3.3. INTERNATIONAL ANTI-APARTHEID MOVEMENTS:
3.3.5. The Netherlands
South Africans often saw the Netherlands as one of the most anti-apartheid countries. There are various reasons for this view. Firstly, the historical link between the two countries meant that South Africans were sensitive to criticism coming from the Netherlands. Secondly, the Dutch government did criticise apartheid, although they never actively tried to change the system. Finally, the Netherlands had three very active non-government anti-apartheid organisations and many smaller organisations. These three issues need to be considered in more detail.
The link between the Netherlands and South Africa dates back to 1652 when the Dutch established a refreshment post at the Cape, and moved
on to form a colony. The Dutch were finally replaced by the British in
1806, but left behind a group of people with cultural and language links
to the Netherlands. The connection between the Netherlands and these
people was strengthened when the Boers fought the British in two wars
in an attempt to keep their independence, one from 1880-1881 and the
other 1899-1902. People in the Netherlands were sympathetic to the Boers
and some offered the support. The relationship that developed in this
period meant that at the start of the twentieth century there was a special
link between the Dutch and the Afrikaans speaking part of the population.
As a result of this special bond, the Afrikaners felt that they could rely on the Netherlands as a friendly country. This means that when the Netherlands started criticising the Afrikaner policy, they took it quite personally. Proof of this can be seen in how the National Party (NP) government reacted more harshly to an action by the Netherlands than to a similar action by another country. This meant that an action by the Netherlands had to be less harsh in nature to still receive the same reaction from the South Africans. This is one of the reasons why the Netherlands was seen as such an active anti-apartheid country.
The Netherlands government was critical of apartheid, but their concrete steps amounted to very little. Throughout the apartheid period the Dutch government discussed sanctions, withdrawing investment and the like, but in reality they remained on cordial terms. In was only in the early 1980s that they eventually gave up a Cultural Accord that they had formed with South Africa and stopped giving funding to those immigrating from the Netherlands to South Africa. In most spheres of their policy it is evident how their words were not matched with actions.
The Dutch government did give some money to the freedom movements and to the freedom struggle, but only on the condition that the money was not used for any military action. The amount of money changed as the government changed, and reached a high point in the 1970s. The first donation was made in 1965, when an amount of 100 000 guilders was put aside for the Defence and Aid Fund. When this organisation was banned by the South African government, the Dutch government decided to give the money to the United Nations (UN) Trust Fund for South Africa. Money was also given to other countries developing in Africa, and for black development and education inside South Africa. The government was not in favour of direct support for the freedom movements, and gave the money via other organisations so as not to give the idea that they were supporting the armed struggle. This shows that despite their apparent desire to criticise and help end apartheid, they never made this open policy.
The non-government
anti-apartheid movements were most important in establishing the Netherlands
as an anti-apartheid country. The three largest organisations were
Werkgroep Kairos, the Anti-Apartheidsbeweging Nederland (AABN) and
the Komitee Zuidelijk Afrika (KZA). Werkgroep Kairos came into being
in 1970 as a result of a connection with the Christian Institute (CI)
of Beyers Naude that was based in South Africa. Cor Groenendijk, J.
Verkuyl and Erik van den Bergh held influential positions in the movement.
Kairos decided to fill the need for a Christian anti-apartheid organisation
in the Netherlands as well as focus on informing the Dutch public.
As a Christian organisation, Kairos’ aim was to give information
to the churches on developments in South Africa. It did not have a
broad following, but was very important in church circles, both inside
the Netherlands and South Africa.
These groups, together with smaller and more local groups influenced the public opinion of apartheid and continually tried to get the government to take more concrete steps. It was also these organisations that developed ties with groups fighting apartheid either from within South Africa or from exile. They gave moral and monetary support to these groups, and in this way developed the anti-apartheid character of the Netherlands. They also took action against companies trading in South Africa and tried to break all contact with South Africa on the level of sport, culture and economic activity.
It can therefore be seen that it was these anti-apartheid organisations that gave the Netherlands an anti-apartheid character. It must however still be remembered that South Africa was more sensitive to these actions due to links with the Netherlands. Monetary and moral support from other countries, such as the USSR exceeded that of the Netherlands, but South Africa still reacted more harshly to the criticism from the Netherlands. After the end of apartheid, Nelson Mandela, on a trip to the Netherlands, thanked them for their support during apartheid.
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