of Mike Terry, Former Executive Secretary of British Anti-Apartheid
Movement
23 January 2009
Pretoria: South African Foreign Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma will,
today Friday, 23 January 2009, depart to London to address a memorial service
in honour of the late Mike Terry, former Executive Secretary of the British
Anti-Apartheid Movement scheduled for 24 January 2008.
Mike Terry, who passed away on 3 December 2008, was appointed Executive
Secretary of the Anti Apartheid Movement in 1975 and served in this capacity
until 1994 when South Africa held its first democratic elections. He was
awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his anti-apartheid work in
2001.
In remembering Mike Terry when he passed on last December, Minister Dlamini
Zuma recalled that "The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) was formed in 1960 after
the Sharpeville Massacre and succeeded the Boycott Movement of 1959,
established as a response to the appeal by Chief Albert Luthuli, President of
the ANC and other leaders for a boycott of all South African goods in support
of a call for total sanctions against the apartheid regime. After Sharpeville
it was recognised that the AAM was needed as a permanent organisation to work
for the eradication of the apartheid system which was a major threat to
international peace and security. The AAM embarked on a comprehensive campaign
for the total isolation of the apartheid system. It led major campaigns for
sports, cultural, academic and economic boycott of apartheid South Africa, the
release of all political prisoners and an international arms embargo. It also
campaigned for mandatory sanctions through the UN Security Council and the
exclusion of the apartheid regime from all international bodies."
"It was due to the determined and consistent work of the Anti-Apartheid
Movement and its counterparts in other countries that mobilised mass
international action in support of the African liberation struggle that helped
to end colonialism, racism and apartheid in Southern Africa. It was able to
mobilise governments and the public into a powerful global anti-apartheid force
that contributed to the demise of the system of apartheid."
"For two decades in the AAM and before that as a student leader Mike Terry
devoted every ounce of his energy and every moment of his life to the cause of
African liberation. He never wavered and remained steadfast, organising some of
the largest ever campaigns for the release of Nelson Mandela and all political
prisoners. He worked closely with eminent leaders of the AAM such as Archbishop
Trevor Huddleston who was President of the AAM from the mid '80's to 1994. In a
very real sense the birth of freedom, peace and democracy in South Africa can
be attributed in part to the courageous and committed efforts of Mike Terry and
his colleagues."
Mike Terry will be remembered as a pillar of the struggle against apartheid,
a British citizen who was a kindred spirit to the brothers and sisters of South
Africa and to humanity as a whole. From London Minister Dlamini Zuma will
proceed to Addis Ababa to participate in the 14th Ordinary Session of the
Executive Council of the African Union and to attend the Ordinary Session of
its Assembly scheduled for 1 to 3 February 2009.
Enquiries:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Cell: 082 990 4853
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
23 January 2008
