the churches and southern africa - KORA

The article suggests that the real issue is whether Gulf
benefits the people of Angola. Not surprisingly, it
concludes, "We believe we definitely do." They cite the
cascading effect of Gulf's 700 jobs, which they believe
create as many as 7,000 others. They quote figures
showing skyrocketing school enrollments and phenomenal
increases in government expenditure on health, education,
and agricultural development. Gulf concludes its five-page
defense with largely irrelevant charts on the concession
agreement, employment (which is not significant), and
company contributions, ' claiming that "equally
concerned" church leaders support Gulf's payments to
the Portuguese.
The Orange Disc does not refer to the relationship
between Angola and Portugal, nor give any indication of
the economic misery of the indigenous population. A
reading of Gulf's article leaves an impression that Angola
is among Africa's -most peaceful and prosperous
nations-not one rof the last vestiges of European
colonialism where a brutal war for the territory's future
has been waged for the last 11 years.
Other Companies
After winning their proxy battles, NEWMONT and
AMAX (American Metals Climax) became silent on the
Southern Africa issue, as did UNION CARBIDE and
FOOTE MINERAL COMPANY, the illegal importers of
chrome from Rhodesia. Finally, GENERAL ELECTRIC,
which avoided a proxy battle with the Presbyterians
through a technicality, receqtly issued its "two cents" on
the subject via a few sentences in its own publication to
shareholders, the G.E. Investor (Summer 1972). In it,
G.E. claims to have an "affirmative action program" (note
the American ring) to "ensure continuing progress for
nonwhite employees in South Africa."
In sum, the companies responded to church pressures
with their own best interests at heart. The revelations
ere not surprising, but their existence throws the ball
back in the churches' court.
BALTIMORE DOC K WORKERS CONTINUE PROTEST
AGAINST RHODESIAN IMPORTS
Members of the Baltimore International LongShoremen
Association, consistent with the position of their fellow
workers in Louisiana, have refused to offload materials
from Rhodesia. In mid-March and April, the first
shipments of Rhodesian chrome ore arrived in Louisiana
and union dockworkers refused to unload them. (See
SOUTHERN AFRICA, Vol. 5, No. 5, May, 1972) These
imports, although in violation of the U.N. sanctions, were
allowed by the passage of the Byrd Amendment last year.
(See U.S. AND SOUTHERN AFRICA, this issue) Since
the spring at least eight more shipments of strategic
materials have arrived, including cargoes of nickel
cathodes and ferrochromium. This increase in imports,
which involves cooperation between the U.S.
Government, the importing company (i.e. Union Carbide,
Foote Mineral, Kaiser Aluminum, Phillips Brothers [a
subsidiary of Engelhard Corporation] ), and the shippers
(Farrell and Moore-McCormack), indicates the extent to
which the U.S. is willing to give the illegal Smith regime
more than a helping hand. This generous assistance is
evidenced by the fact that even the imported minerals
(chrome and nickel) have recently been declared
superfluous to our stockpile of strategic materials; in July
the Congress voted to se II surplus nickel to the
U.S. Mint. (Congressional Record, House, July 17, 1972,
H6531)
The tenacity of the staff at the American Committee
on Africa, the cooperative action of the ILA (in New
York, Louisiana, and Baltimore), and the militancy of'the
Black community against U.S. aid to racism in Southern
Africa, have continued to highlight ahd expose the U.S.
practice of importing directly from Rhodesia.
Most recently, on August 1, the Moore-McCormack
ship "Mormaccove" was prevented from offloading 62
drums (12 t ais) of nickel cathodes in Baltimore; one of
the major entry ports for African goods. Sixty members
of the Baltimore African Liberation Support Committee,
SOBU, Congressional Black Caucus, and American
Committee on Africa, picketed the ship, and the
dockworkers action forced the importers (Phillips
Brothers) and the shippers, at some expense, to
surreptitiously divert the Rhodesian nickel to
Philadelphia. There was some dispute, because the
shippers and an "industry source" contended that the
nickel cathodes were not from Rhodesia, but probably
from South Africa (since Rhpdesia is landlocked, the only
information available is that of the port of origin). But
since it is known that in previous months
Moore-McCormack ships from Durban, the origin of this
August 1 shipment, have carried Rhodesian nickel
cathodes (not South African nickel), it was likely this
cargo was from Rhodesia as well. The Baltimore workers
action was accompanied b y the presence of two Black
Caucus members of Corgress, local Congressman Parren
Mitchell, and Chairman of the Africa Sub-Committee of
the House Foreign Affairs Committee Charles Diggs. Diggs
spoke at a Baltimore press conference, declaring: "No
amount of slick Rhode sian Information Service or State
Department 'PR' can disguise the existence of
involuntary servitude in Rhodesia. . . . But
slavery... inevitably creates the conditions that allow the
slave to throw down the slave owner. That act begins
when the oppressed man says 'NO.' "
In his speech Diggs hailed the 'NO's' of the strikers in
Namibia, of the people in Zimbabwe, and the resounding
NO of the dockworkers in Baltimore. He warned: "Let
the American shippers and Rhodesian slavers know that if
they send their tainted cargos to American ports, they
will sit in the ship." He called on the AFL/CIO to
publicly announce opposition to the entry of Rhodesian
goods to the U.S.
During the debates on the Byrd Amendment, labor was
one of the few strong voices in opposition, including the
United Steelworkers of America and the ILA. The United
Nations has continued to condemn U.S. policy, as has the
OAU . On July 28 the Security Council again called for
an end to Rhodesian imports; the U.S. abstained on the
vote. The U.S. Government has been submitting
information to the Special Committee of the Security
Council which deals with Rhodesian sanctions, although
the information about the nature of the imports, port of
entry, etc., is always given post facto. Therefore the
necessity of widening. the opposition to U.S. policy
through such investigative work as done by ACOA. If you
are interested in involving yourself or your union in these
actions, contact Henry Lieberg, American Committee on
Africa, 164 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016. (The
Sun, Baltimore, July 26, 1972; August 1 and August 2,
1972; The Washington Post, August 2, 1972; The Sunday
Star and Daily News, July 30, 1972; U.N. Press Release,
SC/3344, August 4,'1972; Star, Johannesburg, August 5,
1972.)