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The Herald, 18 November 1980
SOUTH AFRICANS must accept that sanctions are going to be applied against their country, the South African Foreign Minister, Mr Pik Botha said yesterday.

“It is time we must accept that sanctions are going to come and our people must be made aware of this,” he told a Press conference at Jan Smuts airport on his return from Europe where he held discussions on Namibia.

In answer to a question, he said there had been no direct threat of sanctions “but the sword of sanctions has been hanging over our heads all the time”, Ziana reports.

By creating an impression South Africa was afraid of sanctions, the country became vulnerable to pressure on that front.

Asked what form sanctions would take, Mr Botha said the question should be asked of South Africa’s enemies.

However, sanctions could be applied in the fields of energy, oil and transport.

“But remember, South Africa is not without retaliatory measures”, he warned without elaborating. “There are also other countries which will suffer as much as, or more damage than South Africa from sanctions against us.”

LESSONS FOR TODAY

• Today, a democratic South Africa is home to thousands of Zimbabwean migrants and their families.
• The imposition of economic sanctions against apartheid South Africa in the mid-1980s is very different from the illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by a few powerful Western nations two decades ago.
• Although targeted at the evil apartheid system, the black population was the most vulnerable, as it suffered economic and political difficulties under the sanctions regime, the same way helpless people like children, the elderly and the disabled are suffering in Zimbabwe.
• The “sword of sanctions” pierces without mercy, but when you know well in advance that such an action will be taken by the international community, there is room to prepare and make adjustments.
• Whatever the reason for the punitive sanctions, it is also a truism that neighbouring countries will bear the brunt. The thousands of migrants in the Diaspora are testament to this, meaning that neighbouring countries have also borne the brunt of the illegal sanctions.
• The freedom and democracy now being enjoyed in the Southern Africa region has opened many avenues for regional cooperation and integration.