Geneva, Switzerland, 30 June - 3 July 1980
On behalf of the oppressed people of South Africa, on behalf of the African National Congress and its peoples army Umkhonto we Sizwe, I bring revolutionary and warm fraternal greetings to the organisers and participants of this most important conference.
Over the years there has been many conferences to discuss the burning issues of Southern Africa, however this conference has an added urgency because it is taking place at a very decisive stage in the unfolding of the revolutionary situation in Southern Africa.
At the NGO conference against apartheid held in 1978 we hailed the victories of PAIGC, Frelimo and MPLA. Today we meet in the wake of the stunning victory scored by the Zimbabwe people led by Zanu and Zapu. These advances in Southern Africa are an integral part of the deepening revolutionary processes taking place throughout the world.
1980 - a new decade
1980 marks both the beginning of a new decade and the end of the 'seventies which have proved truly momentous in the history of mankind.
Today no continent remains immune to the confident march of mankind towards a world free of racism, colonialism, exploitation and war.
The victories in Vietnam, Nicaragua, Grenada, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau and Zimbabwe are successes which belong to all the progressive and democratic forces of the world. They contribute to our collective advance in one inter-dependent world-wide battle fought on many fronts.
Based on this understanding of the essential unity of our struggles the ANC has forged a fighting alliance with genuine liberation movements in Southern Africa and with anti imperialist and democratic forces throughout the world. We see this conference as a further consolidation and strengthening of this alliance and are confident that from this conference will emerge concrete proposals for the increased solidarity with the genuine liberation movements in, South Africa and Namibia and the total isolation of the South African regime.
This is essential because the racist regime and its allies have launched a concerted counter offensive to protect the last strongholds of race domination and exploitation and to reverse the gains already achieved on the African continent.
Holocaust · "too ghastly to contemplate"
In this respect it is with grave concern that we view the continuing political, economic and military muscle being used by the South African regime to subvert and if possible overthrow the governments of newly independent African states. It is alarming that South Africa's continuing military excursions into neighbouring territories, its massacre of hundreds of innocent people, its systematic destruction of the socio-economic structures has not met with the necessary responses from the international community and seems to have become one of those events which people have become resigned to and pass them over in silence. Only recently South Africa again invaded Angola. South Africa's military mobilisation was its biggest since the second world war. It is estimated that over 300 people were killed, many kidnapped and extensive economic damage caused. South African troops still occupy towns and cities in Southern Angola.
For the front line states such military barbarism has become a common feature of their lives; the basic purpose being to force them into submission and compel them to adopt more acceptable forms of government and systems and to isolate the genuine liberation movements of South Africa and Namibia.
Increasingly South Africa is becoming a threat to international peace and security and appropriate action must be taken immediately to curtail its aggressive expansionist policies.
Another feature of the present situation is the campaign to rehabilitate and legitimise the racist regime in world politics. Soon after the victory in Zimbabwe that "great apostle of peace and justice" Margaret Thatcher, in a major policy speech said that it was now time to get South Africa out of the cold and that concrete steps should be taken to ensure this.
Last month Dr. Chuba, President for the Centre for International Security in Washington and tipped to be Reagan's key security adviser, speaking in South Africa, said that the US should freely supply arms and military technology to South Africa and that South Africa should be supported even if it meant jeopardising US relations with third world countries. It is being argued that Botha is a reasonable man and that he needs time to deal with his "right wing" and that we must work for moderate and peaceful change. We are told that to help this process it is necessary to have political, economic and other co-operation with South Africa. This "constructive engagement" is supposed to facilitate the so-called liberalising process.
We fail to appreciate such cynicism and hypocrisy at a time when only 4 years after the brutal massacres of 1976 our people are once again being butchered in the ghettos of South Africa.
All this poses a grave challenge to the ANC, to SWAPO, to the Front Line States and all peoples and governments committed to genuine national and social emancipation in Southern Africa. If we fail to respond to this challenge and if we fail to clearly identify who. our friends and who our enemies are, we will stand condemned by future generations because the holocaust that the racist regime will unleash is "too ghastly to contemplate".
Southern Africa
It is with these broad perspectives that we must review recent developments and determine out tasks.
The Zimbabwean victory dealt another blow to the racist and reactionary powers in Southern Africa and has opened up new possibilities for further advances in the struggle against the last remaining bastion of racism and fascism.
The Namibian people under the leadership of SWAPO are resisting the occupying South African forces at all levels. Manoeuvres are continuing to subvert the revolutionary processes and South Africa remains as intransigent as ever. However SWAPO has made it clear that it is not interested in token changes, which leave the South African power structures intact and that under the auspices of the UN, conditions must be created for the transfer of genuine power to the people. We pledge full and unequivocal support for SWAPO
In South Africa itself we can confidently proclaim that today the decisive feature of the political life is that strategically the initiative has shifted into the hands of the oppressed people of South Africa. Despite the fact that our organisation is illegal and that we have to work under conditions of fascist repression and terror and that in the course of our struggle we have suffered setbacks, the ANC has consistently carried out its historically determined tasks of strengthening and consolidating our legal, semi-legal and "illegal" presence in the country. Our objective is the mobilisation and organisation of the masses, the general raising of the political consciousness and the intensification of political activities through strikes, protests, demonstrations and all other forms of mass activity.
Armed with this correct strategy and tactics our people's resistance continues to grow, involving ever growing numbers of people throughout the country. The fascist terror has failed to curb the youth, the super-exploited black workers, the rural and urban masses the revolutionary intellectuals and other democratic forces.
Our Reality
Let us look at this more closely.
