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United Democratic Front (South Africa)

 
United Democratic Front (South Africa)

 
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United Democratic Front (South Africa)
 
 
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The United Democratic Front (UDF) was one of the most important anti-apartheid organisations of the 1980s. The non-racial coalition of about 400 civic, church, students', workers'
Trade union

A trade union or labor union is an organization run by and for workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages, hours, and working conditions....
 and other organisations (national, regional and local) was formed in 1983, initially to fight the just-introduced Tricameral Parliament
Tricameral Parliament

The Tricameral Parliament was the name given to the South African parliament and its structure from 1984 to 1994. While still entrenching the political power of the White section of the South African population , it did give a limited political voice to the country's Coloured and Asians in South Africa population groups....
. Its slogan, "UDF Unites, Apartheid Divides" reflects the Front's broad support (about 3 million members).

plans for a new political organisation were introduced by Rev. Alan Boesak at a conference of the Transvaal Anti-SAIC Committee (TASC) on January 23, 1983.






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The United Democratic Front (UDF) was one of the most important anti-apartheid organisations of the 1980s. The non-racial coalition of about 400 civic, church, students', workers'
Trade union

A trade union or labor union is an organization run by and for workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages, hours, and working conditions....
 and other organisations (national, regional and local) was formed in 1983, initially to fight the just-introduced Tricameral Parliament
Tricameral Parliament

The Tricameral Parliament was the name given to the South African parliament and its structure from 1984 to 1994. While still entrenching the political power of the White section of the South African population , it did give a limited political voice to the country's Coloured and Asians in South Africa population groups....
. Its slogan, "UDF Unites, Apartheid Divides" reflects the Front's broad support (about 3 million members).

Formation

The plans for a new political organisation were introduced by Rev. Alan Boesak at a conference of the Transvaal Anti-SAIC Committee (TASC) on January 23, 1983. The part of his speech calling for a "united front" of "churches, civic associations, trade unions, student organizations, and sports bodies" was unplanned, but well-received. Trade unions were very important in the UDF. They began to emerge in the 1980s and took on the roll of the "muscle" of the UDF. UDF pursued a strategy known as "ungovernability": leadership of these organizations declared a strategy to make lands ungovernable. The TASC appointed a sub-committee to investigate the possibility of such a front. After much debate, it was decided that the new organization would be a coalition of non-racism anti-apartheid organizations.

The launch of the UDF

The UDF then formed regional committees, which established relationships with local organizations. The Natal UDF was launched first, in May, and then the Transvaal
Transvaal

File:Flag of Transvaal.svgFile:Transvaal map.pngFile:Spelterini Transvaal.jpgThe Transvaal is the name of an area of northern South Africa....
 region (in June) and the Cape Province
Cape Province

The Cape of Good Hope Province was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa. It encompassed the old Cape Colony, and had Cape Town as its capital....
 (July). Representatives of the regions formed the Interim National Committee, which also included outside activists.

At the end of July, the committee held a two-day meeting where they discussed a national launch date. Although most delegates wanted time to organise the regions before the national launch, they decided the best date was August 20, the day the government planned to introduce the Tricameral Constitution. This Constitution was touted as reform, but in practice granted meaningless representation to India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
ns and Coloured
Coloured

In the South African, Namibian, Zambian, Botswana and Zimbabwean context, the term Coloured refers or referred to an ethnic group of people who possess sub-Saharan African ancestry, but not enough to be considered Black people under the law of South Africa....
s and left the Black
Black

Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflection light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light....
 majority in the same position. The UDF's symbols — logo and slogan — were also selected at the meeting. Both the logo and slogan portray the widespread support the UDF hoped to achieve by incorporating a wide range of South Africans of all races. Some member organisations adapted the "UDF Unites, Apartheid Divides" slogan; for example, the Soweto
Soweto

Soweto is an urban area in Regions of Johannesburg, in Gauteng, South Africa. Its name is an English language Abbreviation#Syllabic_abbreviation, short for South Western Township....
 Civic Association used "Soweto Civic Association Unites — Piet Koornhof
Piet Koornhof

Pieter G. J. Koornhof was a South African politician. As an apartheid-era National Party cabinet minister, he held various portfolios in the cabinets of B.J....
 Divides".

