Moses Kotane and JB Marks represent our shared histories and spirations, writes Nathi Mthethwa.
There’s no better time to take stock of where the anti-colonial struggle comes from and reflect on relations with Russia than at this joyous and sad occasion of the repatriation and reburial of liberation stalwarts.
Moses Kotane and John Beaver (JB) Marks represent a special relationship the anti-apartheid struggle had with the people of the former USSR.
In fact, Kotane and Marks exemplify the common histories and aspirations of the people of Russia and South Africa.
As we move towards the maturation of our democracy, it is appropriate to acknowledge the pivotal role the international community played in our struggle.
Russia, or the Soviet Union as it was called at the time, was a reliable companion of our liberation movement at different stages of our struggle. In fact, it pledged solidarity with the South African struggle for justice and equality and occupied the front-line trenches in the local and continent-wide anti-colonial struggle.
When we look at our common histories and how the Russians helped shape our political destiny, Kotane and Marks emerge as prominent figures in these relations.
Despite the fact that they only met in the trenches of the struggle in Joburg in the early 1920s, their life stories are intertwined with the rich history of the relations between these two countries. There is no doubt that it was through the inspiration they derived from the Russian Revolution of 1917 that they became active agents of the struggle for justice and equality.
When the governing ANC was later listed as a “terrorist” group by many countries – including the US – it was the Soviet Union that supported our struggle unequivocally. Russia offered unconditional support through educational opportunities to political activists, providing military training to ANC cadres and financial support to the liberation movement.
The ANC representatives even held diplomatic status in Russia while many countries were turning their backs on its struggles, especially because of its close relations with Russia.
The pioneers of our liberation struggle initiated contact with Moscow as far back as 1927, when one of the founding fathers of the ANC, Josiah Gumede, visited the USSR with a view to establishing relations.
The ANC was overly optimistic that through political persuasion, the colonial government would ease the yoke of oppression on the indigenous people.
The USSR was known for producing some of the most renowned scholars, academics, intellectuals and philosophers in the world. So it became one of the most desirable destinations for knowledge.
It was against this backdrop that, in the 1930s, Kotane and Marks were identified as future leaders and sent to the Lenin School in Moscow. They were die-hard members of the then-Communist Party of SA. Another pioneering member of this key group of cadres who was to play a prominent role in the national liberation movement was the little known Albert Nzula.
But it was Kotane and Marks who rose to prominence perhaps because of their larger-than-life stature and the fact that their position and rank was elevated in the ANC through their selfless involvement in the Defiance Campaign of the 1950s.
Both were later to be buried in Russia.
Kotane was the treasurer-general of the ANC, the longest-serving general secretary of the Communist Party and a central figure who initiated the formation of the progressive trade union movement in South Africa. He played the role of key political adviser to the president general of the ANC, Inkosi Albert Luthuli.
He was sent to Russia for medical attention after a stroke in 1968 and died 10 years later.
Similarly, Marks was the president of the African Mine Workers Union later to become the African Union of Mineworkers. He later became president of the Council of Non-European Trade Unions, chairman of the SACP and president of the ANC’s Transvaal branch. He, too, led the Defiance Campaign.
In 1952, he was banned under the Suppression of Communism Act.
Marks also went to Russia for medical attention, in 1971. He died from a heart attack the next year.
These two stalwarts played a paramount role in solidifying relations between the ANC and SACP and, above all, the consolidating relations between the people of the two countries, especially those involved in the anti-colonial struggle.
It is noteworthy that the liberation movement in South Africa began peacefully. The apartheid government had turned a deaf ear to negotiations and the passive resistance proved ineffective while the brutal killing of unarmed protesters continued as exemplified by the 1946 Miners Strike and Sharpeville, among others.
After the introduction of apartheid as a government system in 1948 and more vicious laws and the carnage of innocent victims, the national liberation movement was left with no option once banned but to embark on an armed struggle.
When the time came for the national liberation movement to seek support from the international community, Moscow was one of the first allies to be identified.
A delegation comprising Kotane, Yusuf Dadoo and other representatives of the SACP went to the capital to discuss support. The Soviet Union offered more than just monetary support and military training. They provided substantial humanitarian support, which included food, clothes, musical instruments and vehicles.
The Soviet Union was also one of the first partners that the movement looked to for the training of the ANC cadres.
Subsequent to the unwavering support of the Soviet Union and other parties, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the military wing of the ANC, was formed in 1961.
Between 1963 and 1965, 328 ANC cadres received military training in Russia.
The turning point and cementing of relations between Russia and our liberation struggle came soon after the brutal killing of schoolchildren in the uprisings in 1976 in Soweto. This was followed by the death of Steve Biko in police custody a year later and saw the ANC intensifying its struggle. In 1978, then-president OR Tambo led a delegation to the USSR where he requested assistance in the training and organisation of MK cadres in Angola.
At this stage, there were hundreds of MK cadres who had been given intensive military training by the Russians.
The enduring cordial relationship between the liberation movement, especially the ANC, and Russia continues.
During a state visit in 1999, president Nelson Mandela expressed his gratitude for the “solidarity of the Russian people in the South African fight against apartheid for freedom”.
After two decades of democracy, it is important that we cherish the role of these selfless revolutionaries.
Thus, as part of telling our story to celebrate the unfolding culture of democracy in our country, it is the most appropriate time to reclaim the fragments of our heritage scattered in different parts of the world. It is in this context that we own our heritage by returning the mortal remains of Marks and Kotane to their ancestral land. However, the repatriation of their mortal remains does not mark the end of the bond between the people of South Africa and Russia. Instead, it will serve as the reminder of our common histories.
This moment will be engraved in our collective consciousness.
I am confident that they are smiling down on us – proud that we have finally attained the free and democratic society they both fearlessly fought for.
Marks and Kotane’s lives were sacrificed to create a better South Africa and contribute to a better and safer Africa and a just and more equitable world order.
We dare not fail them.
*Nathi Mthethwa is the Minister of Arts and Culture
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
The Star