Listening to the silent majority

[11]

Group I is squarely opposed to sanctions. Time and again, a variety of organisations poll the South African public as to where they stand on the subject of the overseas boycott to eliminate apartheid. In early 1989 the London newspaper The Independent and the British television company ITN commissioned one such poll: it revealed that 61 percent of blacks were opposed to the use of violence as a means to end apartheid. And, 57,7 percent opposed sanctions in any form. Only 37 percent of blacks were in favour of a boycott but, interestingly enough, these supporters of sanctions acknowledged at the same time that punitive measures against Pretoria were really of no use.

In May 1989 another survey was made - this time by the South African Chamber of Mines. The figures were assembled by the prestigious Gallup organisation. More than 2 000 conversations had been held with South Africans, of which some 1 600 were black. No less than 82 per cent of the blacks said that they were against sanctions, while 85 per cent vowed themselves opposed to disinvestment.^10. Research International polled Zulus seperately and found that 92 per cent of those canvassed wanted a negotiated settlement on the question of apartheid, while only 3 per cent disagreed and 5 per cent were not sure. Of the 16 public-

10. The Citizen, May 17, 1989

[p. 13]

opinion polls held over the past year or so in South Africa 14 came ud with similar results.

In his reaction to these findings, Eugene Nyati pointed out that the outcome of polls always depends on ‘a reasonable understanding of the subjects raised in the questionaires’. Because ‘an informed judgement on the country's vulnerability to sanctions’ should not be based on simplistic or biased questions. The pro-sanction lobby is not denying that pain and suffering for blacks are the outcome of a boycott, but ‘liberation politics are based on sacrifice’.^11. Group I argues, and I will delve into their arguments at greater length in the course of this report, that it is all very well for Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his friends to advocate suffering among blacks in the struggle for liberation, but His Eminence is safely tucked away in his palace in Cape Town's white suburb of Bishopscourt, while the blacks in the townships of the urban areas of the country have to bear the brunt of the suffering that sanctions bring.

11. The Star, Johannesburg, March 30, 1989