The apartheid regime had to end eventually. Steve Biko was assasinated by South African secret services (or maybe the CIA or a more secret conspiratorial organisation on the side of big business to avoid the problem of whistleblowers) because he was a brilliant revolutionary socialist. Watch Cry Freedom, in which the great black actor Denzel Washington played Biko's role, to find out how important Steve was.

Nelson Mandela was put in prison because he was a terrorist. His long imprisonment turned him into a hero for many.

If you simply heard the mass media reports of South African revolutonary movements, you would mostly have heard about the black masses getting organised in Soweto. That was of course inspiring. But it was obviously vital for black, coloured and white workers to take part in united action in big workers' struggles against the white big business oppressors.

Eventually, the white bosses realised that the only way to avoid a socialist revolution in South Africa was to release Mandela and abolish apartheid. It was agreed that you needed over two-thirds of the vote to change the consitution, enabling the ANC leadership to campaign very badly, by being racist against "coloured" people. The ANC in power has meant a few black people being very rich, and still huge shanty towns (as genuine investigative reporters like John Pilger will tell you).

I am soon going to launch a band called Galaxia, and we will tour South Africa to set up genuine anti-racist democratic socialist alliances, and a Campaign for Democracy in South Africa, which will have as its main demand, "over 50% of the vote allows you to change the constitution".