6.
They expressed interest in seeing some documentation about my work, and i promised to provide
it at some future time.
As it happens, President Botha, a couple of weeks later the controversy began over Canada's
"Centre for Investigative Journalism" inviting Hennie DuToit, third secretary for the South
African embassy in Ottawa, to participate in its annual convention, to debate "Media
Censorship in South Africa".
It came to my attention through the February 22, 1986 Vancouver Sun article, "Anti-apartheid
group threatens to picket event", which reported plans for protests against DuToit's
appearance by..."The Southern African Action Coalition" (and "The B.C. Federation of Labour"--which i also had in past dealt with and given documentation about my work to). I realized
that if i didn't make that promised submission to them immediately, in future it would reflect
upon the integrity and sincerity of the Carter Administration and United Nations "concerns"
as expressed by means of my work to date.
So i gave them copies of some of the recent statements mentioned here, provided copies also
for "The Centre for Investigative Journalism" via its Vancouver Sun representative, made
another written statement to "B.C. Federation of Labour" (its spokesperson mentioned in the
February 22, 1986 article had sent me a letter dated June 19, 1985)--and suggested then that
they ask the South Africa government representative if they could be published by the South
Africa press.
It turned out that at the last minute--for reasons at that time which weren't explicable--
Hennie DuToit was replaced by Glenn Babb.
Still, obviously, the people i contacted didn't follow my advice, though i did get a letter
from "Southern Africa Action Coalition"--a copy's here.
On March 21, 1986, as i continued to prepare my work relating to the popular entertainers and
programs beyond their efforts by the governments--now emphasizing that aspect of it re South
Africa more because of what had been disclosed and might still, i decided, be widely
publicized...and you can see already there was only a period of weeks transpiring in this
"situation"--i read a newspaper article indicating that Desmond Tutu said he would "call for
economic sanctions against South Africa at the end of March unless the government makes real
moves to dismantle apartheid."
By that time i had confessed my sympathies for the oppressed in South Africa to Prime Minister
Mulroney and had explained to him that i was also beginning to believe that sanctions might be
the only answer left to avoid a South Africa civil war and the deaths of many, many innocent
people of all racial groups...due to intransigence or inadequate measures by your regime to
end apartheid.
However, in the main in the statements i sent out to the international authorities i've noted
here who would be interested in this "concern," i'd pretty well straddled the fence about
sanctions so that i could submit the statement to your regime as i promised i would in 1978
and as is indicated by the June 20, 1985 statement to Glenn Babb.
Therefore, when i read of Desmond's considerations, i decided i would telephone him--obviously
there wasn't time for a registered letter--to ask him to consider waiting before making his
decision until after i could send him copies of these aforementioned documents that were not
explicitly supportive of economic sanctions against South Africa solely for the reason i give
here (and told Babb in June, 1986): because of the 1978 promise.
Of course you know i did speak with Desmond finally, after a lot of delaying tactics by the
South Africa telephone system and preliminary talks with his Johannesburg Diocese staff, twice
on April 2, 1986, before and after his press conference calling for the sanctions.
He agreed to accept and consider the document copies i wanted to send him, knowing full well
they were not explicitly supportive of sanctions against South Africa.
Accordingly, i understood that in the event that you did charge Desmond Tutu under the South
Africa law that forbids South Africans to call for sanctions, he could honestly (as the
Christian clergyman he is) state that he was still willing to listen to "alternatives" to
sanctions...knowing that i would affirm this in his defence and it would be "well-documented"
by the contents of what he agreed to accept from me.
-REGARDING THE ANNOTATION ABOUT WHAT THE CARING PUBLIC HAS A RIGHT TO KNOW IN ORDER TO MAKE
DECISIONS...
SAY, THIS SOUNDS FAMILIAR? IS THERE A `RECURRING THEME' IN HOW POLICYMAKING WAS CONDUCTED RE
THIS "INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC WORK...ON A DIRECT BASIS" FOR THE WORLD'S CHILDREN?
OBVIOUSLY BILL VANDER ZALM, ALAN PATON, AND STANLEY SHEINBAUM, IN HAVING URGED ME TO WRITE A
BOOK ABOUT THE WORK, WERE RIGHT.
BUT IF YOU TAKE A FEW BRIEF SIDESTEPS HERE, I THINK YOU'LL GET A VERY CLEAR PICTURE OF WHY I
OPENED THE WEBSITE IN ADVANCE OF THE PROMISED "SUMMARY STATEMENTS" TO THE WORLD'S THREE
GREATEST MONOTHEISTIC RELIGIONS...AND IN ADVANCE OF THE BOOKS ABOUT MY WORK. (I DON'T THINK
ONE WILL SUFFICE.)
...INCIDENTALLY, I'M PONDERING WHETHER TO SPEED UP MY TIMETABLE IN ORDER TO MAKE A SUBMISSION
TO THE HOLY FATHER IN ADVANCE OF THE JANUARY, 1998 PAPAL VISIT TO CUBA, YET ANOTHER SMALL
ISLAND, THIS ONE...IN THE CARIBBEAN.
BUT IF I DO THAT, OF COURSE I'LL HAVE TO MAKE PARALLEL SUBMISSIONS TO THE OTHER TWO...
TAKE YOUR NEXT FOOTSTEP HERE.