A talk delivered by Simphiwe
Hashe, Azapo National Secretary for Sport and Recreation at the commemoration
of the Black Wednesday in Port Elizabeth, 19th October 2002.
Cde
Chairperson, brothers and sisters, comrades. I bring to you revolutionary
greetings from the President, Cde Mosibudi Mangena and the Standing Committee
of Azapo.
I
have been asked to talk about, as the theme for this commemoration, Black
consciousness Beyond 2002, but my feeling is that we need to talk about Black
Consciousness now and not beyond 2002. I am asking you this because the BC
Movement is under attack now as it was under attack back in 1977. I do hope
that as we talk of Black consciousness now, we shall be able to project beyond
2002. I thus wish to apologize for tempering with your theme, but please allow
me to do it.
Today
marks the 25th anniversary of the banning of the BC Movement by the
racist settler-colonialist regime as a result of their opposition to the
balkanization of our Country, mother Azania, to the so called “ independent”
Bantustans meant for the different ethnic groups of our black people. Twenty
five (25) years ago, this day saw the banning of eighteen (18) BC organizations
by Jimmy Kruger, the then minister of Justice and Police, and his racist side
kicks for demonstrating their disgust and fervent opposition to so called
freedoms defined and planned by others for and on behalf of black people of
Azania. This was happening, a mere 37 days after the brutal murder in detention
of the founding father of our Black Consciousness philosophy, Cde Bantu Steve
Biko whom we as Azapo were recently commemorating here and elsewhere.
It
was an open letter that was written by the leadership of the BPC as a result of
an instruction from a meeting of the BC organizations and other organizations
of civil society that set in June 1977, in Hammanskraal, which led to the
savaged onslaught on Black Consciousness organizations. The open letter
contained amongst others, the following decisions that demonstrated black
people’s opposition to the Bantustan policy of the then regime:
1.
That an open
letter be written to Chief Lucas Mangope who was waiting in the wings to take
over as “ President” of the “Independent” Bantustan, strongly stating our
opposition and disgust at his attempts at further Balkanizing our Country as
Chief Kaizer Matanzima, another Bantustan quisling, had earlier done with the
Transkei in 1976.
2.
That the
campaign be taken to the people and that organizations be canvassed to fully
participate in it. Community-based organizations, Professional bodies and
traditional leaders were to be visited, informed of our position and their
support solicited.
Indeed
the letter was promptly sent to Chief Mangope and subsequently to the media.
The response that was received was the banning of the BC organizations and
three newspapers, viz., The World, Weekend World and Pro Veritate. This also
led to the harassment and consequent detention of the BC leadership and the
Editor of The World newspaper, Mr. Percy Qoboza, whose detention warrants were
signed on the 12th October 1977, a full week before the dastardly
act of banishments.
Struggle
for liberation of a people and its destiny can never be determined and shaped
by those who are opposed to it. It took a mere six months for Azapo to surface
as a new front through which black people would continue to pursue their
struggle to the glittering prize. A prize that we are still marching towards.
19th
October is remembered today as, by and large, the Press Freedom day. A day on
which Press Freedom was suppressed. I remember it as the day on which the Black
consciousness Movement as a whole was attacked. The system never succeeded.
They never succeeded to destroy a philosophy that permeated the minds of black
people of our country, young and old. I also remember 27 September 2002 as
another day on which this movement was attacked. This time, the movement was
attacked by members of the system from within. The system again dismally failed
to destroy Azapo as it did 25 years ago. This thus proves one thing to all of
us that the system shall never again be able to stop people in a course of
struggle. Never again shall the system be able to dictate the course of a
revolution. Never again shall the system be able to shunt and stop people from
organizing themselves in pursuit of their glittering prize, their own
liberation.
I
wish to conclude by asking you and the nation to observe and remember our
history, our days of remembrance for what they are. A true reflection of ourselves.
A reflection of the path of our struggle that we have been through and not
allow others to redefine it for us. For if we fail, we shall live with the
false images of ourselves. Biko himself cautions us in one of his assays on the
Definition of Black consciousness that “ further implications of Black
Consciousness are to do with correcting false images of ourselves in terms of
Culture, Education, Religion, Economics. The importance of this also must not
be understated. There is always interplay between the history of a people i.e.
the past, and their faith in themselves and hopes for their future…. We must
therefore work out schemes not only to correct this, but further to be our own
authorities rather than wait to be interpreted by others”.
The
inequalities that existed in society when the BC Movement was attacked in the
19th October 1977 are still prevalent to this day. Thus the struggle
for genuine equality and freedom in our country is far from over. Azapo is
therefore asking you to recommit yourselves to the reconstruction of mother
Azania. As the message from the A-APRP to Azapo during this year’s
commemoration would put it “Black Consciousness is an idea that lives today and
one that resides in all of us …. Lets go out as committed cadres and go out
among our people and organize as never before. Lets begin to implement some of
those ideas we put on paper, we cannot return here again next year and have not
implemented one plan or programme or project, as we will have dishonored our
Ancestor Steve Biko. Lets go out as confident and proud Azapo organizers
working for the total liberation and unification of Mother Africa and Azania
under Scientific Socialism… as always comrades, we stand ready for Revolution.
We all shall meet once again at the bonfire!”
FORWARD
EVER, BACKWARDS NEVER AND NEVER AGAIN.
AMANDLA.