She said that the South African people had to choose the way they are going to act themselves In the anti-fascist struggle of World War II, people had decided that what they were fighting for was worth the sacrifice. By what right, she asked, are we to be denied the right of sacrifice so that our children can have a better life? The Sharpeville massacre in 1960 had been neither new nor unique in the history of protest against the South African Government. For years peaceful protest had been met by violence from the government, and finally the ANC had chosen the path of armed struggle. Ghendian non-violence, she said, had been born in South Africa, but it could only succeed where the government respects human freedom.

"Investment"

Earlier, Logan Moodley, a South African whose citizenship was revoked by the South African Government in 1964 and who has been active in the struggle for Aboriginal Civil Rights in Australia, made an important contribution in outlining the international links between the apartheid system in South Africa and Western capitalism. He mentioned that South Africa is important to Western capitalism in several ways. Firstly it is the only effective pro-western nation on the African continent which provides useful port end space tracking facilities for the U.S. Secondly, South Africa is of extreme economic importance to the West because of its vast mineral resources and its profitable system of cheap labour. U.S. private investors earn, $100,000 million from investments in South Africa each year. The apartheid state of South Africa, he argued, guarantees the U.S. dollar.

The United States to only supported the South African regime but also Portugese colonialism in Fuine-Bissau, Angola and Mozambique. For example the U.S. Government has recently signed a treaty with Portugal for a U.S. base in the Azores. The U.S. end other western countries could, he said, help to isolate and overcome the dangers of South Africa end help to shelter Zambia and Tanzania from white racist governments. Instead Nixon has chosen to come to Lisbon's aid. Nixon's generosity to the Portugese was motivated by the old argument that because the Soviets give the guerilla said, the guerillas are Soviet stooges and must not be allowed to succeed. U.S. aid to Portugal, he said, could also have something to do with recent oil finds in Angola.

Britain's position was exactly the same as that of the U.S. Over half of all the overseas investments in South Africa came from Britain, and more and more British capital was flowing into South Africa. France, Germany and Italy were all increasing trade with South Africa. Capitalism and racialism go hand in hand.

Propaganda

Another important contribution to the Conference came from Terry Bell who talked about the Apartheid propaganda machine in South Africa. Terry Ball was a journalist in South Africa and now works as journalist in Auckland. He stressed that apartheid is not limited to South Africa. Vorster who was detained during the Second World War for fascist activities had been head of the South African Nazi underground. Apartheid was an expansionist doctrine, and South Africa was selling the Herrenvolk ideal of a world order to the rest of the world. South African propaganda today, he said, was "the same vile pill given a very good sugar coating." Bell analysed four different types of South African propaganda; Firstly the official propaganda mainly through the Department of information. Then there is semi-official and 'independent forms of propaganda by film companies which have supplied the N.Z.B.C. with films.

The South African Race Bureau issues statistics etc., and especially the South Africa Foundation, which has organised links in business and politics throughout the western world with the full backing of the Department of Information. South Africa, he said, has analysed New Zealand and assessed that a substantial reservoir of anti-coloured feeling exists and is shown, for example, by New Zeeland's racist immigration laws. There is also a Kiplinges que British feeling in New Zealand, and Peter Hugh Philip, M.B.E., M.A. (Oxon) is a very suitable propagandist. The fourth type of South African propaganda was the liberal sector of Apartheid which preaches a line of moderation. This, he said, was the most invidious. Mr Marshall's bridge-building with South Africa meant building a toll bridge with the fare dictated by the South African Government. The line of liberal moderation was a sham. For an example the much-publicised walk-off from a cricket field by All Barker, the South African cricket captain, and other white cricketers was purely a piece of show for the rest of the world. The place to build bridges to, Bell said, was the non-racial sporting bodies in South Africa, which were not illegal and despite tremendous pressure still exist. The South African Progressive Party (and its one parliamentary representative Mrs Helen Suzman) and the Rand Daily Mail newspaper were also part of the liberal type of apartheid propaganda. They exist, he said, because the South African Government let them. By allowing this sort of opposition the government are able to preserve a veneer of moderate opposition. Bell pointed out that Harry Oppenheimer, a leading member of the South Africa Foundation bankrolls the Progressive Party and effectively controls the Rand Daily Mail and the United Party's Sunday Times. The line of anti-government moderation, the call "please don't boycott us" was the most dangerous form of apartheid propaganda. After outlining some of the more insidious forms of South African propaganda, such as newspaper articles by bona fide journalists in the pay of the South African Government, Bell concluded "This is war and anybody who does not regard it as such should not be here." The South Africans, he said, sell neutrality. They succeed because they survive, and they survive because we let them.

"Capitalism and racialism go hand in hand" -Moodley

Tactics

The most important practical part of the Conference was the meetings of tactical planning groups on Sunday mornings. These groups reported back to the full Conference on Sunday afternoon, and their reports with minor alterations were adopted and referred for action to the proposed national Co-ordinating Committee which will be established at a meeting of the Conference Planning Committee, to representatives of the organisations which sponsored the conference end to other interested organisations.