On August 20, 1983 the UDF was launched in the Rocklands community hall, Mitchell's Plain
Mitchell's Plain

Mitchell's Plain is a largely coloured township about 20 km from the city of Cape Town. It is located on the Cape Flats on the False Bay coast between Strandfontein and Khayelitsha....
, near Cape Town
Cape Town

Cape Town is the second most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the metropolitan municipality of the City of Cape Town. It is the provincial Capital of the Western Cape, as well as the legislature capital of South Africa, where the Parliament of South Africa and many government offices are located....
. After a conference of delegates from 565 organisations (400 were already members), a public rally was held, attended by about 10 000 people. Frank Chikane
Frank Chikane

Frank Chikane is a South African civil servant, writer and cleric. He is a member of the African National Congress....
, the first major speaker, called the day "a turning point in the struggle for freedom".

Organisational structure

The UDF was formed of organisations from throughout South Africa, although support was always concentrated in the Cape, Natal, and the Witwatersrand
Witwatersrand

The Witwatersrand is a low, sedimentary range of hills, at an elevation of 1700-1800 metres above sea-level, which runs in an east-west direction through Gauteng in South Africa....
 area. It soon attracted a massive following and had the support of around 3,000,000 members by 1985. Among its prominent leaders were Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu

Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African cleric and activist who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of History of South Africa in the Apartheid Era....
, Rev. Alan Boesak and several 1950s activists, including Albertina Sisulu
Albertina Sisulu

Nontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu is a black South African anti?apartheid activist, and the widow of fellow activist Walter Sisulu . In 2004 she was voted 57th in the SABC3's Great South Africans....
 , Oscar Mpetha and Helen Joseph
Helen Joseph

Helen Joseph , a South African anti-apartheid activist, was born in Sussex, England and graduated from King's College, in 1927. After working as a teacher in India for three years, Helen came to South Africa in 1931, where she met and married Billie Joseph....
. The UDF and its affiliates promoted rent boycotts, school protests, worker stay-away and a boycott of the tricameral system. Smaller organisations affiliated to the UDF targeted more specific targets for their protests; the End Conscription Campaign
End Conscription Campaign

The End Conscription Campaign was an anti-apartheid organisation allied to the United Democratic Front and composed of conscientious objectors and their supporters in South Africa....
 (ECC), for example, was set up in opposition to the compulsory military conscription of white males into the South African Defence Force
South African Defence Force

The South African Defence Force was the South African armed forces from 1957 until 1994. The former Union Defence Force was renamed to the South African Defence Force in the Defence Act of 1957....
. The Front and its members were largely responsible for the intensification and sustenance of resistance in the period from 1984 to 1986. At its peak, in 1987, it had some 700 affiliates. The most important of these were student/youth organisations, trade unions, "civics" and women's organisations and the church groups where the UDF had its roots.

Relationship with the ANC

Early in its life, the UDF adopted the Freedom Charter
Freedom Charter

The Freedom Charter was the statement of core principles of the South African Congress Alliance, which consisted of the African National Congress and its allies the South African Indian Congress, the South African Congress of Democrats and the Coloured People's Congress....
, a statement of the aims for a free South Africa and basis for a democratic constitution. The strong relationship between the African National Congress
African National Congress

The African National Congress has been South Africa's governing party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in May 1994....
 (ANC) and the UDF was based on this shared mission statement. Throughout its existence, the UDF demanded the release of imprisoned ANC
African National Congress

The African National Congress has been South Africa's governing party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in May 1994....
 leaders, as well as other political prisoners. However, the UDF was never formally attached to the ANC
African National Congress

The African National Congress has been South Africa's governing party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in May 1994....
, and did not participate in the armed struggle. The UDF also suggested resisting all changes whites presented.

Relationship with the Black Consciousness Movement

The Black Consciousness Movement
Black Consciousness Movement

The Black Consciousness Movement was a grassroots anti-Apartheid activist movement that emerged in South Africa in the mid-1960s out of the power vacuum created by the decimation of the African National Congress and Pan Africanist Congress leadership, by jailing and banning, after the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960.....
 disagreed with the UDF on the issue of multi-racialism. The Black Consciousness movement was based on the principle that the liberation struggle should be led by black people, whereas the UDF welcomed anyone who shared their goals.

