Now is the Time for the World to Know - PART VIII

20 May 1983: Mandela's Church St. bomb: Terrorism; or Guerrilla Warfare? [Civilian or Military Target?]

Guerrilla warfare, as fought by the Boers one century ago, is recognized internationally as the honourable defence by disciplined fighters against a superior, armed enemy. The Boers attacked classical military targets, even though outnumbered most of the time by overwhelming numbers. The so-called 'freedom fighters' of Southern Africa, however, be they Frelimo, Zanu, Swapo or the ANC/Communist Mkonto e Sizwe (MK), very seldom attacked anything resembling a military target, - on the contrary, they specialized in the callous bombing of Wimpy Bars, the cowardly laying of landmines on farm roads, the barbarian 'necklacing' of defenceless township dwellers, and even the brutal torture of their own dissident comrades. What makes these atrocities more despicable is that some of the organizations actually signed the Geneva Protocols, which explicitly forbid this kind of terror and cruel intimidation. Serious students who wish to get an unbiased and balanced picture of the kind of terrorist 'war' fought by terrorist organisations like the ANC/SACP, the PAC and others should read the book The Other Side of the Story by Herman Stadtler, Sigma Press, ISBN 0-620-21100-8.

The Church Street bombing was a car bomb attack on 20 May 1983 by Umkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the African National Congress, in the South African capital Pretoria. The bombing killed 19 and wounded more than 200, and was one of the largest attacks engaged in by the ANC during its armed struggle against apartheid. The attack consisted of a car bomb set off outside the Nedbank Square building on Church Street at 4:30pm on a Friday. The target was South African Air Force (SAAF) headquarters, but as the bomb was set to go off at the height of rush hour, those killed and wounded included civilians. The bomb went off ten minutes earlier than planned, killing two ANC operatives in the vehicle, Freddie Shangwe and Ezekial Maseko. At least 20 ambulances took the dead and wounded to hospital.

1983: Car bomb in South Africa kills 16