International Defence And Aid Fund
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The International Defence and Aid Fund or IDAF (also the Defence Aid Fund for Southern Africa) was a fund created by John Collins during the 1956
Treason Trial The Treason Trial was a trial in Johannesburg in which 156 people, including Nelson Mandela, were arrested in a raid and accused of treason in South Africa in 1956. The main trial lasted until 1961, when all of the defendants were found not g ...
in South Africa. After learning of those accused of treason for protesting against
apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English:  , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
, including
Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...
, Collins created the fund in order to pay all legal expenses and look after the families of those on trial. The group was non-partisan. This was one of the first examples of foreign intervention against apartheid in South Africa and proved very successful with over £75,000 being raised towards defending those accused. Ultimately all were acquitted In 1981, the Defence Aid Fund for Southern Africa founded Canon Collins Trust, now known as Canon Collins Educational & Legal Assistance Trust.


History

The IDAF had its start with Collins, who first wired funds to help the 156 South Africans facing charges of High Treason. Collins wired "all available Christian Action funds" in order to create a defence fund for the
defendant In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case. Terminology varies from one juris ...
s. Collins ensured that the defendants had the "best and most progressive lawyers." In 1957, the campaigner Mary Benson joined the Defence Fund as its secretary. Ambrose Reeves, the Bishop of
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
, felt that there would be other treason trials in the future and so he asked Collins to set a "more permanent structure to defend political prisoners." Collins set up the British Defence and Aid Fund (BDAF) in response. At first BDAF was part of Christian Action, but it eventually separated from Christian Action in order to work more independently. In addition to having independent action the fund needed to become international. In 1964, the organization opened branches in
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,
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,
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and
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. Collins invited delegates from the countries that had branches to come to the Russell Hotel in
Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...
and together they officially founded the newly named International Defence and Aid Fund (IDAF) on 20 June 1964. In November of that year, the United Nations gave the group a "stamp of approval". In addition,
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
and the Joint Committee for High Commission Territories became involved. The South African branch of IDAF was banned in South Africa on 18 March 1966 under the
Suppression of Communism Act The Suppression of Communism Act, 1950 (Act No. 44 of 1950), renamed the Internal Security Act in 1976, was legislation of the national government in apartheid South Africa which formally banned the South African Communist Party, Communist Party ...
and the government made it illegal for anyone to receive funds from IDAF. Because of this, the organization in London created three different programmes that had different names in order to send money to South Africa. Under Programme 1, which focused on political trials and defence, was the Freedom From Fear International Charitable Foundation; under Programme 2, which focused on the families of
political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...
s, was the Freedom From Hunger International Charitable Foundation; and Programme 3 focused on research and publications and used the Freedom From Hardship International Trust. Activist
Phyllis Altman Phyllis Altman (25 September 1919 – 18 September 1999) was a trade unionist and anti-apartheid activist in South Africa. Altman was an employee of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU). She was also the general secretary of the Int ...
, who worked with the
South African Congress of Trade Unions The South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) was a national trade union federation in South Africa. History The federation was established in March 1955, after right wing unions dissolved the South African Trades and Labour Council in 1954 t ...
(SACTU), became the general secretary of projects under Programme 1. Altman helped set up a "scam" which masked any connection between IDAF and the lawyers they paid. Altman and Collins were the only two who knew how the money was being transferred. During this time, Collins' house became a "safe venue" for IDAF. Lawyers in South Africa who were funded by the IDAF, such as Griffiths Mxenge and
Victoria Mxenge Victoria Nonyamezelo Mxenge (1 January 1942, Qonce, Eastern Cape – 1 August 1985, Umlazi, Durban, Natal) was a South African anti-apartheid activist; she was trained as a nurse and midwife, and later began practising law. Life Mxenge was born ...
were assassinated. In the 1970s, a spy, named
Craig Williamson Craig Michael Williamson (born 1949), is an British diaspora in Africa#South Africa, Anglo-South African former officer in the South African Police, who was exposed as a spy and assassin for the Security Branch (South Africa), Security Branch ...
, infiltrated an organization called the International University Exchange Fund (IUEF), which gave money to students leaving repressive regimes. Altman did not trust him and would not discuss IDAF's "inner mechanisms" with Williamson. Williamson was able to cause enough trouble so that the
Danish Government The Cabinet of Denmark (), officially the Government of the Kingdom of Denmark (), is the national cabinet of the Kingdom of Denmark. It has been the chief executive body and the government of the Danish Realm—Denmark proper together with the F ...
became suspicious of IDAF and the Labour government minister
Judith Hart Constance Mary Hart, Baroness Hart of South Lanark, (née Ridehalgh; 18 September 19247 December 1991), also known as Dame Judith Hart, was a British Labour Party politician. She served as a Member of Parliament for 28 years, from 1959 to 19 ...
turned down a request for funds from IDAF. Williamson and IUEF were exposed by Arthur McGiven in a story published in ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
''. Collins died in 1982 and
Trevor Huddleston Ernest Urban Trevor Huddleston (15 June 191320 April 1998) was an English Anglican bishop. He was the Bishop of Stepney in London before becoming the second Archbishop of the Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean. He was best known for ...
became the new director. Altman stayed on long enough to help the transition, but retired once she felt the new people in the organization were settled. Horst Kleinschmidt took over from Altman. During the 1980s, IDAF received more and more requests for defence and for the families of the imprisoned. When apartheid was ended in 1989, IDAF "found itself having to undergo a fundamental review of its reason for existing. Eventually, each programme of IDAF was taken over by other agencies.


References


Citations


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* {{Authority control Anti-apartheid organisations Organisations based in the London Borough of Lambeth