Did violence strengthen the movement?

1.      Explain the reasons behind the creating of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK). Do you think adopting violence as a method strengthened or weakened the anti-apartheid movement?

Umkhoto we Sizwe (MK) was formed after fifty years of non-violent resistance by the ANC. In those fifty years, non-violent resistance brought a sense of unity to the masses, but it had not managed to instigate changes in the government. After fifty years people were tired of having their peaceful resistance met with harsh and unnecessary violence. When MK is formed it is to take the resistance to the next level. Non-violent resistance has united the African people, but the movement was starting to fall apart as people became more frustrated with the lack of results. Fifty years later and they are still fighting the same fight. The stay-at-homes and protests were becoming less attended and therefore less powerful. The unity the ANC had worked so hard to create was starting to fall apart and the people were becoming divided. Everyone had a different opinion as to how freedom should be achieved and violence versus non-violence was just one of many disputes that divided the movement.

Regardless of the formation of MK there would have been violence. Mounting frustration would have resulted in violence on a personal level. Crime rates would have further increased as the people became more oppressed and desperate. In this way the formation of MK may have saved lives, because it prevented frustrated individuals from taking matters into their own hands. MK gave the violence direction. Their aim was not to kill the most people but to shake the power that the government had. Whether or not the formation MK strengthened or weakened the anti-apartheid movement is hard to say, but it did show the government that the African people were very serious about their freedom, and they were not going to wait another fifty years for it. In my opinion violence is never a solution and one of the ANC’s greatest achievements was facilitating the resistance in large masses of people without weapons for so long, and it was a key principle of the organization; but in the end alone it was not enough. While I never condone violence, it seems that South Africa might still be non-violently resisting if MK had not been formed. In the end the threat of violence and a civil war caused the government to start peace talks through Nelson Mandela, and those peace talks lead to the freedom that the South Africans now have.