By Timoteus Mashuna
THE analysis of the United Nations (UN) hearing on the non-aggression of the Frontline States during the struggle for liberation as well as scholarly studies on the nuclear embargo against the apartheid administration indicates that Abdul Samad Minty is one of the few international friends of Southern Africa who spearheaded such campaigns.
He, amongst others, acted in solidarity with the oppressed people of Southern Africa and took it upon himself to fight on the international front against the destabilization of the Southern African region by the apartheid regime.
This is reaffirmed in the hearing he delivered at the United Nations summit in 1983 against the non-aggression of the Frontline states.
Similarly, his fight against the military and nuclear collaboration against South Africa also had a positive impact on the fight against the plunder of Namibia’s resources and assisted the liberation movements in Southern Africa in their military campaigns against apartheid-era occupational armies.
This observation was made by E.S.Reddy, in his paper entitled “United Nations and the African National Congress: Partners in the struggle against apartheid.”
In that paper Reddy wrote: “Despite the restrictive interpretations by some governments and the inadequate monitoring which enabled South Africa to purchase some equipment by secret and illicit deals, the arms embargo had significant effect. South Africa was unable to obtain many items of military equipment it desired and much of its equipment had become outdated by the late 1980s.”
Adding to his arguments, Reddy further noted that South Africa’s military weakness as a result of the military and nuclear embargo was revealed during the battle of Cuito Cuanavale when the South African forces were forced to withdraw from Angola.
Reddy in fact argues that it was the result of this campaign that “F.W. de Klerk announced in Parliament on the 24th of March 1993, that the South African government after a 15-year clandestine nuclear weapon program had only produced six crude atomic bombs.”
Notwithstanding the success of these campaigns what is of utmost importance is that the man behind such campaigns was Minty. Upon completion of his studies from the University College in London, he published a study on the defence strategy of the apartheid government in South Africa.
This, according to various commentators on his struggle against the apartheid regime, assisted the anti-apartheid movements to develop a strong campaign that ultimately terminated the agreement between South Africa and Britain on the defence of seas around Southern Africa.
This is further amplified by Reddy’s scholarly analysis in which he argues that despite the existence of the UN General Assembly and the Security Council’s August 1963 recommendation for an all-states embargo against the supply of arms to South Africa, concrete results could only be observed from 1977 onwards.
Although other factors had influenced the world perspective on the South African apartheid regime towards the late 1970s, it must be noted this is exactly the time Minty became the director of the United Nations special committee on military and nuclear embargo.
With reference to this, Reddy opined, “The special committee encouraged the establishment of the world campaign against military and nuclear collaboration with South Africa, with Abdul. S Minty as director.
The world campaign was able to obtain more information, mainly through anti-apartheid groups, on violations of the arms embargo and contributed greatly to the monitoring of the embargo. He is one of the friends of Southern Africa who contributed to the weakening of South Africa’s military strength during the apartheid era.
Minty was born on the 31st of October 1931 in the present day Limpopo Province in South Africa.
He grew up in Johannesburg where he attended school. He then left South Africa in 1958 to pursue studies in Britain where he obtained a Master of Science in Economics and International Relations.