In 1984, the legendary British rock group Queen sparked international controversy by earning themselves a place on one of the United Nations naughty lists. At the time, South Africa was being crushed under a load of internationally sanctioned economic, trade, and even cultural boycotts and internal protests to the Apartheid regime. The last and by far most ridiculous of these sanctions was exactly what Queen decided to ignore when they performed a series of shows at the Sun City Resort in what was then the 'bantustan' or "homeland" of Bophuthatswana, South Africa. The band was widely criticised by the press, and subsequently placed on the United Nations' "list of artists who broke the sanctions." Their decision to disregard the cultural boycott was interpreted as an intentional show of support for the white supremacist government in power at the time. Although "Heaven for Everyone" was released four years later, it reveals certain perspectives in its authors that make the above mentioned interpretation of their decision highly unlikely.

"Heaven for Everyone" is one of Queen's better known songs, but the track was first released in 1988 on the album Shove It by Roger Taylor's side project The Cross. Though Taylor sang most of The Cross's songs himself, he brought Freddie Mercury in for lead vocals on "Heaven for Everyone." The song was then reworked and Taylor's backing vocals edited out before being rereleased on Queen's 1995 album Made in Heaven, one year after the first democratic elections of the Republic of South Africa, which signified the end of Apartheid. The last Apartheid laws were abolished in 1990 following negotiations between President F.W de Klerk and Nelson Mandela, which constituted the official end, but most locals counted from the first democratic elections that installed Mandela and the African National Congress as rulers of the country.

A Bantustan - from the word 'Bantu,' meaning "people" in many of the native African languages, and '-stan,' the Persian word for "land" - is a sort of independent homeland granted to a native ethnic group by the Apartheid government. "Apartheid" is a word from the native white Afrikaans language, meaning "separation." From around the 1940s up until 1990, South Africa was subject to various discriminatory laws of segregation and institutionally enforced oppression under the ruling National Party's umbrella policy of Apartheid. This maintained the rule of the quasi-totalitarian government, which provided superior services and quality of life to the white minority at the expense of the native black majority. Though Apartheid deserves its infamy, a bit of perspective can be gained by considering the following fact: The highly oppressed and abused black South Africans got off comparatively lightly as opposed to the fate of the natives of North and South America, and were no worse off than their African American brethren who suffered through slavery. We are quick to demonize the white South African as the very embodiment of bigotry and racism, but this type of ignorant behaviour is by no means localized to a single country or race.

In the 1970s, the black population of South Africa had its citizenship revoked and were relocated to several "cultural homelands" or Bantustans. Bophuthatswana was the Bantustan of the Tswana people of South Africa, and was granted nominal independence in 1971. Due to another poorly considered United Nations sanction, this independence was recognised nowhere outside of South Africa. In the later years of Apartheid the infringements on Bophuthatswana's sovereignty could have provided more than sufficient grounds for direct international intervention, if only that sovereignty had been acknowledged by anyone other than the oppressing government. This failure of the international community to acknowledge Bophuthatswana's independence led to a growing vagueness concerning its borders, leaving it vulnerable to exploitation.

Like smoke following fire, ruthless opportunism will always thrive under conditions of legal and political vagueness. Because Bophuthatswana wasn't subject to the laws of the Apartheid regime - which outlawed gambling and prostitution – hotel magnate Sol Kerzner was allowed to open the Sun City resort and casino in 1979, which initially established itself with the profits that came from being the only legal place in the country where rich white businessmen could exchange their money for sex, more money, or most frequently for the sort of disappointment that casinos veil with hope; all of which we know to be very addictive. The resort became the subject of considerable controversy in 1985, when it was made the focus of the music-industry activist group Artists United Against Apartheid, less than a year after Queen's performance. Despite this, Sun City still managed to play host to acts like Frank Sinatra, Elton John, Liza Minnelli, Roxette, Julio Iglesias, Boney M., Rod Stewart, Cliff Richard and Black Sabbath.

Were these artists intentionally subverting United Nations policy and thereby overtly showing support for the clearly unacceptable status quo of Apartheid South Africa? It seems more likely that the fault lay in the cultural boycott policy. A block on cultural exchange with a country going through serious cultural crises is counterproductive and does more harm than good. While the economic and trade sanctions were justified and achieved results, the decision not to recognise the sovereign independence of the Bantustans and the cultural boycott were mistakes.

South Africa today lays claim to what is widely considered the most equal, inclusive and progressive constitution in the world. It is the only country that has eleven official languages, making most South Africans at least bilingual. Although protest and active resistance were preconditions to the fall of Apartheid, reintegrating the country in the years to follow depended above all on a shift in cultural perspective. Diverse cultural exposure by its very nature encourages a cosmopolitan respect that transcends racial and national boundaries, and Apartheid South Africa could have benefited from lyrics like:

Yeah, this could be heaven for everyone
This world could be fed, this world can be fun
This should be love for everyone
This world should be free, this world can be one
We should bring love to our daughters and sons
Love, love, love...
This could be heaven for everyone

Stefan Smit
July 1, 2014

Comments: 2

• Camdenham from LondonIncredible.....an article that actually appears to support the idea of international recognition for Bophuthatswanan independance, and the concept of removing SA citizenship of millions of its own citizens by categorizing them as citizens of a foreign state.....good news tho, nobody was fooled, least of all the citizens of the "Republic" of Bophuthatswana, who went into open revolt to demand their inclusion into the real South African state at the first opportunity.
• Redhawkgp from JohannesburgWhoever wrote this article does not have a f--king clue. The comment "In the 1970s, the black population of South Africa had its citizenship revoked and were relocated to several "cultural homelands" or Bantustans." is pure bulls--t. Soweto, the biggest black community in South Africa, was never part of any homeland or "bantustan". The same goes for Katlehong, Natalspruit, Tembisa, Mitchell's Plain, Khayelitsha, Mamelodi and many other areas.Apartheid will be a hot topic for decades to come, but it was a party compared to the genocide perpertrated against the native Americans and the native Australians.We may have a democracy now, but ask all the beggars on street corners (substantially more than 25 years ago) whether democracy has improved their quality of life. The answer will be somewhat shocking. Two government institutions, under black control for 21 years, are about to crash and burn, which will very likely result in this country becoming just another African basket case.

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