South African press weighs up boycott effects

Press, 27 July 1976, Page 3

South African press weighs up boycott effects

From T. P. McLEAN

Durban Agonising appraisals about South Africa’s place in world sport have become a feature of the republic’s newspapers after the Olympic Games boycott and South Africa’s expulsion from world athletics and soccer.

The English-language Sunday newspapers have particularly concentrated on the topic. Both editorially and in articles they have had hard things to say about their Government’s apartheid policy and about overseas organisations, notably the South African Non-racial Olympic Committee (Sanroc), which have campaigned assiduously and successfully against the country's maintaining its place in world sport. Durban’s “Sunday Tri-!

: bune,” a notably liberal publication, carried this week an editorial headed, “A stunning blow to sport.”- The newspaper said that while many South African sportsmen felt campaigning against their country was unfair because antaognists were prepared to overlook genocide in Nigeria, Sudan, and Bangladesh, and accept athletic competition against Uganda, the unpalatable truth was that black Africa was more outraged by racial discrimination than it was by any black massacre of blacks. “It is a hard fact we should have grasped long ago and we have to live with it,” the newspaper said. < “To complain about it is useless and irrelevant; it is emotional, passionate, and irrational. And most important of all, this sense of outrage doesn’t abate, it continues to increase." i In Johannesburg's “Sunday | Express,” under the heading. “Boycotts break sport

barrier,” Martin Schneider wrote that, looking at the, history of sports boycotts,' evidence pointed only onej way. Despite South Africa’s! growing isolation in world; sport,, the country could expect more mixed sport internally than ever before, provided international boycotts were maintained and extended. “Unpatriotic as it sounds.” Schneider wrote, “history has shown that changes in sports policy have usually followed extreme pressures, mainly from abroad. “In its initial reaction to *he week’s devastating series of boycotts, the Government is likely to take a hard line. Most whites will probably react the same way. They will say the country won’t gain readmission to world sport, even if all sport were integrated, because in reality the demand isn’t multiracial sport but pro-black government.

“But history shows that despite initial hardline attitudes concessions have continued to be made. It’s been a case of mounting pressures, mainly from abroad, but increasingly at home, followed by a hardline government reaction then gradually a more conciliatory approach — and finally changes.” From London, Denis Sargent, the well-informed correspondent of the Argus group, which publishes 13 daily newspapers in South Africa and Rhodesia, reports that “the embittered exiles who use sport as a weapon to beat the South African system pulled off at' Montreal their biggest success for years.” Sargent said techniques used by Sanroc and its leader, Denis Brutus, whom:

•jSargent-said was a principal sifactor in promoting the boy.'cott expulsions, had been ’ quite different from the much ’ more publicised direct action I of Peter Hain and his Aus- ■ tralian and New Zealand ' counterparts. But it had been 'much more effective. But it I was probably the publicity attracted by the activities of • the Halt All Racist Tours , organisation that gave Sani roc the idea of using New , Zealand as the target for its next strike. “Of course, New Zealand , wasn’t expelled, but this . wasn't a failure for Sanroc [I. . . they got the massive demonstration of disapproval Jof South Africa they wanted |iin conditions of maximum j(publicity. Above all, they've jdemonstrated that whatever ’(the rights and wrongs, any .[sporting contacts with South can have the most (damaging results. Li “For Sanroc sports has al--1 ways been a weapon to bring • about fundamental political i (change in South Africa. Dam ,|age to sport or sportsman • may be regrettable, but it 1 isn’t a prime factor." • j Writing in the "Tribune.” ■ Anthony Richmond said that I in multiracial sport such as the invitation match against • the All Blacks, the players • were chosen first for their ; colour and second because ; they could play reasonably i well. > “In non-racial sport,” Rich- . mond said, “players are i chosen for their sporting ability alone. The multinational, I (multiracial games played by (the All Blacks in South Africa I are therefore keeping apartheid alive, however much lithe All Blacks may wish to tido otherwise.”