Exile History of the ANC and SWAPO

February 27, 2010 17:00

Published: February 19, 2010 15:04 by Housmans Bookshop |

Published by group: Housmans Bookshop
Tagged as:

Places: king's_cross

Inside Quatro

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Housmans – radical booksellers since 1945
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‘Inside Quatro: Uncovering the Exile History of the ANC and SWAPO’
with Paul Trewhela
Saturday 27th February - 5pm to 6.30pm
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Paul Trewhela discusses his new book which uncovers the brutality inflicted upon dissident members and enemy agents by the ANC and SWAPO whilst in exile during South Africa‘s era of apartheid.
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During its period of outlaw and exile under South Africa’s apartheid regime, the African National Congress operated from Angola and Tanzania. Located north of Luanda in Angola, Quatro was one of the most feared of the secret camps of the ANC, and only a selected few in the ANC leadership seem to have had access.

Established in 1979, Quatro (officially known as Camp 32) was supposed to be the rehabilitation centre of the ANC, where enemy agents who had infiltrated the ANC would be "re-educated" and would be made to love the ANC through the opportunity to experience the humane character of its ideals.

Through a process that still demands explanation, however, Quatro became as horrific as any prison that the apartheid regime - itself a crime against humanity - had ever had. Inmates were brutally assaulted, starved, given humiliating nicknames, denied medical treatment and subjected to forced labour. Camp staff were often young, impressionable, and sworn to secrecy. Were ANC leaders aware of what was happening in their name?

Born in Johannesburg in 1941, Paul Trewhela worked in underground journalism with Ruth First and edited the underground journal of ‘MK, Freedom Fighter’ during the Rivonia Trial, in which ten ANC leaders were prosecuted by the apartheid regime for sedition. He was a political prisoner in Pretoria and the Johannesburg Fort as a member of the Communist Party in 1964–7, separating from the SACP while in prison. In exile in Britain he was co-editor with the late Baruch Hirson of Searchlight South Africa, banned in South Africa. Since 2006 he has published numerous articles on South African political subjects on the websites. Join him at Housmans for a discussion of this publication, with an opportunity for questions and answers.

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Event information

Housmans Bookshop
5 Caledonian Road
King's Cross
London N1 9DX
Tel: 020 7837 4473

Free entry
Nearest tube: King's Cross

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