MUNIAMMA FAMILY SOCIAL CLUB GATHERING AT JAPANESE GARDENS IN JANUARY 2016

 SOME PHOTOS TO INSPIRE THE YOUNGER GENERATION DESCENDANTS OF THE EXTENDED MUNIAMMA FAMILY.

THESE PHOTOS WERE TAKEN DURING A FAMILY GATHERING AT THE JAPANESE GARDENS IN DURBAN IN JANUARY 2016

Zuma must go April 10 2016

CHRIS HANI - A TRIBUTE TO A GREAT LEADER ON THE 28TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS ASSASSINATION ON APRIL 10 1993

President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Government and leaders of the South African Communist Party yesterday (April 10 2021) paid tributes to one of the great leaders of the freedom struggles, Chris Hani. He was assassinated 28 years ago on April 10 1993, by right-wing elements. The assassination, almost one year before the launch of our new, non-racial and democratic South Africa, robbed the new country of a freedom fighter who could have taken over from the first President, Nelson Mandela. He was leader of the South African Communist Party and an executive member of the ANC at this time. He was only 51-years-old at the time of his tragic death. In order to continue to remember the role played by this giant of a leader and as a tribute to him, I am re-publishing this radio documentary that I first produced in April 2008.

OUR RICH HISTORY – 15-YEAR-OLD DURBAN HIGH SCHOOL GIRL IN 1981 MAKES HEADLINES FOR STANDING UP AGAINST APARTHEID EDUCATION AUTHORITIES

  

(Miss Charmaine Naidoo, who was 15 in 1981, would be 55 or 56 now. It would be great to know about her progress over the years and what she is now doing?)

   

SCHOOL GIRL “EXPELS” RACISM

In May 1981 the apartheid regime had escalated its brutal and repressive measures to counter the campaigns of struggle leaders and progressive organisations such as the Natal Indian Congress. It was not only imposing banning and restrictive measures against anti-apartheid political, trade union, sporting leaders but was also brutally suppressing high school pupils and university students who were continuing their protests against unequal and inferior education systems.

Leading the campaigns at one of the high schools in Durban was 15-year-old Charmaine Naidoo. Despite being only in standard eight she organised a boycott of the Republic Day celebrations on May 31 imposed by the Pretoria regime. All schools controlled by the “Indian” education department like other “racial” departments were forced to participate in programmes to celebrate the apartheid Republic Day.

The Director of Indian Education, Mr Gabriel Krog, immediately took action and suspended Miss Naidoo and 600 other pupils for their boycott actions.

After some negotiations, Mr Krog allowed 246 children to return to their schools. But Miss Naidoo and more than 300 other children were barred from attending any government school to be “taught a lesson”.

The Natal Indian Congress entered the scene and took up the case of Miss Naidoo and her fellow pupils and made representations to the courts.

The case dragged on four nearly four months during which time Miss Naidoo and her colleagues were denied entry to their class rooms by Mr Krog.

Even after the court issued an order in October 1981 for Miss Naidoo and her expelled colleagues to be allowed back to their classrooms, Mr Krog refused to lift the expulsions. Miss Naidoo’s father, Mr Krishna Naidoo, was forced to seek further intervention by the court.

The Press Trust of SA News Agency wrote an article in October 1981 about the courage of Mis Naidoo and submitted it for publication in India via the Press Trust of India.

The article was published in several publications, including the Tribune, Statesman and the Times of India, under the headlines: “Schoolgirl ‘expels’ racism”, “Indian girl wins battle in Durban”, and “Indian Girl wins court case”.

 "INDIAN" GIRL WINS BATTLE IN DURBAN 

The story, published by the Tribune on October 6 1981, read:

 

Durban, Oct 6 (PTI): A 15-year-old Indian school girl has won a major battle when she fought her way back to the classroom after four months of expulsion ordered by the institution’s white director.

Mis Charmaine Naidoo, a standard V111 pupil of a local high school, was expelled along with 600 other Indian children after they had boycotted classes in protest against the 21^st Republic Day celebrations of the South African Government, according to the Press Trust of South Africa.

