uMkhonto weSizwe
On 11 July 1963, nineteen ANC and uMkhonto weSizwe leaders, including Arthur Goldreich, Govan Mbeki and Walter Sisulu, were arrested at Liliesleaf Farm, Rivonia.The organisation was formally disbanded in a ceremony at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, Gauteng, on 16 December 1993, although its armed struggle had been suspended earlier, during the negotiations to end apartheid.In his "I Am Prepared to Die" speech, delivered at the conclusion of the Rivonia Trial, Mandela outlined the motivations that led to the formation of uMkhonto weSizwe:[4] At the beginning of June 1961, after a long and anxious assessment of the South African situation, I, and some colleagues, came to the conclusion that as violence in this country was inevitable, it would be unrealistic and wrong for African leaders to continue preaching peace and non-violence at a time when the government met our peaceful demands with force.We first broke the law in a way which avoided any recourse to violence; when this form was legislated against, and then the Government resorted to a show of force to crush opposition to its policies, only then did we decide to answer with violence.The manifesto referred to by Mandela, adduced by the prosecution at his trial as Exhibit AD,[5] included the statements: Our men are armed and trained freedom fighters not "terrorists"."Goldreich and Harold Wolpe, a lawyer, used South African Communist Party funds to buy Liliesleaf Farm in Rivonia in 1961 for use as a secret meeting place.Here the leaders of a hoped for revolution developed a plan for guerrilla warfare (Operation Mayibuye) with its own printing press and a secret radio transmitter.[18] A lack of familiarity with the necessities of covert military work, and the reliance on high-profile leaders like Nelson Mandela, contributed to the South African state's ability to capture the organisation's leadership at their Rivonia headquarters outside Johannesburg at the end of 1962.Attempts to rebuild uMkhonto weSizwe inside South Africa resulted in many losses, although, as noted by the Military History Journal, some members, including Chris Hani, were able to remain undetected for a long period.Meanwhile, MK cadres had access to a growing range of military training opportunities in Algeria, Egypt and the Soviet Union and other communist-bloc countries.[24][52][53][54] In June of the same year, the MK took credit for the arson attack against the headquarters of the Progressive Federal Party, which caused material damage, the abandonment of a limpet mine in a fuel depot in Alberton[52] as well as other sabotage of railways.[74] In the 1985 the Amanzimtoti bombing on the Natal South Coast, five civilians were killed and 40 were injured when uMkhonto weSizwe cadre Andrew Sibusiso Zondo detonated an explosive in a rubbish bin at a shopping centre shortly before Christmas.[citation needed] The armed struggle continued with attacks on a series of soft targets, including a bank in Roodepoort in 1988, in which four civilians were killed and 18 injured.A multitude[78] of bombs at restaurants and fast food outlets, including Wimpy Bars,[79] and supermarkets occurred during the late 1980s, killing and wounding many people.[80] The Truth and Reconciliation Commission found that the use of torture by uMkhonto weSizwe was "routine", as were executions "without due process" at ANC detention camps.[82] In January 1969, the ANC declared its solidarity with the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and pursued close military relations with that party, then involved in the Angolan War of Independence.[85] The ANC and MK presence in Angola re-ignited its alliance with SWAPO and its own armed wing, the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN).[89] During the Rhodesian Bush War, MK was closely allied with the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), the armed wing of ZAPU.[89] Historian Rocky Williams assesses that MK and ZIPRA "fought well under difficult conditions" and that although the incursion failed, the Rhodesian authorities were forced to rely on clandestine military assistance from South Africa to counter them."[89] MK received nearly all its military equipment from the Soviet Union, although other COMECON member states such as East Germany which were sympathetic to the ANC's cause also provided the movement with small quantities of materiel.[90] The SACP was able to use its political contacts in the Soviet government to obtain these weapons, and was primarily responsible for MK's logistics from the beginning of the armed struggle.[90] Soviet ordnance played a crucial role in the MK's sabotage campaign and in guerrilla engagements with the South African security forces.[91] MK established enormous arms depots in Botswana, Mozambique, and Swaziland to facilitate these operations, and also had smaller quantities of weapons cached in Angola, Zambia, and Tanzania.[85] Despite the cessation of Soviet military aid, MK had still amassed enough conventional weapons inside South Africa to mount an effective urban guerrilla campaign as needed by 1991.[91] The movement's preexisting arsenal was deemed sufficient to continue operations against the South African state for the foreseeable future in the event that ongoing negotiations to dismantle the apartheid system failed.[85] After MK was disbanded, the movement passed its logistical records to the newly integrated South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to ensure that the stored equipment was properly inventoried and disposed of.[91] In addition to co-founder Nelson Mandela,[93] notable members include: South African police statistics indicate that, in the period 1976 to 1986, approximately 130 people were killed by guerrillas.
uMkhonto weSizwe (political party)UMkhonto we Sizwe (disambiguation)Nelson MandelaOliver TamboWalter SisuluGovan MbekiJoe SlovoLennox LaguJoe ModiseChris HaniRaymond MhlabaMoses MabhidaRonnie KasrilsIsaac Lesiba MaphothoSiphiwe NyandaGodfrey NgwenyaAlgeriaAngolaEast GermanyMozambiqueNorth KoreaPalestine Liberation OrganisationNamibiaSoviet UnionSwedenUnited Arab RepublicZimbabweSouth AfricaRhodesiaRENAMOPortugal(Until 1974)Angolan Civil WarSouth African Border WarRhodesian Bush WarInternal resistance to apartheidDesignated as a terrorist groupApartheid1948 general electionColoured vote constitutional crisis1956 Treason TrialSharpeville massacreRivonia TrialSoweto uprisingChurch Street, Pretoria bombingVaal uprisingCape Town peace marchCODESAAssassination of Chris HaniSaint James Church massacre1994 Bophuthatswana crisisShell House massacreBlack SashConservative PartyFOSATUBroederbondNational PartyCOSATUSecurity BranchState Security CouncilVernon BerrangéP. W. BothaSteve BikoMangosuthu ButheleziF. W. de KlerkRuth FirstBram FischerArthur GoldreichBantu HolomisaJoel JoffeAhmed KathradaAlbert LuthuliWinnie Madikizela-MandelaMac MaharajD. F. MalanThabo MbekiBenjamin MoloiseAlbertina SisuluJ. G. StrijdomRobert SobukweHelen SuzmanAdelaide TamboEugène Terre'BlancheDesmond TutuH. F. VerwoerdB. J. VorsterJacob ZumaBantustanDistrict SixRobben IslandSophiatownSouth-West AfricaSowetoSun CityVlakplaasAfrikaner nationalismApartheid in popular cultureApartheid legislationCape Qualified FranchiseDisinvestment campaignFreedom CharterKairos DocumentMusic in the movement against apartheidNostalgia for apartheidProject CoastSullivan PrinciplesAfrican National Congressracist policiesterrorist organisationRivoniaJohannesburgLiliesleaf FarmSouth African Communist PartyGroup Areas ActWilton MkwayiOrlando StadiumSoweto, Gautengnegotiations to end apartheidI Am Prepared to Diemanifestohard targetsDenis GoldbergCurnick NdlovuLooksmart NgudleVuyisile MiniHarold Strachan