The rivonia trial 50 years on watson institute for. Historical papers of the rivonia trial, digital collection at the university of the witwatersrand. No easy walk to freedom this collection of mandelas writings and speeches was first published in this format in 1965. Liliesleaf was the name of the farm in the district of rivonia on the northern outskirts of johannesburg. The rivonia trial was not about apartheid it was about murders committed at the hands of nelson mandela and others. Not only must we get to know who our enemy is, we must also render him harmless. Arrests in july 1964 finished off the newspaper after only three issues. Free mandela and the anti apartheid movement campaign. Ten leaders of the african national congress were tried for 221 acts of sabotage designed to overthrow the apartheid system. Mandela statement during the rivonia trial 1964 our fight is against real, and not imaginary, hardships, or to use the language of the state prosecutor, socalled hardships. Fifty years after rivonia, law and the courtroom continued to be the prominent, even the preeminent. Nelson mandelas statement at the opening of the defense case in the rivonia trial pretoria supreme court, april 20, 1964 i am the first accused.
No article on the rivonia trial can be complete without mentioning the dedication and skill of the leader of the defence team abram bram fischer 2341908 851975. Volume 2 20 1 2 letter from the editor 6 contributors to this edition 8 the philosophical, political and moral obligations imposed on us by the rivonia trail. Overnight, no easy walk to freedom became an indispensable. Defence case in the rivonia trial pretoria supreme court, south africa 20th april, 1964 i am the first accused. Simply enter a keyword or phrase in the search box, and click the go button. Mandelas speech from the dock, in which he admitted the. Nelson mandela full speech at start rivonia trial 20. When i delivered my opening address in the socalled rivonia trial, the immediate reaction was that i had exaggerated the position and resorted to dramatics for some ulterior motive. This searches the entire database, and gives you the highest possible number of results.
Rivonia was a suburb of johannesburg where the ten defendants secretly met and hid on a farm. This trial was held after the police raid on the mk base in rivonia, where documents related to the 10 accused men were found. The rivonia trial was a trial that took place in south africa between 1963 and 1964. Umtata, tembuland, 1918, in 1964 attracted worldwide attention as the central figure in the rivonia sabotage trial. My liaison with the umkhonto high command was through hilda bernstein, whose husband rusty was one of the accused in the rivonia trial. The rivonia trial rivonia is a township near johannesburg where most of the nine accused in the trial were arrested on 11th july 1963 on premises described by the police as revolutionary headquarters of the african national congress. Synopsis mandela defends the actions of the paramilitary group umkhonto we sizwe by describing african life under apartheid. This trial was held after the police raid on the mk base in rivonia. The rivonia trial, named after the suburb of johannesburg where sixteen leaders of the african national congress had been arrested in july 1963, began on 26 november 1963. In 1964 nelson mandela and seven other leaders of the african national congress and umkhonto we sizwe were sentenced to life imprisonment. The rivonia trial took its name from rivonia, the suburb of johannesburg where leaders had been arrested and documents discovered at liliesleaf. Jun 14, 20 this recording was made on the start of the rivonia trial, which saw mister nelson mandela and seven other men penalized with a livelong jail sentence for supposedly taking part in 221 acts of.
Nelson mandela full speech at start rivonia trial 20 april. After the african national congress anc and pan africanist congress were outlawed in april 1960, opponents of the apartheid government increasingly turned to violent resistance. The rivonia trial took its name from rivonia, the suburb of johannesburg where leaders had been arrested and documents discovered at liliesleaf farm, privately owned by arthur goldreich, on. Nelson mandela, south african media, celebrity, rivonia trial, antiapartheid movement, show trial, winnie madikizelamandela. Nelson mandelas testimony at the treason trial 195660. Among others, nelson mandela had moved onto the farm in october 1961 and. Events in history at the time of the speechthe speech in focus source for information on the rivonia trial. South africa and elsewhere in the world over the forty years since the rivonia trial. Arthur goldreich was among those arrested in connection with the rivonia trial. I decided then that it was too dangerous for those still on trial or active in south africa for me to allow its distribution even on a limited scale. The rivonia trial, arguably the most significant political trial in south african history, generated a vast archive, ranging from the official court records to media coverage of the trial. During the rivonia trial i was editor in johannesburg of the underground newspaper of umkhonto we sizwe, freedom fighter.
Rivonia trial simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. All leaders imprisoned except chief luthuli tension between white and nonwhite escalated in to a new level. Liliesleaf was the name of the farm in the district of rivonia. The south african activist and former president nelson mandela 191820 helped bring an end to apartheid and was an advocate for human rights around the globe. Read the full speech that nelson mandela gave from the dock at the opening of the defence case in the rivonia trial on april 20, 1964. Sentencing of the rivonia trialists on 12 june 1964 judge.