The arbitrary action against the children was taken by Mr Gabriel Krog, the Director of the Indian Education Department.

Mr Krog, who is a nominee of the secret Afrikaner organisation, Broederbond, subsequently allowed 246 children to return to their classes but barred Miss Naidoo and others from attending any Government school.

This action incensed the Indian community here and its leaders mobilised the black people against Mr Krog and the Indian Education Department.

"INDIAN" GIRL WINS COURT CASE

Numerous representations and petitions failed to persuade Mr Krog to change his stand. The Indian community, under the leadership of the Natal Indian Congress, which was founded by Mahatma Gandhi during his stay in South Africa in the 1890s, finally took the matter to court.

The presiding judge of the Pietermaritzburg Supreme Court, Mr Justice Friedman, set aside Miss Naidoo’s expulsion after stating that Mr Krog had not followed the legal requirements when he expelled the children.

But Mr Krog defied the legal directive and refused to allow Miss Naidoo to return to her class. When she was barred for the second time, her father, Mr Krishna Naidoo, instructed his attorneys to institute “contempt of court” proceedings and action for damages against Mr Krog.

After much wrangling between Mr Krog and the Indian community, the director finally agreed to re-admit all expelled children at the start of the new term next year.

He also agreed to allow the standard eight and matriculation pupils to appear in their year-end examinations for 1981.

The acting President of the Natal Indian Congress, Mr M J Naidoo, said in a statement to the Press Trust of South Africa that it seemed the South African Government took the action against Indian children because “they don’t want us to align ourselves with the aspirations of the African majority”. Ends – Press Trust of South Africa Oct 6 1981

 

FOOTNOTE:

Miss Naidoo, who was 15 in 1981, would be 55 or 56 now. It would be great to know about her progress over the years and what she is now doing?

OUR RICH HISTORY - MANDELA LAUDS ROLE OF INDIANS IN SOUTH AFRICA 14 DAYS AFTER BEING RELEASED FROM LIFE IMPRISONMENT ON FEB 11 1990

 

Soon after his release from life imprisonment on February 11 1990, Nelson Mandela, the leader of the African National Congress and the first democratic president of the new South Africa,  embarked on a tour of the country to address the people.

He addressed rallies in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban and other parts of the country in order to promote unity and condemn the violence that wreaked havoc in KwaZulu-Natal and certain parts of Johannesburg.

In the Durban area, certain reactionary forces also went about promoting racial hatred in response to Mandela’s release.

Only two days after his release, certain elements started to distribute in the then Natal province a scurrilous pamphlet against people of Indian-origin. The pamphlets made unfounded allegations in what appeared to be an attempt to promote racial strife.

Mandela, when addressing several gatherings in Durban, not only lashed out at the violence but also went out of his way to acknowledge the enormous role that leaders of Indian-origin had played in the freedom struggles.

 

MANDELA SAYS FORCES OF APARTHEID MUST NOT DIVIDE THE PEOPLE IN NATAL

 

Twelve days after his release, Mandela addressed a massive crowd in central Durban on February 25 1990. Thousands of people of all colours turned up to welcome home a leader who had sacrificed nearly half his life for their freedom.

This correspondent was also there on behalf of the Press Trust of India (PTI) and several international radio stations such as the BBC, Radio Netherlands, and Radio France Internationale.

Several newspapers in India published the story the next day on February 26. The Hindustan Times, The Hindu and the Indian Express carried the stories under the headlines: “Mandela lauds role of Indians in Natal”, “Attacks on Indian in Natal condemned”, and “Mandela decries attacks on Indians”.

 

MANDELA DECRIES ATTACKS ON INDIANS

 

The article read:

Durban, Feb 26 (PTI): The African National Congress leader, Mr Nelson Mandela, has expressed concern at the recent racial attacks on Indians in the Natal province of South Africa.

Addressing a mass rally here yesterday, Mr Mandela called on the people not to allow the forces of apartheid to sow seeds of division between Indians and Africans just when they were on their way to victory.

 

MANDELA SAYS INDIANS FOUGHT FOR FREEDOM IN SOUTH AFRICA SINCE 1894

 

In a passionate speech, heard by thousands of people, including hundreds of Indians, wearing Mandela and ANC T-shirts, Mr Mandela condemned the violence and said: “The perpetrators of these acts are enemies of the liberation movement.”

