ABSTRACT

In its final stages, the apartheid government in South Africa sought to promote an image that it was committed to reform and that it represented the only entity in the country capable of containing ‘black-on-black’ violence. At the same time, it created death squads and supported black counter-revolutionary forces to weaken the African National Congress. For the government’s strategy to work, it was essential that the violence it was using and fomenting remain hidden. Conservatives in the United States served as a willing accomplice of the apartheid government throughout its existence and particularly during this time period. This article examines two exposés published in South Africa: the Vrye Weekblad revelations about the death squads in 1989 and the Weekly Mail articles about the apartheid government’s support for Inkatha in 1991. These exposés, often viewed as separate, distinct stories, are connected in two meaningful ways. First, these newspapers, which reached small readerships in South Africa, published stories that would subsequently be featured in major newspapers in the United States. Secondly, by revealing the apartheid government’s use of covert violence, these exposés undermined the image it was cultivating and the policies it was pursuing to remain in power and, in the process, refuted every claim made by conservatives in the US.

摘要

在最后阶段，南非的种族隔离政府试图宣传其致力于改革的形象，并且代表该国唯一能够遏制“黑人对黑人”暴力的实体。同时，成立敢死队，支持黑人反革命势力削弱非国大。为使政府的战略奏效，必须隐藏其使用和煽动的暴力行为。美国的保守派在种族隔离政府存在的整个过程中，特别是在这段时间里，一直自愿充当种族隔离政府的帮凶。本文考察了在南非发表的两篇曝光文章：Vrye Weekblad对 1989 年敢死队的揭露和每周邮报关于 1991 年种族隔离政府对 Inkatha 的支持的文章。这些曝光通常被视为独立的、截然不同的故事，它们以两种有意义的方式联系在一起。首先，这些在南非只有少量读者的报纸发表了随后在美国主要报纸上刊登的故事。其次，通过揭露种族隔离政府使用秘密暴力，这些揭露破坏了它正在培养的形象和它为继续执政而推行的政策，并在此过程中驳斥了美国保守派的每一项主张。