During the 1980s, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher came under growing pressure to effect change in South Africa, a country which promoted apartheid. In 1983, over 1,000 black and white South African launched the United Democratic Front. Thereafter, this group organized a number of strikes, boycotts, and attacks on South African police. In response, the Pieter Botha government resisted the UDF pressure and in 1985 declared a formal state of emergency. South African armed forces thus brutally cracked down on dissent through the use of draconian tactics. S.A. forces razed squatter camps and raided certain townships. The United States government, in response to widespread public opposition to apartheid and the Botha government, imposed economic…

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Citation: Richert, Lucas Paul. "US and EEC place economic sanctions on South Africa". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 October 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=3842, accessed 26 November 2024.]