Statement at press conference in dar es salaam concerning sentences in the rivonia trial june 12, 1964. Shortly after the rivonia trial, i left south africa to settle in. May and june 1964 as the rivonia trial drew to an end. I hold a bachelors degree in arts and practised as an attorney in johannesburg for a number. The rivonia trial rivonia is a township near johannesburg where most of the nine accused in the trial. The editor of the paper was found guilty of contempt of court. They stood on trial together in rivonia, during the struggle for what would become a catalyst in the battle against apartheid. The rivonia trial, held in south africa in the early 1960s, revealed.
Feb 10, 2001 the rivonia trial, named after the suburb of johannesburg where sixteen leaders of the african national congress had been arrested in july 1963, began on 26 november 1963. It recounts his escape to avoid testifying against the rivonia trialists. I hold a bachelors degree in arts and practised as an attorney in johannesburg for a number of years in partnership with oliver tambo. Kuypers and caitlin mcdaniel rotten with consensus. On 11 august 1963, he together with harold wolpe, abdulhay jassat and moosa mosie moolla escaped from jail by bribing a guard, and fled the country.
The rivonia trial 20 july 1997 the rivonia raid of july 11, 1963, was followed by an anticlimax. This recording was made on the start of the rivonia trial, which saw mister nelson mandela and seven other men penalized with a livelong jail sentence for supposedly taking part in 221. The protest and struggle against apartheid moved into a new era. They were intended to provide a factual account of the events leading up to the trial by one of the participants who got away. See too, my letter to the editor, referring to sisulus letter, the times, december 14, 1964. Kb journal the journal of the kenneth burke society. The charges in what is often called the rivonia trial for the johannesburg suburb that was the location of the hideout for a militant wing of the african national congress were sabotage and conspiracy, and there was little doubt that but that mandela and most of the other defendants would be found guilty. It could truly not have been an easy task for the writer to extract the gist of. The consequences of the rivonia trial the authorities successfully broke up the anc and mk. Expert pdf editor x64 for windows xp,vista,7,8 64bit and later. Some of the defendants were later convicted in the rivonia trial in 1964.
Various people and groups, including the african national congress, had been using the farm as a hideout. I hold a bachelors degree in arts and practised as an. Many say that it was the skills and experience of bram fischer plus international pressure that swayed the decision of the judge against imposing the death penalty. That is the message of this book so writes the minister of justice, the hon. The charges, in what is often called the rivonia trial for the johannesburg suburb that was the location of the hideout for a militant wing of the african national congress, were sabotage and conspiracy, and there was little doubt that but that mandela and most of the other defendants would be found guilty. Last surviving rivonia trialists goldberg, mlangeni battle.
Pdf the postrivonia anc and sacp underground researchgate. Jun 07, 2018 life is wonderful features the surviving defendants and lawyers of the rivonia trial as they recount the apartheidera court case that resulted in lifeimprisonment for eight struggle heroes. Rivonia is a township near johannesburg where most of the nine accused in the trial were arrested on. In this book the mask is torn away to reveal the face of the monster with which we are confronted. This essay demonstrates the utility of pentadic and dramatic framing analyses on nelson mandelas famous 1964 rivonia trial speech. I decided then that it was too dangerous for those still on trial. Rusty bernstein, accused no 6, was acquitted in the rivonia trial, but arrested again soon after and released on bail. For many years people incorrectly referred to the rivonia trial as the rivonia treason trial. The rivonia trial article by sunder katwala from the observer, dated sunday, 11 february 2001.
Nelson mandela is known for several things, but perhaps he is best known for successfully leading the resistance to south africas policy of apartheid in the 20th century, during which he was infamously incarcerated at robben island prison 196482. Jul 25, 20 he has just published a book, titled young man with a red tie. Towards a dialectic transformation of genocide by victoria houser. The rivonia trial speechby nelson mandelathe literary work a speech given by nelson mandela in his own defense on aprii 20, 1964, in pretoria, south africa. Practically all the evidence was obtained either from agentprovocateurs or from witnesses who had been subjected to torture. The rivonia trial took its name from rivonia, the suburb of johannesburg where leaders had been arrested and documents discovered at liliesleaf farm, privately owned by arthur goldreich, on 11 july 1963. The rivonia trial took place in south africa between 9 october 1963 and 12 june 1964. In this paramount speech, mandela advocates for a pragmatic transformation through agency and uses a comic frame to address the problem of racism in apartheid.
Now, the last two surviving rivonia trialists are waging another. After the african national congress anc and pan africanist congress were outlawed in april 1960, opponents of the apartheid government. The accused include nelson mandela, who was one of the accused. A dramatistic analysis of nelson mandelas rivonia trial. Rivonia trial papers, struggles for freedom on jstor. The rivonia trial led to the imprisonment of nelson mandela and the others among the accused who were convicted of sabotage and sentenced to life at the palace of justice, pretoria. Rivonia unmasked the prosecutors account of the rivonia trial. Dec 07, 20 the rivonia trial, in which nelson mandela and nine other leaders are charged with attempting to overthrow the state by violent means, has reached the end of its first phase. This trial was held after the police raid on the mk base in rivonia, where documents. The second nhc was established just before the rivonia trial began in.
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