Norman Middleton)
These leaders were prominent in their pronouncements at that time that they were only using the CRC to propogate the creation of a non-racial and democratic society.
The other development at the conference that attracted attention was the ejection of two white journalists, Mr Arthur Rose, of the East London Daily Dispatch, and Mr Bill Krige of the Natal Mercury, from the hotel because they were whites.
Although the reporters resisted their ejection, the manager of the hotel, Mr Nkoyeni, said he had no alternative but to ask the reporters to leave because of the regulations governing their operations.
“My licence stipulates that I must not admit whites at all and if you persist in remaining here, I will be in trouble,” Mr Nkoyeni told Rose and Krige.
What was even more interesting was that following this incident, a young white couple who asked to use the telephone were also told to leave the hotel.
This article was published under the headline: “Apartheid laws hit two white journalists” on January 2 1975.
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