The three year old State of Emergency is renewed for another twelve months
The Old South African Flag (Union Jack)
Date: 10 June, 1989
During the 1980s, the apartheid government came under increasing internal pressure. The National Party attempted a political solution to the crisis it faced by creating the Tricameral Parliament. This included limited representation of South Africans classified 'Coloured' or 'Indian', but excluded Africans.
The reforms had the opposite affect to what the apartheid regime intended. Reforms provided renewed impetus for the resistance movements against apartheid, and the 1980s was a decade which became a turning point in South African history.
Popular protest by masses of ordinary South Africans against the apartheid regime reached its height with the formation of organisations like the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the End Conscription Campaign. The trade unions and civic organisations also played a large role in popular protest. The government responded with extreme brutality and repression, and the first 'State of Emergency' was declared in 1986.
Another State of Emergency was declared by the apartheid government in 1988. The emergency restrictions effectively banned the UDF. The Mass Democratic Movement (MDM) was then established to replace the UDF. The MDM was a loose coalition of anti-apartheid organisations which adhered to the African National Congress (ANC) Freedom Charter.
On 10 June 1989, the three year old State of Emergency was renewed for another twelve months. The MDM organized a campaign of civil disobedience to defy the State of Emergency. Protesters entered "whites-only" hospitals and beaches. People of all races marched peacefully in several cities to protest against police brutality and repressive laws. When the UDF was unbanned in February 1990, most MDM leaders and many members rejoined their former organizations.
References:
- Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds) (1999) Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997. Westport: Greenwood.)
- "What forms of civil society protest emerged in South Africa in the 1980s?" [online] Available at: sahistory.org.za (online history classroom grade 12)