In an historic move this week rival extra-parliamentary organisations set aside their ideological differences and for the first time announced a joint national resistance initiative – an ”ali-in” conference for a democratic future. This week’s move is seen as crucial since similar attempts in the past have ended in failure. At a press conference in Johannesburg representatives of the ”mass democratic movement” (MDM), the black consciousness movement (BCM), the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and church bodies shared a platform to announce the historic conference to be held on October 7.
The Conference for a Democratic Future is seen as significant – if it succeeds it will be the first time major liberation organisations from different ideological camps will have cooperated in a united front against the government. The plan was jointly initiated two months ago by the three groupings on the convening committee – the churches, the MDM and the BCM. The three have also asked other extra- parliamentary organisations, including the Cape Action League (CAL), the Unity Movement and the National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu), to participate. The Weekly Mail was unable to obtain comment from the CAL or Unity Movement.
Nactu second assistant general secretary leadership, Mahlomola Skhosana retold the Weekly Mail he could not comment on Nactu ‘s position ”because the issue is still being discussed by the structures within the organisation”. The idea of such a conference is not new. It was expressed by the United Democratic Front (UDF) two years ago and was debated at Cosatu’s special national congress last year. Last year the BCM strongly rejected the holding of the proposed September conference, which was subsequently banned by the government. Azanian People’s Organisation president Nkosi Molala, speaking in his personal capacity, said: ”Last year the method adopted by the UDF/ Cosatu alliance was to lay down the parameters for such a conference. ”This time the alliance has accepted the basic principle that joint action can only be achieved if all the different parties are given an equal opportunity to decide on the form and con¬ tent of the conference.”
However, one of the members of the convening committee and MDM representative Mohammed Valli, said: ”We have stipulated our unifying principle and all organisations that subscribe to that principle are free to join.” The involvement of non-charterists in the planned conference is notable. When the BCM was asked why it had decided to participate this conference after voicing strong objections to last year’s banned anti-apartheid conference, Molala said: ”Each organisation is participating on a mandate from its members and each organisation will retain its own independent hegemony in keeping with the principle of strategic alliance. He added: ”During the planning of this year’s conference the criticisms expressed by the BCM and other left-wing organisations of last year’s banned conference were noted. Negotiations proceeded on the basis that the conference would succeed only if all parties agreed on the essential principles governing who would participate, the agenda, the convenorship of the conference and agreement on action to be taken by participants.”
Another convenor, Harun Patel, said the timing of the conference was I linked to the heightened debates over a negotiated settlement, rather than the mass defiance campaign or the September elections. And Valli reiterated the conference was conceived long before the mass defiance campaign was launched. Referring to the differing views of the various ideological groups about negotiations Valli said: ”This is precisely why we are coming together to look at our common positions on the negotiations. It is a way of arriving at some kind of understanding on negotiations.” Said Molala: ”We believe the only solution – as far as a negotiated settlement is concerned – is provided by the BCM. That is why it is ironic the latest African National Congress peace plan actually mimics the stated position of the BCM over the last 10 years. A concrete example of this is the acceptance of the need for a constituent assembly.”
A key issue to be addressed is the role of international governments in assisting South Africans to achieve their liberation, Patel said. ”It is crucial that the indigenous people decide the nature of the action as far as any international contribution is concerned,” he added. Valli agreed that the commonwealth conference, which will be attended by heads of the commonwealth states and where British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is expected to announce ”her peace plan” for South Africa, was one of the issues to be dealt with by the conference. Other key issues to be addressed at the conference are united mass action and an acceptance of the minimum demands vis-a-vis negotiations, Mohlala said. – Cassandra Moodley
This article originally appeared in the Weekly Mail.