The Diplomacy planning committee decided that Philip's activites could be countered by offering speakers to groups which invited him to speak, reproducing his speeches (or rather his one basic speech) with the appropriate corrections for distribution at meetings he addresses, monitoring his activities and those of his staff to find out what they are doing, end documenting his activities and presenting a report to the U.N. This group also decided to take action against the three honorary Portugese consuls in New Zealand, and called for a report on the activities of the South African Front organisations, such as the Friends of South Africa. The New Zealand Government should establish diplomatic representation in one African state as a high priority-Kenya and Zambia were mentioned. The Liberation Movements in Southern Africa, the Organisation for African Unity and individual African countries should be asked to appoint representatives in New Zealand, or Australia and New Zealand. The New Zealand Government, it was decided, was making insufficient provision for the distribution of United Nations information, and the N.Z.B.C. should be asked to take the U.N.'s free radio programme. Continuous pressure is needed on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to improve New Zealand's voting record in the U.N. on questions concerning Southern Africa, and the Government should be urged to make financial contributions to the Trust Fund for South Africa, the Educational and Training Programme for Southern Africa and the Trust Fund for Namibia (South West Africa) initially equal to its contribution to the 1974 Commonwealth Games. It was also agreed that the anti-apartheid groups in New Zealand should exploit all opportunities at the U.N. to establish contacts with the Apartheid Committee, the Committee on Racial Discrimination and other committees which representatives of various non-official organisations can attend. Trevor Richards of H.A.R.T., Tom Newnham of C.A.R.E. and Pat Hohepa are going to the U.N. this week to attend a meeting of the U.N. Committee on Apartheid.

The Conference further decided on a compromise resolution urging that anti- apartheid groups should work for the severance of diplomatic contacts between South Africa and New Zealend.

The planning committee on aid to liberation movements in Southern Africa stressed that it was well aware that it was at the very beginning of its work. It recommended a co-ordinating committee to collect contributions for liberation movements which should approach national organisations, such as the F.O.L. for support.

The planning committee on worker action and trade boycotts called for personal boycotts of South African goods. Government removal of all tariff preferences on ell South African products, an embargo on all South African goods produced under discrimanatory wage rates and labour laws; endeavours to persuade all individuals and companies in New Zealand to cut off investments and financial activities in South Africa, and invited N.Z. U.S.A. to investigate the possibility of individuals acquiring voices in companies with interests in South Africa. The committee's most important recommendations were to work to persuade trade unions not to provide any services for racist sports teams visiting New Zealand and to help give effect to the declared anti-apartheid feelings of New Zealand trade unions. Pet Kelly representing the Northern Drivers Union emphasised that it was most difficult to achieve actual participation by the trade union movement, but stressed that only workers could stop the apartheid system. "We have now in F.O.L. policy, all that is required to implement all you have spoken about", he said.

Sporting Contacts

The Sporting Contacts planning groups gave strong strong support for a stratified attack on the 1973 Springbok Tour of New Zealand. This would mean that everyone who opposed the tour could work at whatever level of protest they felt most suited for themselves. This group unanimously resolved that the 1973 Tour "must and will be stopped" and endorsed the campaigns of H.A.R.T. and C.A.R.E. and other organisations opposing the tour. It expressed disgust at the Rugby Unions gross insult to the Maori people by inviting a white South African team and using Maori land (e.g. Athletic Park) for racist sport. The group also suggested an appeal to all countries which have already severed sporting contacts with South Africa to do the same to New Zealand. Action to oppose the tour by rugby players at A.G.M.s or S.G.M.s of rugby clubs was also strongly urged. The Conference had earlier heard Chris Laidlaw and Bob Burgess state that they would not play against a white Springbok team.

There was disagreement at the Sporting Contacts group meeting over the question of non-violent disruption of the tour as opposed to mass protest A motion "That this Conference support the building of a series of mass non-disruptive protests against the 1973 Springbok Tour" was lost 125 vote votes to 73. It was suggested that this recommendation did not exclude other forms of protest. This resolution aimed at emphasising mass protest rather than non-violent disruptive protest in an attempt to discredit the latter. But it would have been superflous as the Conference had already emphasised a stratified attack on the Tour.

Publicity Planning

The final group to report was the Publicity planning group whose main recommendation was to appoint a full time paid co-ordinator of activity with an emphasis on publicity work. Before the Conference concluded with discussion about the proposed national co-ordinating committee, a resolution moved by Pat Kelly resolving to affect a boycott of all Caltex products as long as they employ the chairman of the Rugby Union, Jack Sullivan, as their General Manager, was carried.

The action from this conference has still to coma, and will only come from harder work and better organisation on the part of Anti-Apartheid groups in New Zealand. The important thing about this conference is that it provided an impetus for action for a lot of people who have opposed apartheid in varying degrees before. There is one important point which should not be forgotten by ell those who profess an abhorrence of apartheid and colonialism in Southern Africa. That is, that racialism, even if it is not so apparent, exists in New Zealand too, and, as Hannah Jackson told the Conference, white liberals should give more support to Maori groups, such as Nga Tamatoa, which are fighting racialism here.

Bob Burgess - 'wont play'