winkler@harvard.UUCP (03/09/86)
[The following is a letter from some of the students at Brown University who are protesting apartheid in South Africa. I'm posting it because I believe it may be of interest to you. The views expressed below are not necessarily my own, but if you want to reply to me I will forward your responses to the authors of the letter. I was tempted to edit some of the more inflammatory remarks below into more polite language for fear of offending you, but that would have changed the flavor of what is essentially an angry statement, so I'm going to pass it on as is. -- Dan.] The purpose of this letter is to let you know that the struggle to free South Africa is going strong at Brown University. We are asking that anti-apartheid groups across the country send statements of support for the movement. Please include with your statement a brief summary of the activities and progress being made on your campus or in your area. If we can show support for your actions in any way, let us know. The primary goal of the Brown Divest/Free South Africa coalition is the total divestment of Brown University's holdings in U.S. companies currently doing business in South Africa. The following delineates why divestment is the only appropriate step that the University can take in relation to its investments. The escalation of violence in recent months necessitates that Brown University re-evaluate its current participation in the system of apartheid. Brown's current policy reflects the national policy of "constructive engagement". This stance supports corporate investment and presence in South Africa as a positive source of influence. On April 21, 1978 Brown President Howard Swearer was quoted as saying, "It's probably better at this point to keep your holdings and exert pressure on the corporations." That statement was made over seven years ago and yet the situation in South Africa has only deteriorated. Where has our supposed influence gotten black South Africans? The answer is clearly "NOWHERE". Indeed, U.S. investments help keep apartheid entrenched. "Through investment and business ties with South Africa, U.S. corporations wittingly or unwittingly support apartheid." (Jennifer Davis, executive director of American Committee on Africa.) Because Brown's investments in South Africa are relatively small, by keeping its money in South Africa the voice of Brown University is limited to that of a minor shareholder, whereas divestment will mobilize our greatest influence, that of a major university taking a tangible action against apartheid. But the most important reason for this university to fully divest is quite simply because that is the wish of the great majority of black South Africans. A recent gallup poll found that 77 percent of black South Africans were in favor of divestment, a remarkable number considering that calling for divestment is considered a crime of high treason punishable by death. Every major black leader from Nelson Mandela to Bishop Tutu has called for the U.S. to end its support for the apartheid regime in South Africa. We must not presume that we have a clearer understanding of apartheid than those who actually are oppressed by this system every day. On this campus the entire community has called for full and unconditional divestment. In October, 83 percent of the student body voted in favor of a referendum calling for full and immediate divestment. Furthermore the faculty, local Union #134 of Brown staff, and the Campus Committee on South Africa have all called for full divestment. Not only did the Board of Trustees fail to heed these calls, they actually invested an additional 8 million dollars in South Africa without informing the Brown community. The administration has made it clear that they consider the issue to be closed. But on February 27 the issue of divestment suddenly became reopened when four Brown students began a fast in solidarity with the black South Africans' struggle against apartheid. This fast is an act of personal revulsion at the genocidal policies of apartheid and Brown University's continued immoral support for the white minority government of South Africa. The following is a message from Neil Callendar '87, one of the four fasters. This was written from Manning Chapel where the chaplains have granted them sanctuary. "I am one of the four fasters who has been residing in Manning Chapel for the past seven days. My decision to stop eating and to retire from normal daily life at Brown was reached only after hours and hours of consulting with close personal friends, both inside and outside the Free Southern Africa Coalition. "After the Corporation's arrogant reply to the Brown community, it became obvious that more drastic action was required. As a person of conscience but more importantly as a Black-American and a personal friend of two Black South Africans on campus, I felt I had a responsibility to take a stand in solidarity with the bloody and heroic struggle for freedom and self-determination of Black people in South Africa. I also felt the need to protest the Corporation's blindness and blatant racist attitude as well as the U.S. government's continuous support for a regime controlled by one time Nazi sympathizers. "What we are doing is primarily an expression of the right to free speech. It is blatantly insulting that this university has still not listened to the pleas of Black South Africans and divested its stocks from corporations which actively aid and abet the illegitimate government there." Today, March 8, the administration disenrolled the four students claiming that the students were doing deliberate harm to themselves. This concern for the health of the fasters is especially ironic considering the fact that the University has shown no concern for the thousands of blacks who are dying under the apartheid regime in South Africa. After much deliberation the four fasters decided to break the fast and leave the chapel where they had been granted sanctuary by the chaplains. The sacrifices that these four students have made and the efforts by concerned students of the Free Southern Africa Coalition have effectively reopened the issue on this campus. During the fast there have been numerous actions on this campus including sit-ins, Free Theater creative protests, and a campus-wide student strike. Yours in the spirit of Stephen Biko, Nelson Mandela, Medgar Evers, and all fighters of racism, The Brown Free Southern Africa Coalition. You can call: Harry Smith (401) 863-6712 Press Bureau (401) 273-2496 Or write: Tom Witmer, Box 2609, Brown University, Providence RI 02912 [Or reply by electronic mail to me, winkler@harvard.arpa, and I will forward your message. -- Dan.]