unitex@rubbs.fidonet.org (unitex) (09/21/89)
Israel, Germany, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Switzerland. Voluntary embargo: Although the UN approved a voluntary international oil embargo in 1973, South Africa has found exporters who supply about 220,000 barrels of oil daily to the country. Observers agree that oil is really the only raw material that South Africa must import. South Africa's oil reserves are a closely guarded secret. Saudi shipments: Though denied by the Saudis, Saudi Arabia is responsible for the brunt of oil exports to South Africa, contends the Shipping Research Bureau (SRB) in Amsterdam. Since the shipments are unofficial and unrecorded, South Africa is a convenient place to dump oil in violation of OPEC quotas, says the SRB. Bearing pain of sanctions; Blacks hurt but see need (WorldPaper, September, 1989 1424 words, BYLINE: JOYCE DUBE Johannesburg) HIGHLIGHT: South Africa's legislative election in September is expected to confirm as president F. W. de Klerk who took over after the surprise resignation of P. W. Botha last month and whose remarks about negotiating with the black majority have raised hopes of solving that country's bitter racial struggle. The South African writers and artists in this WorldPaper will have no vote under apartheid. They are black. But in this issue they are free to tell their tales. BODY: "WE HAVE TO BE CRUEL to be kind," says Helen Molefe, a black who works in the advertising department of Drum Publications in Johannesburg. She refers to the international economic sanctions which opponents of apartheid hope will pressure the white government to change its ways. Critics such as Margaret Thatcher, the British prime minister, contend that they will hurt the black community more than the minority in power, especially since 40 percent of Afrikaner adults work outside the private economy and for the government. To those who take the latter line, Molefe says: "People have to suffer to achieve their liberation. Sanctions will pressure the government to bring about meaningful change. I am not referring to those cosmetic changes like multiracial hotels and restaurants. Meaningful changes will be equal distribution of wealth and a government that has been decided upon by the people." Sanctions have hurt blacks. Frederick J. Du Plessis, a chairman of Sanlam, a giant Afrikaner insurance enterprise, said sanctions have forced the loss of 10,000 black jobs in the coal industry. Skilled black auto mechanics still hunt jobs in Port Elizabeth, where New Brighton township has a 55 percent unemployment rate since the US auto maker General Motors pulled out in 1986. The issues of sanctions and of divestment by international companies in the stumbling South African economy have divided blacks and whites. "It is common knowledge that blacks are victims of retrenchments because of their lack of skills," says Phumi Manduna, who recommends sponsorship of scholarships to community projects by ISM, the local computer company that took over after the US giant IBM became one of about 200 US Firms that have pulled out of South Africa since violence erupted in October 1984 and eventually triggered imposition of a three-year-old state of emergency. "Whites can hop from one job to the other. Sanctions will never work in South Africa because international business has interests in this country. Business people will go to any lengths to secure what is of benefit to them. "The most influential people are the rich. And the rich work closely to protect their wealth. So how can you convince the moneymakers to stop generating wealth from South Africa? "Politicians who advocate sanctions should have looked at local giant companies first. They are the ones who should have been pressurized to force the government for change. "For instance, Harry Oppenheimer is one of the wealthiest businessmen in the country. He and his peers can influence the South African government to dismantle apartheid. They have a much stronger say than anyone outside the country." Oppenheimer, 80, the son of the founder, controls the Anglo American Corporation, South Africa's largest. Economic protests against apartheid take two forms. One is international sanctions. The US Senate voted 79-21 on Oct 2, 1986, to override a Ronald Reagan veto of a South Africa act that barred new loans, new investment, direct flights between the countries of US and South African airlines, the export of crude oil and the import of Krugerrand gold coins, food products, iron, steel, coal and sugar. Denmark, Norway, Sweden, India, the Soviet Union and other socialist-bloc countries have imposed a total trade boycott, although some trade is carried out through third parties. Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and West Germany all impose a range of restrictions on sales and credit. Partly as a result, in constant 1980 prices, South Africa's exports declined by over $ 2 billion, imports declined more than * Origin: UNITEX --> Toward a United Species (1:107/501) --- Patt Haring | United Nations | FAX: 212-787-1726 patth@sci.ccny.cuny.edu | Information | BBS: 201-795-0733 patth@ccnysci.BITNET | Transfer Exchange | (3/12/24/9600 Baud) -=- Every child smiles in the same language. -=-