SOUTH AFRICAN PROTEST SIR,—As a South African here on a
visit for the first time, I have been struck by the feeling of helplessness that people in this country have about the situation there. One senses that British people feel there is nothing that they can do to change things, that they have criticised and protested at each 'new act of oppression—all to no avail—and that they are now resigned to watching South Africa plunge towards disaster.
There is much cause for depression and pessimism, but I think, also, that recent events may have given cause for new hope and optimism. The provincial elections have shown that the Nationalists are not only past their peak, but have begun to decline. The progressive 'dissidents' of the opposition United Party made some inroads into the majorities of their reactionary counterparts, and the Liberals made substantial advances on votes polled by them at pre- vious elections. The African National Congress re- mains, more than ever, dedicated to the policy of non-racialism.
In truth, the wise and the alert have sensed the need for change away from policies of racial domination; great pressures will still be needed to move the voters as a whole, who have been deluded into thinking that such policies are profitable. British people can help in the creation of these pressures in the know- ledge that there is a growing group of people dedicated to non-racialism (and drawn from arsritees) who can convert those pressures to advantage, at home.
At home the Africans are handicapped in creating pressures for there are so few weapons left in the ever-decreasing armoury of what remains legal. The best way of avoiding violence is to achieve success for a non-violent weapon. The African National Congress has asked people in Britain to abstain from South African goods, and an organised campaign wilt shortly he announced, which will last one month. A great number of White Liberals support this appeal. I, myself, am a former South African diplo- mat who resigned two years ago, as a small personal protest against apartheid, and I would like to join my voice to the appeal.—Yours faithfully,
PATRICK VAN RENSBURO
London
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