TRIBUTE ABDUL - Perdana Library

FRANK SULLIVAN
unusual; it is an accepted practice in most countries, some of which,
particularly the Communists, are only too quick to insist on it.
The third important point is South Africa's policy of apartheid
The Government there has been carrying out this policy for twelve
years, but in the nine months or so immediately before the Conference
apartheid was attracting general concern in many parts of
the world owing to the excessive rigour used in enforcing every
letter of the law. The South African Government obstinately refused
to listen to the protests, continuing to act with blind contempt
of the Declaration of Human Rights. Sooner or later the crescendo
of oppression seemed bound to explode into violence. Finally, it
did explode, at Sharpeville in mid-March. The shots fired there
rang around the world; the tragedy of Sharpeville was a bitter shock
to the conscience of free men.
One of the very first to protest was our Prime Minister. He
sent an immediate telegram to Prime Minister Macmillan deploring
the action of the South African police in shootingdown unarmed men,
women and children, and he asked for the agenda of the Commonwealth
Conference in London to include discussion on apartheid.
That was just six weeks before the Conference began. During
that intervening time not a day passed without worldwide news
on apartheid or events in South Africa, not the least being the
attempted assassination of the Prime Minister, Dr. Verwoerd.
Correspondents and feature writers on the spot, editors and columnists
everywhere in the free world, wrote volumes condemning South
Africa. Governments and national leaders cabled the strongest
protests. Parliaments met in the Commonwealth to debate apartheid.
Our own Parliament was unique because it gave the Tunku
an open and unanimous mandate to raise the question at the Prime
Ministers' Conference. The Afro-Asian group in the United
Nations brought the matter to the Security Council, which authorised
the Secretary-General to make a personal investigation. In
short, all civilised opinion was opposed to apartheid. Yet in spite
of this international clamour and concern South Africa persisted in
claiming that apartheid was purely a domestic matter.
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