Amidst loud cheers he reminded the people of the role played by Indian patriots since 1894 and said their struggle against oppression was a shining example of Indo-African solidarity.

The struggle began in Natal with the formation of the first black political organisation in Africa – the Natal Indian Congress founded in 1894 by Mahatma Gandhi, he recalled.

Mr Mandela said: “In 1946 during the defiance campaigns more than 2 000 Indians were sent to jail – many for occupying land reserved for whites. The campaign made clear the common nature of Indian and African oppression ….. in 1947  this led to the Dadoo-Xuma-Naicker Pact and the joint action of Africans and Indians of 1952.”

Mr Mandela said he greeted the people of Natal in the name of peace which was desperately needed in the province.

“Here in Natal apartheid is a deadly disease in our midst. My message to you today is to take your guns, knives and pangas and throw them into the sea. Close down the death factories.

“Stop the violence now,” he told the mammoth crowd admonishingly.

The rally was also addressed by the Indian ANC leader, Ahmed Kathrada, who was released from jail last year along with other ANC leaders, including Walter Sisulu. Ends – Press Trust of SA News Agency Feb 26 1990

 

OUR RICH HISTORY - WINNIE MADIKIZELA-MANDELA INTERVIEW IN AUGUST 1986 --------- AN INTERVIEW TO RE-CALL THE LIFE AND TIMES OF WINNIE MADIKIZELA-MANDELA AT A TIME WHEN SOUTH AFRICANS ARE OBSERVING THE THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF HER PASSING ON APRIL 2 2018

 

The life and times of one of our freedom leaders, Mrs Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, is once again being highlighted. This at a time when South Africans are observing the third anniversary of her passing on April 2 2018 at the age of 81.

The remembrance of her significant contributions to the freedom struggles from the time when her husband, Nelson Mandela, was imprisoned on Robben Island and Polsmoor Prison in Cape Town for 26 years, is also being highlighted now when the Johannesburg municipality is discussing a motion to re-name William Nicol Drive in the city after Winnie Mandela.

After she returned from her banishment in the Free State rural town of Brandfort in late 1985, I had the opportunity of interviewing her six months later at her home in Soweto in Johannesburg.  

The struggles at this time were hotting-up and Mrs Mandela was facing increased harassment and intimidation at the hands of the apartheid security branch and third force elements.

In this interview she demonstrated her determination to continue the struggles despite the bannings, restrictions and harassment she was suffering. She also had the strong belief that Nelson Mandela and other leaders would be released to lead the country to a new era of freedom.

She also took a strong stance against Ronald Regan and Margaret Thatcher who were leaders of the United States and Britain at that time. They refused to support economic sanctions against apartheid South Africa.

This interview was one of many articles that we at Press Trust of SA News Agency had written on Winnie Madikizela-Mandela over the years of the struggles. I will publish the rest of the articles over the next few weeks.

This particular interview with Mrs Mandela in Soweto in August 1986 was distributed around the world and broadcast on a number of international radio stations. The interview was widely published in several newspapers in India via the Trust of India (PTI).

One article under the headline: “Winnie: If Reagan is a clown, then Thatcher is no better”, was published in the Indian Express on August 21 1986.

The interview, which was published with an introduction, read:

 

 

WINNIE: IF REAGAN IS A CLOWN, THATCHER IS NO BETTER

 

Durban, Aug 21 (PTI):

The leader of the African National Congress, Nelson Mandela, who has been in prison for the last 22 years, is in high spirits with his commitment to freedom for his people undiminished.

In an interview early this month in Soweto, Mrs Winnie Mandela, wife of the 68-year-old South Africa leader, told the Press Trust of South Africa, that the “22 years he has now spent in prison has not dented him, nor the entire leadership (of the ANC) that is behind bars”.

Asked if her husband felt as strong as ever, Mrs Mandela said:

“There is no difference in the man. He is exactly the same person who was sentenced on June 12, 1964. His spirits are exactly the same. His commitment is exactly the same. There has been no change whatsoever.”

