Why BDS campaign targeting #BoycottWorths? ----------------------------------- A friend, on twitter, asked me the above question which was a fair question that I feel obliged to respond to. His honesty and integrity was beyond question. I am inspired how the majority of South Africans, led by the African National Congress , fought for decades to free ourselves of apartheid. Israeli apartheid is just as vicious as SA apartheid was. As I look back on activism during the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, I am motivated by how it moved towards 1976 and beyond and finally brought the Afrikaners and their lackeys to the negotiating table. There is a rich history of public boycott campaigns against South Africa between 1960 and 1990.Look it up. The motivation for these campaigns was that the unacceptable racist policies of the white apartheid regime denied basic human rights to black citizens, who made up the majority (80%) of the South African population. The same is happening in Israel and in the occupied territories. Just as indigenous South Africans had no right to vote, the same is happening vis-a-vis Palestinians. The black population was confined to live in the so-called “Bantustans” due to the exploitation policies of the white regime; they were deported from their homes and their land to the poorest parts of the otherwise rich lands. There was no freedom of movement and black South Africans were even required to obtain a permit in order to leave the Bantustans, which became reservoirs of cheap labour. Life in the occupied territories is no different. The income that was generated in the South African economy was mainly spent on the white population. Health services, education, housing, electricity and sanitation were scarcely provided to the black population. With the increasing resistance, the regime used extreme violence to oppress the black majority. The police and the army brutally attacked people during demonstrations and liquidated leaders when they wanted. Under apartheid, an infrastructure was built that literally separated white South Africans from black South Africans and until this day this infrastructure has not been completely destroyed. The Palestinians are similarly placed. Products procured for sale in SA ultimately fund the apartheid regime. So why BDS campaign against Woolworths? Its disingenuous , to say that the BDS is targeting Woolworths alone. BDS has in its cross hairs other outlets that openly support, financially, the apartheid regime in Israel. It took almost 20 years of lobbying before strong punitive measures against South Africa were taken. The developing countries played a crucial role, being the first to impose sanctions against South Africa in the 1960s. The United States and the United Kingdom continued their friendly relations with South Africa for a long time, but ultimately also decided to participate in boycott measures. In the 1970s, the call for disinvestment and consumer boycotts became stronger. Countries like Holland came on board Initially the Dutch general public responded with a great deal of scepticism. Just as you South Africans who hurled abuse and physically assaulted me today at the Westville Pavilion. Quite often we heard concerns about the effects of sanctions on the black population; would they not lose their jobs? The argument was that the situation was already fairly desperate, so if people were really concerned, they should join our campaigns. BDS South Africa seeks to highlight how desperate the lives of Palestinians have become courtesy of Operations Cast Lead and Protective Edge.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 18:16:51 +0000
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