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COMMENTARY
EVENTFUL TRIP TO
SOUTH AFRICA
by
Stanley R. Rader
The author accompanies
Plain
·Truth
Editor-in-Chief Herbert
W.
Armstrong on his frequent
visíts with heads of state and
other leading international
dignitaríes.
PARIS, July 1, 1976:
1
arrived
here in the French capital only a
few days ago, after five eventful
weeks in the Republic of South
Africa, where Mr. Herbert Arm–
strong spoke sorne 30 times be–
fare large and intimate audiences
in Johannesburg, Capetown, Dur–
ban, Port Elizabeth, and South–
West Africa. Mr. Armstrong was
bringing to South Africa person–
ally, for the first t ime, his message
about the world in crisis, man's
incredible human potential, and
man's heritage.
While we were in South Africa, it
became the center of world atten–
tion - giant, first-page headlines
in every paper around the world -
because racial violence literally
exploded during the fourth week
of our visit. This violence carne
only a few days alter our very
meaningful meeting with Prime
Minister John Vorster and only a
few days befare his departure for
Europe and his talks in West Ger–
many with U.S. Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger.
By the time the violence had
subsided, there were sorne 180
dead, sorne 1,200 injured, and
property damage calculated to be
in excess of $40 million. Clearly,
Mr. Vorster's well-earned reputa–
tion throughout the world had
been damaged, as well as his
carefully laid plans for détente and
dialogue with the nations of Black
Africa.
Mr. Vorster's meeting with Sec–
retary of State Kissinger was af-
The
PLAIN TRUTH August 1976
fected by what many people in
South Africa feel is only the begin–
ning of more and more racial vio–
lence in the nation, unless
concessions are made by the
South African government to ease
the tens1on that lurks just below
the surface in the large black-in–
habited townships located outside
the major South African cities.
This tension, they believe, is pro–
duced in no small measure by the
government's policy Óf apartheid.
Mr. Vorster, embarrassed as he
might have been on the eve of his
talks with Secretary of State Kiss–
inger, remained as firm in his con–
victions about the cause of the
riots as he was about the funda–
mental reasons behind the wórld–
wide attitudes toward the Republic
of South Africa. Mr. Vorster stated
in West Germany that there was
no doubt that the violence was
planned to disturb and disrupt his
meeting with the secretary of state
and that the disorders were fo–
mented by communist-inspired
agitators.
One of the very first questions
that Mr. Armstrong asked the
prime minister was why there
seemed to be such a lack of un–
derstanding and knowledge about
South Africa in other parts of the
world. The prime minister inter–
jected, "lt's not a lack of under–
standing or knowledge! lt's bias -
bias of 30 years!''
The prime minister proceeded
to explain that the Soviet Union,
for example, has never forgotten
that the Republic of South Africa
was the first nation to break off
diplomatic rela t ions with the
U.S.S.R. (in 1950) and that Pre–
toria had subsequently barred
communists from belonging to
any trade unions and had out–
lawed the Communist Party in
1953. The prime minister also
stressed that his nation had suc–
cesstully withstood a communist
conspiracy to overthrow the gov–
ernment in 1953.
When asked about the le?sons
of Angola, the prime minister
stressed that the whole world
learned a lesson: that the Rus–
sians wanted to find out how far
they could penetrate into southern
Africa. What they discovered was
that they could go about as far as
they wanted to.
To counter any direct threat to
South Africa itself, Mr. Vorster ex–
plained, his government would
welcome help from any outside
source but that he had learned
that it perhaps wou ld have to go it
alone.
When asked about his pre–
dictions for the future, the prime
min ister stated that he felt that
people would be able to visit
South Africa in years to come, not
only to enjoy its amenities, but to
learn first-hand how people of dif–
ferent races could live together in
peace. We are all hopeful that the
prime minister's predictions will
soon become a real ity.
We are aware that no society is
perfect, and we are also aware
that a visit of even five weeks
could not prepare us to under–
stand fully all of the problems of
such a complex society.
As we Americans prepare to
celebrate our 200th birthday at
home, we are only too well awa·re
of the imperfections in our own
society and our own historical de–
velopment - a history checkered
with many of the same issues that
have confronted South Afr ica
since the days of its very early
settlement in the 17th century. We
should therefore not be too quick
to judge nor to otherwise con–
demn befare all the facts have
been made clear.
We are so concerned about the
entire future of South Africa that
we are planning a second visit in
November of this year, and
1
am
sure that what we find and report
will be of great interest to our mil–
lions of readers throughout the
world.
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