Apartheid In South Africa Essay Research Paper — страница 2

Tambo. He co-founded the ANC with Youth League with Tambo and Walter Sisulu and eventually became National President. In 1952, he was arrested for the Defiance campaign, which blatantly broke Apartheid laws. In 1956, Mandella was charged with High Treason. He was aquitted four and a half years later. After the Sharpeville massaacre, Mandella helped form the military wing of the ANC. He went into hiding and travelled abroad before being again arrested, this time for illegally exiting the country in 1962, for which he recieved a sentence of five years. Whilst serving this sentence, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for ’sabotage’ and ‘conspiracy to overthrow the government by revolution’. This was extremely unjust, as he was charged with these offences under the

Suppression of Communism Act, and Mandella favoured a Westminster type democracy. Finally, after years of international pressure, Mandella was released in February, 1990. In 1993, he shared the Nobel Peace Prize and in 1994, became South African President. DESMOND TUTU Ordained as apriest in 1961, Tutu studied theology in London where he gaine dhis asters degree in 1966. He became bishop of Lesotho in 1978 and was appoited secretary-general of the South African Council of Churches in the same year. He was honoured world-wide for his determination in resisting apartheid peacefuly. He supported the Free Mandela campaign and promoted peaceful disobidience. Awarded the Nobel piec prize in 1985, he was a powerful voice amongst those calling for economic sanctions to be placed on South

Africa. He was Archbishop of Johannesburg, then Cape Town, befor retiring in 1995. HENDRIK VERWOERD Born in Holland, Verwoerd was known as one of the ‘architects of apartheid’ because he created the idea of bantustan and bantu education. In 1946, he became vice-chairman of the National Party in Transval and then Minister of Native and Bantu Administration in 1950. He became Prime Minister in 1958 and was assassinated eight years later. SUMMARY From 1948 to 1990, South Africa had an appaling record with regards to human rights. Not only was Apartheid in use, but blacks were being killed on streets, playground and even in their homes and police stations. The government organised and condoned this behaviour. They breached Article of the decleration of human rights by banning

groups such as the ANC. Article was breached by the police when they would arrest people for no reason. Finally Article was breached simply because the South African Government, army and police force did not treat blacks equaly and fairly like human beings. With the Presidency of Nelson Mandella, and the leadership of the ANC, the country looks set to put behind them the troubles of the past one hundred years, however, with extremist groups and people such as the AWB and Eugene Terre’Blanche, one can never be sure.