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x 52 minute Documentary
"Delmas - the passion ... the pain" tells the story of the so-named "Delmas Treason Trial".
The Delmas trial - 1985 to 1990 - is the longest running political trial in South Africa's history and represents the final phase of the internal struggle against apartheid spearheaded by the United Democratic Front [ UDF ].
The UDF was launched internally in South Africa in 1983 as a direct response to the Apartheid government's planned "new constitution" which was in essence the implementation of the final phase in the grand-Apartheid design - to "legally" exclude the black majority from political participation and citizenship rights in South Africa.
The government's strategy was to seduce Coloureds, Indians and a limited number of Urban Blacks into a second-tier parliament structure and Black Local Authority arrangement respectively.
This would give them restricted self-governance and would effectively create a controllable "buffer" of complicit Coloureds, Indians and Urban-blacks between the white-minority and the black majority - thus securing white minority privilege.
In exchange the government would press ahead with its Bantustan policy - stripping the black majority of citizenship rights in 86% of South Africa.
"Delmas - the passion ... the pain" spans political developments from 1983 to 1990 in South Africa and looks at the lives of activists and their families who were caught up in the Delmas Treason Trial. The documentary principally focuses on events in Tumahole Township [ outside Parys ] and in the Vaal that caused the townships of Evaton, Sharpeville & Boipatong to erupt in protest on the 3rd September 1984.
As such, the documentary features:
Veteran Human-rights Advocate, George Bizos SC, Popo Molefe, Terror Lekota, Father Geoff Moslenae,Tom Manthata & Family, and Gcina Malinde & Attorney Caroline Nichols & family.