Riyaz Patel
The birthplace of the United Democratic Front (UDF) is officially being declared a Western Cape heritage site.
On this day in 1983, thousands of people gathered at the Rocklands Community Hall in Mitchells Plain for the official launch of the historic UDF.
Founding leaders like Allan Boesak believed in bringing together civic organisations, religious groups, trade unions, and other organisations to fight apartheid.
Steps towards forming the UDF began in the late 1970s, and moved forward when Allan Boesak called for a ‘united front’ of ‘churches, civic associations, trade unions, student organisations, and sports bodies’ to fight oppression.
He was addressing the Transvaal Anti-SAIC Committee (TASC) at a conference in Johannesburg on 23 January 1983, but this part of his speech was unplanned – and even he was surprised to see the result.
A plaque was unveiled at the hall Tuesday to declare the building a provincial heritage site.
Various former UDF leaders along with former UDF provincial interim committee member Cameron Dugmore are attending the event.
Dugmore said: “Seeing Allan Boesak here, and Mohammed Valli Moosa, two of the great national leaders at the time, I think just serves as a time for reflection and I think for a re-commitment and dedication to those principles of non-sexism, non-racism and unity.”
Frank Chikane, who had played an important role in the preparations for the formation of the UDF, was the first major speaker.
Chikane, former Director General of the presidency of South Africa under Thabo Mbeki, spoke of the day as being a turning point in the struggle for freedom.
Boesak, the keynote speaker, spoke of bringing together a wide range of groups and unity among those fighting for freedom.
A list of tasks was drawn up, focusing on organisation building and highlighting the aim of being an organisation to represent all parts of the population.
In the afternoon, the conference closed and the public rally began.
The doors were opened to allow in members of the public, with a marquee outside the hall to contain the overflow of the approximately 10 000 people who attended the meeting.
Frances Baard opened the rally, and successive speeches focused on Charterism.
What was significant about the day was the amount of support from different organisations.
Delegates of 565 organisations attended the launch, and 400 of these were already affiliates on a regional level.
The immediate reason for the formation of the UDF was to fight the introduction of the Tricameral Parliament.
