Political suppression and the Treason Trial
- Created by: Himee Senanayake
- Created on: 11-05-19 11:33
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- Political suppression and the Treason Trial
- Suppression of the Communism Act 1950
- gov genuinely believed communist agitators were behind the majority of protest against apartheid
- because they suppressed communism, they were seen as a reliable ally in the Cold war to Western powers
- Definition of communism
- Act defined communism as any scheme aimed 'at bringing about any political, social and economic change within the Union by the promotion of disturbance and disorder
- communism = euphemism for any form of unrest, could imprison anyone for anything the authorities deemed subversive
- could ban organisations and individuals from contacting others for periods up to 5 years
- this meant house arrest for many
- Context
- SA remained a democracy for white voters
- white opposition parties were tolerated so long as they were peaceful and did not attempt to recruit black Africans
- any opposition from non-white groups were brutally suppressed
- security forces deployed physical and psychological pressure
- main legal authority for repression in the 1950s was the Suppression of Communism Act in 1950
- SA remained a democracy for white voters
- The Communist Party after the Suppression of Communism Act
- CPSA became an illegal organisation
- SA Communist Party (renamed itself)
- Policy = SA must become a non-racial state before communism could be successful
- therefore it worked with anti-apartheid groups (ANC)
- Other repressive Acts
- Suppression of the Communism Act 1950
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