South Africa's policy of destabilisation of neighbouring countries was closely associated with the rise of South Africa as a leading middleman in the international ivory trade. South African-based... Show moreSouth Africa's policy of destabilisation of neighbouring countries was closely associated with the rise of South Africa as a leading middleman in the international ivory trade. South African-based traders, acting in partnership or with protection from officers of the South African Military Intelligence Directorate, imported raw ivory from Angola, Mozambique and points further north and re-exported it to markets in the Far East. This was a source of income both for the South African secret services and for individuals associated with them. The same trade routes were also used for trade in other goods, including rhino horn, drugs, gems, currency and weapons. This was not only as a means of earning money but also a technique of destabilisation in itself. The extent of South Africa's involvement in this trade, although suspected by some conservationists, was difficult to prove and did not form the target of any concerted campaign by the leading conservation groups world-wide. In this respect, the strength of the South Africa lobby in the World-Wide Fund for Nature seems to have played a significant role. Since the ending of South Africa's military presence in Namibia and Angola in 1989, the Military Intelligence officers, Special Forces officers and others who conducted the wars for the defence of white South Africa have been intent on the struggle inside South Africa itself. There is evidence that such counter-insurgency specialists are now using Mozambique in particular as a base for operations inside South Africa. Moreover, they continue to have an interest in the ivory and rhino horn trades. Former officers of specialist counter-insurgency units have also found employment as game wardens in national parks. The bold proposals currently being implemented to create large new game parks along the South African-Mozambican border, using modern management techniques and involving local communities in their management, have important implications for politics and national security. Show less
The chapters in this collection record a workshop held at the School of Oriental and African Studies, in April 1991, on African languages, development and the State. The book is divided into an... Show moreThe chapters in this collection record a workshop held at the School of Oriental and African Studies, in April 1991, on African languages, development and the State. The book is divided into an introductory chapter, by Richard Fardon and Graham Furniss, and three parts. Part 1, West Africa, contains papers by Ayo Bamgbose (multilingualism), C. Magbaily Fyle (policy toward Krio in Sierra Leone), Mamoud Akanni Igu‚ and Raphael Windali N'ou‚ni (the politics of language in B‚nin), Ben Ohi Elugbe (minority language development in Rivers and Bendel States, Nigeria), Gillian F. Hansford (mother tongue literacy among the Chumburung speakers in Ghana). Part 2, Central and Southern Africa, contains papers by J.M.M. Katupha (language use in Mozambique), Jean Benjamin (language and the struggle for racial equality in the development of a non-racial southern African nation), Nhlanhla P. Maake (a new language policy for post-apartheid South Africa), James Fairhead (linguistic pluralism in a Bwisha community, eastern Zaire), Wim van Binsbergen (minority languages in Zambia (Nkoya) and Botswana (Kalanga)). Part 3, East Africa, contains papers by Gnter Schlee (loanwords in Oromo and Rendille), Jan Blommaert (the metaphors of modernization in Tanzanian language policy), David Parkin (Arabic, Swahili and the vernaculars in Kenya). Show less
Using four official investigations by the ANC into human rights abuses perpetrated by the organization during its years in exile, as well as a number of other sources, this article summarizes what... Show moreUsing four official investigations by the ANC into human rights abuses perpetrated by the organization during its years in exile, as well as a number of other sources, this article summarizes what has been established concerning the ANC's security apparatus in the 1980s, and in particular its response to indiscipline, espionage and widespread criticism by rank and file members of its armed wing, 'Umkhonto we Sizwe', in the period 1981-1984. This is compared with an earlier, and less well-documented, wave of unrest in 1967-1969. In doing so, the article concludes that the nature of the ANC in exile changed markedly in the period due to the organization's militarization under the guidance of the South African Communist Party (SACP), which after 1969 became the dominant force within the ANC's exile leadership, or the External Mission of the ANC as it was formally styled. The ANC security organ became known as 'Mbokodo', a Xhosa word designating a stone used for grinding maize, generally regarded as 'a euphemism for the harshness with which the Department treated its victims'. Show less
