United Democratic Front (South Africa) - Formation

Formation

The plans for a new political organisation were introduced by Rev. Allan Boesak at a conference of the Transvaal Anti-SAIC Committee (TASC) on 23 January 1983. The part of his speech calling for a "united front" of "churches, civic associations, trade unions, student organizations, and sports bodies" was unplanned, but well received. Trade unions were very important in the UDF. They began to emerge in the 1980s and took on the roll of the "muscle" of the UDF. UDF pursued a strategy known as "ungovernability": leadership of these organizations declared a strategy to make lands ungovernable. The TASC appointed a sub-committee to investigate the possibility of such a front. After much debate, it was decided that the new organization would be a coalition of non-racist anti-apartheid organisations.

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