Browse the AAM Archive

The May issue led on the spread of guerrilla war in Zimbabwe and plans for a constitutional conference announced by British Foreign Secretary David Owen. AA News announced an AAM week of action on Zimbabwe. It exposed moves by Western governments to veto mandatory action against South Africa by the UN Security Council.  It reported on the decision by the film and television technicians union ACTT to lift its ban on working in South Africa. SWAPO representative Shapua Kaukungua called for support for UN-supervised elections in Namibia. AA News exposed South Africa’s ‘new deal’ for black sportsmen. It reported on Israeli support for apartheid. 

The June issue led on a new Terrorism Act trial of 12 alleged members of the African National Congress. It reported on the AAM Week of Action on Zimbabwe, 9–14 May. A special feature argued that the aim of Western governments was to install stooge regimes rather than genuine self-determination in Zimbabwe and Namibia. A centre spread focused on the ongoing repression of workers and students in South Africa. Paul Fauvet reported on apartheid-sponsored attacks on Angola’s MPLA government. A special correspondent argued for the maintenance of the international sports boycott of South Africa.

Under the headline ‘Thousands march on Soweto anniversary’, AA News reported on mass protests in South Africa. It highlighted hangings and massacres in Zimbabwe and the AAM campaign for the release of 12 people charged under the Terrorism Act in Pretoria. A report on the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting held in London noted that its communique accepted that armed struggle in Zimbabwe and Namibia was inevitable. AA News quoted SWAPO President Sam Nujoma as condemning the talks on Namibia between five Western powers and the apartheid government. Playwright David Edgar defended the cultural boycott of South Africa.

South African Foreign Minister Pik Botha was met with protests from AAM campaigners and representatives of the Southern African liberation movements on his visit to London in August. AA News reported on Terrorism Act trials in Pietermaritzburg and Pretoria. It revealed that the Smith regime in Zimbabwe had hanged 125 political prisoners since April 1975. A centrespread focused on the South African union movement  and AA News outlined plans for a new AAM campaign among British  trade unionists. Mac Maharaj and Indres Naidoo described their lives as political prisoners on Robben Island.

The October issue led on the trial of the Pretoria 12. It demanded an international enquiry into the death of Steve Biko, murdered by South African security police on 12 September. Reg Austin analysed the new Anglo-American plan for a settlement on Rhodesia. The issue carried a report on the World Conference for Action Against Apartheid, held in Lagos, 22–26 August. It highlighted TUC support for a second week of international trade union action against apartheid in 1978. Brian Bunting analysed South African plans for a new apartheid constitution. Basil Davidson, recently returned from Angola, reported on South Africa’s raids over the Namibian border.

The November issue led on the banning of black consciousness organisations and the Christian Institute of South Africa. It again reported on atrocities in Zimbabwe and the latest developments in Namibia. The AAM’s annual general meeting attacked the EEC Code of Conduct on South Africa as meaningless. Reports on the Labour and Liberal Party conferences recorded resolutions calling for sanctions against South Africa. The issue highlighted the refusal of British firm Smith and Nephew to renew its agreement with the independent National Union of Textile Workers in South Africa.

AA News quoted Nigeria's UN ambassador Leslie Harriman as saying the UN mandatory arms embargo was ‘too little too late’, as the Western powers vetoed economic sanctions against South Africa. It reported on the retrial of the Pretoria 12 and the threatened death penalty faced by two Soweto students. A picture centre spread featured a new IDAF exhibition on Zimbabwe. SWAPO representative Shapua Kaukungwa exposed the talks on Namibia as a charade. Kees Maxey reported on the guerrilla war in Zimbabwe.

‘Smith troops on the rampage’, headlined this issue, reporting on a massacre of Zimbabwean refugees by Rhodesian soldiers. It announced campaign plans for the UN-designated 1978 International Year Against Apartheid and exposed how British companies were flouting the Government’s ‘Code of Conduct’. It reported on the farcical inquest into the death of Steve Biko and on the trials of hundreds of South African political activists. It previewed plans for the ICFTU’s trade union week of anti-apartheid action, 13–21 March 1978. In a special feature on Namibia, it accused Western governments of undermining SWAPO.