 

QUESTION: Nelson Mandela turned 68 on July 18, 1986. How does he feel spending another birthday behind bars?

ANSWER: It has really not made any difference to him that he has spent another birthday in prison. It was a sacrifice on behalf of the people and as long as the people are not free, events such as his personal birthday have no meaning. What is of meaning is the freedom of the people.

 

Q: Louis le Grange, Minister of Law and Order, recently said that he no longer considers that Mandela is being controlled by communists. Was he ever controlled by communists?

A: I have not the slighted inkling why such a peculiar statement like that was made by that man. I can only attribute it to the lunacy that prevails in those ranks in the Pretoria regime. At no stage was Mandela or any other person in the leadership inside the country or externally were in the control of anyone.

 

Q: We now proceed to President Ronald Reagan of the United States. He has once again not only,  refused to impose economic sanctions against South Africa,  but has also referred to certain elements in the ANC as terrorists. What is your view of President Reagan?

Q: Throughout the years we have come to realise [SG1] that what Reagan says is of no consequence whatsoever. We regard him as the clown he is, the actor he is. He regards the US as his theatre. Reagan has gone out of his way to provoke the oppressed people of this land. He is racist, prescriptive, non-sensical, and devoid of all sensitivity. He is insulting, and we, the oppressed people of this country, have come to the conclusion that the time has come for us to accept the challenge by these western nations that persist in a course we have been telling them that is confrontationist. We are going to accept that challenge.

It is about time that we reviewed the policies of the ANC. It is about time that perhaps we once again looked into the serious question of the multi-nationals that are operating in our country.

 

Q: President Reagan has once again repeated that if sanctions were imposed on the Pretoria Government, the West would be damaging the cause of the black people and the black people would be the first to suffer. Do you agree with his assessment?

 

A: We no longer think it is worth answering that nonsensical argument.

 

Q: President Reagan’s attitude seems to suggest that he is more concerned about the safety and security of the ruling minority than about the black majority. Do you agree with this assessment?

A: This is what we have been saying all along. We have gone out of our way to explain to the rest of the world that the last people Reagan has ever been concerned with are the oppressed millions of our land.

We know Reagan’s interest in our country is our wealth, our gold and the minerals of our land. We know Reagan’s interest is with trade links of our country.

 

Q:   What do you think of the attitude of Margaret Thatcher of Britain?

A: Margaret Thatcher’s attitude is no different to that of Reagan. They both share the same interests. They are both responsible for propping up the Pretoria regime. They are both responsible for the fact that the Pretoria regime has been ruling all these years now. If those two governments changed their foreign policies today, we would attain our freedom.

 

Q: But they still want Nelson Mandela released and the ANC unbanned?

A: It is just a ploy to hoodwink those they believe will still believe in their hypocrisy. It is of no consequence whatsoever what Reagan and Thatcher say in this context. The last wish they have is the release of our leadership and the unbanning of the future government of the land which is the ANC.

 

Q: Will the release of Nelson Mandela and the unbanning of the ANC lead to the downfall of white monopoly power in this country?

A: We have never believed that the release itself will bring back the conditions our leaders fought 24 years ago, mysteriously leading to the freedom of our people. It can never be as simple as that. It would never be.

First the release of our leaders would have to be examined in the sense that where does one release them to – to the same country? To the same conditions? There would have to be a correct political climate. The ANC which is the future Government of this land would have to unbanned.

 

Q: You keep saying the ANC is the future government of South Africa. How certain are you about this?

A: I have no doubts about this at all. The ANC is the people’s mouth-piece. The ANC espouses the aspirations of the oppressed people of South Africa. It is a people’s popular movement.

 

Q: You yourself has been subject to a great deal of oppression such as house arrests, detentions and prison terms. Don’t you feel bitter about being subjected to such inhumanity?

A: I don’t think there is a single oppressed person who has no bitterness within himself or herself. It would not be natural for anyone not to feel the bitterness after being subject to such brutal situation by the Afrikaner people, who are so violent.

Ends – Press Trust of SA News Agency August 21 1986

 

 

 

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 [SG1]