The Motshabi Commission Report
The Motshabi Commission Report On 2 May 1975, the Motshabi Commission delivered an interim report on the condition of the African National Congress’s (ANC’s) existing People’s Army abroad. The “Commission on the State of Affairs in Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in East Africa” was established by the ANC Revolutionary Council on 17 April 1975, with a mandate to investigate the causes of and possible remedies for the “deterioration of the standard of military life and…
Ray Alexander: Women’s Federation – Thirty Years
Ray Alexander: Women’s Federation – Thirty Years (Sechaba Interview with Ray Alexander on the 30 th Anniversary of the Federation of South African Women, Sechaba, April 1984). On the 17th of April 1954, the Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) was born at a conference attended by more than 150 delegates representing over 230 000 women. Representatives of women’s organisations came from different areas of South Africa, including many towns in the Cape, as well…
Fidel Castro: What the Imperialists Cannot Forgive
Fidel Castro: What the Imperialists Cannot Forgive On 16 April 1961, shortly before the United States’ Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, Fidel Castro proclaimed the “socialist” character of the Cuban revolution. Following the attack on Cuban airfields on 15 April 1961 to prepare the way for the Bay of Pigs invasion two days later, Fidel Castro gave a speech on 16 April to honour the seven Cubans killed during the attack. Convinced that the…
15 April World Art Day: Evoking the Medu Arts Ensemble
15 April World Art Day: Evoking the Medu Arts Ensemble April 15 is celebrated annually as World Art Day, which was a global initiative dedicated to promoting the understanding, development, diffusion and enjoyment of art, as well as strengthening the connection between artistic creations and society. This day, which initiated by the International Association of Art (IAA) in 2012, was proclaimed in 2019 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), highlighting the…
Boycott All SA Racist Sports: UN Special Committee on Apartheid
Boycott All SA Racist Sports: UN Special Committee on Apartheid (Amended version of the Editorial Notes, “S.A. Racialism and World Sport”, The African Communist, No. 42, Third Quarter 1970). On 14 April 1970, the United Nations Special Committee on Apartheid urged a boycott of all South African racist sporting organisations and supported the African bloc’s proposal to exclude the country from both the Munich Olympics and the Olympic Movement itself. Subsequently, on 15 May 1970,…
Julius Nyerere: Enhance Our Capacity as Africa to Develop If We Work Together
Julius Nyerere: Enhance Our Capacity as Africa to Develop If We Work Together (Extracts from a Speech by the late Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere to Parliament Members of South Africa, Cape Town, 16 October 1997). “Madam Speaker and, I think I may say, Comrade President and Comrade Vice President, ladies and gentlemen. I have told you already how I felt when you asked me to come and talk here. And then I got the message…
Chris Hani’s Death Protests Result in Election Date
Chris Hani’s Death Protests Result in Election Date On 12 April 1993, two days after Chris Hani was shot and killed, millions of Black South Africans took to the streets to protest against the killing of Chris Hani, former Chief of Staff of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC) and General Secretary of the South Africa Communist Party (SACP). The protesters called for country-wide armed uprisings, but leaders…