Treason Trials

Several UDF members were among the accused in two of South Africa's most highly publicised trials. Accused (with the banned ANC
African National Congress

The African National Congress has been South Africa's governing party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in May 1994....
 and South African Communist Party
South African Communist Party

South African Communist Party is a political party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa by the joining together of the International Socialist League and others under the leadership of Willam H....
 [SACP]) of plotting to overthrow the government, the sixteen accused, including Albertina Sisulu
Albertina Sisulu

Nontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu is a black South African anti?apartheid activist, and the widow of fellow activist Walter Sisulu . In 2004 she was voted 57th in the SABC3's Great South Africans....
, were acquitted in the first of these trials. In the Delmas Treason Trial
Delmas Treason Trial

The Delmas Treason Trial in South Africa was the prosecution of 22 anti-apartheid activists under security laws. Eleven of the accused were found guilty in the same courtroom as Mandela was found guilty....
 (1985–1988), however, the nineteen were convicted, but these convictions were later set aside.

The "new UDF"

On August 22, 2005, the Western Cape
Western Cape

The Western Cape is a Provinces of South Africa in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the huge Cape Province....
 branch of COSATU (the Congress of South African Trade Unions
Congress of South African Trade Unions

The Congress of South African Trade Unions is a trade union federation in South Africa. It was founded in 1985 and is the biggest of the country?s three main trade union federations, with 21 affiliated trade unions, altogether organising 1.8 million workers....
) launched an initiative to bring together organisations working for a "progressive civil society". Although the initiative was not given a name, an internal memo referred to it as "UDF-type initiative", and it was widely referred to as the "new UDF".

The new political movement was triggered by the removal of Deputy President Jacob Zuma
Jacob Zuma

Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is a South African politician. He is the President of the African National Congress , the governing political party, and was Deputy President of South Africa from 1999 to 2005....
 from office and difficulties in the Tripartite Alliance
Tripartite alliance

The Tripartite Alliance is an alliance between the African National Congress , the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party ....
 of the ANC, COSATU and the SACP
South African Communist Party

South African Communist Party is a political party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa by the joining together of the International Socialist League and others under the leadership of Willam H....
. It raised concerns of a split in the alliance. There was much comment on the proposed initiative amongst the NGO left but nothing came of it and it was soon forgotten.

Prominent Members

  • Rev. Alan Boesak
  • Frank Chikane
    Frank Chikane

    Frank Chikane is a South African civil servant, writer and cleric. He is a member of the African National Congress....
  • Joe Gqabi
  • Helen Joseph
    Helen Joseph

    Helen Joseph , a South African anti-apartheid activist, was born in Sussex, England and graduated from King's College, in 1927. After working as a teacher in India for three years, Helen came to South Africa in 1931, where she met and married Billie Joseph....
  • Trevor Manuel
    Trevor Manuel

    Trevor Andrew Manuel is currently South Africa's South African Ministry of Finance. He has held the post since 1996, making him one of the country's longest-serving finance ministers....
  • Albertina Sisulu
    Albertina Sisulu

    Nontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu is a black South African anti?apartheid activist, and the widow of fellow activist Walter Sisulu . In 2004 she was voted 57th in the SABC3's Great South Africans....
  • Archbishop Desmond Tutu
    Desmond Tutu

    Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African cleric and activist who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of History of South Africa in the Apartheid Era....
  • Bantu Holomisa
    Bantu Holomisa

    Bantubonke Harrington Holomisa is a South African Member of Parliament and President of the United Democratic Movement.Holomisa was born in Mqanduli, Eastern Cape....
  • Victoria Mxenge
    Victoria Mxenge

    Victoria Mxenge, was a South Africa anti-apartheid activist. Trained as a nurse and Midwifery, she began practising law.She became more politically active after her husband Griffiths Mxenge, who had been banned earlier and detained by the National Party government, was murdered by the Apartheid government agents led by Dirk Coetzee in Uml...
  • Oscar Mpetha


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