INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS ON SOUTH AFRICA
This is a photograph of the South African national rugby team in 1960. The team was unable to compete in international sporting events due to the Gleanages agreemenent.
This is an image of Oliver Tambo speaking on behalf of the ANC concerning the OPEC's oil embargo on South Africa.
Tambo is speaking to the fact that apartheid allows for cheap labor as blacks cannot vote to change it. It is because of this that many people and organizations choose to ignore apartheid is due to the economic profit from it.
|
Oliver Tambo travelled worldwide, giving speeches and lobbying for governments to induce sanctions on South Africa. He spoke at universities resulting in the students rallying for academic sanctions against companies affiliated with the universities who are partnered with South Africa.
The Gleanages agreement isolated South Africa from world sport which lead the way for sanctions.The South African government responded by stating that cultural and sports boycotts were unethical and violate freedom of expression and cultural exchange. The United Nations responded to this in the following statement: "It is rather strange, to say the least, that the South African regime which denies all freedoms … to the African majority … should become a defender of the freedom of artists and sportsmen of the world. We have a list of people who have performed in South Africa because of ignorance of the situation or the lure of money or unconcern over racism. They need to be persuaded to stop entertaining apartheid, to stop profiting from apartheid money and to stop serving the propaganda purposes of the apartheid regime." This quotation was from Enuga S.Reddy, director of the United Nations Centre Against Apartheid. He is addressing the South African government regarding their hypocrisy in stating that these sanctions deny self expression when they deny this freedom to the majority of the South African population. He discusses the ignorance of the people who are profiting from apartheid and how how they need to understand the impact their support has on the South African people . This quotation displays the worldwide agreement in the isolation of South Africa until apartheid is abolished. This cultural campaign by Tambo and the ANC was a major source of inspiration for the Palestinian Campaign for equality. In protest of apartheid, Palestinians boycotted South Africa targeting cultural institutions, projects, and events that serve the purpose of supporting the Israeli colony and apartheid. The UN posed sanctions as well as Commonwealth by cutting off financial, economic, and diplomatic aid to South Africa. The U.S. embargoed Krugerrand and certain iron and steel products, as well as coal and food. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) placed an oil embargo which raised the price of petroleum which affected the entire South African population. The European Commission (EC) sanctioned steel. There was also a worldwide ban on public loans to South Africa. By these nations imposing sanctions it hurt the South African economy and by default the government. Oliver Tambo put the international spotlight on apartheid by making major organizations and nations such as the UN, the OPEC, the EC, and the U.S. aware of the brutality of apartheid. Tambo was able to secure isolation of South Africa from worldly affairs and from the benefits of international trade. These sanctions sped up the downfall of the National Party and apartheid due the economy being so fragile with a high unemployment rate and extreme poverty. |