The regime is facing a sustained attack on its most vulnerable point, viz. its economy. In the last two years there has been repeated waves of industrial action and strikes, by the black working class, the leading force of the South African revolution. This has affected every area of the country: Strikes at Fords Volkswagen, Goodyear, Fattis and Monis, Coca-Cola, Red Meat, Sea Harvest, and the Goldmines are just some of the many examples. Police harassment, victimisation, arrests, torture, loss of work, banishment and even shootings and killings have failed to curb the workers' militancy.
The strikes are showing a high degree of organisation and unity in action of all black workers. A worker summed up the situation when he said:
"Our strike was only successful because we were united. We were only united once we were organised and you can only be organised if you belong to a union. The strike has taught us that if you stand alone you are helpless".
In several cases the striking workers have been supported by a successful nation. wide boycott of products of the firms concerned.
In many cases the workers demands go far beyond "pure" trade union demands. After the strikes in 1973 the Minister of Labour stated:
"The strikes in Natal are following the pattern which indicates that they are not purely connected with higher wages.... they are planned actions and the strikers are being used to achieve more than just an increase in wages... the conduct of the workers shows that the agitation for trade union rights offers no solution and is only a smokescreen behind which are other motives..."
We congratulate him on having made such a profound discovery and are certain that events since then have been of greater concern to him and to the multinationals. The black workers are defiantly demonstrating that they will not tolerate their super-exploitation and they are finding the organisational means to resist.
Foreign Investments
The strikes have effectively answered all those apologists who have been campaigning for a realistic attitude and call for "constructive engagement" with the regime. The so-called Codes of Conduct the Sullivan Codes etc. must be reduced to the dustbins of history. They are nothing but attempts to counteract our demands fur the complete severing of all economic links with the racist regime, and in particular the demand for comprehensive mandatory economic sanctions. It is no coincidence that such subterfuges are being introduced at a time when our people's mass resistance is reaching new heights and we are threatening the very nerve centre of the exploitative system in South Africa.
We cannot accept the argument that by investing directly in our oppression, overseas investors will somehow be able to release us from the tyranny of apartheid. Economic and other collaboration does not "liberalise" but strengthen the apartheid economy and its military power. Therefore the main guilt for the crimes committed against our people must be placed squarely on the western powers and the multinational corporations which have placed profit above human life, and which value their selfish interests above human aspirations.
Investments pour into South Africa because of apartheid and not in spite of it. The various apartheid laws ensure that the average rate of return on capital is the highest in the world. It is estimated to be 50 per cent higher than the world average.
The multinationals' record also belies the pious and hypocritical "change through involvement" arguments. For instance of the 600 British companies in South Africa only 8 recognise trade unions. A recent British Parliamentary report revealed that major British companies are paying their workers starvation wages. The conservative Government is refusing to release the companies' names. The records of the USA, France, West Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and other multinationals are no better.
In many instances the multi-national have not hesitated to deal ruthlessly with striking workers. The recent wave of strikes in the motor industry in Port Elizabeth and East London once again exposed this. African and Coloured workers at Ford, General Motors, Volkswagen and Goodyear downed tools in support of their demand for higher wages. Over 15,000 workers were involved and the action lasted several days. The police were called and several clashes took place. The police opened fire killing workers and injuring hundreds. Thousands of workers have been dismissed and many arrested. These are the "liberalising" effects of multinationals.
Our Youth and Students
Our youth and students throughout the country continue to resist the system and new organisational forms are being developed to meet the demands of the situation. In the last year we have witnessed the emergence of various youth and student organisations, such as Azapo, Azaso and Cosas. The mass bannings of 19 legal organisations in 1977 has clearly not had the desired effects intended by the regime.
The current boycott actions by our youth and students are a bold reflection of the uncompromising and militant mood of our people. Hundreds of thousands of school and university students representing all sections of our community —Africans, Coloureds, Indians and even some whites — are demonstrating their rejection of the whole apartheid system. From the Cape Province, from the Transvaal, the Orange Free State, from the so-called homelands of KwaZulu, Transkei and Qwa-Qwa the message defiantly proclaimed is Apartheid No! Freedom Yes!
Hundreds of schools throughout the country have been affected and many institutions closed down. Thousands have been expelled or arrested.
The police using dogs and batons have viciously attacked students and hundreds have been injured. The trigger-happy police unleashed by the "Shoot to kill" Order indulged in an orgy of violence and callously opened fire on unarmed demonstrators. The affected areas were declared "operational" areas and consequently no press or other so-called unauthorised persons were able to investigate and report on this new act of genocide. It is conservatively estimated that well over 60 people have been killed and hundreds injured. Once again we have witnessed the indiscriminate use of shotguns, automatic rifles, tear gas, sneeze machines and dogs. The youngest victim of the current barbarism of the Apartheid regime is a 17 month old baby who was hit in the head as the bullet ploughed through the walls of her home. She is Belisda Moore.
Even this is considered to be too restrained and Botha recently warned that it was now time that the state and police finally put their foot down and that if they are forced to do so people will be hurt very much more. He went on to say that the state will have to use all its might and would ruthlessly crush further racial violence. We don't want to be alarmists but the international community must be alerted to the serious implications of this statement and it must intensify its activities so that the carnage that Botha is contemplating does not take place. The streets of our ghettos are already stained by the blood of our finest sons and daughters, how many more must be sacrificed in the pursuit of greed and profit.
We wonder why as the apartheid murderers pursue their criminal acts, their allies who piously proclaim themselves as defenders of democracy, peace and non-violence and who are themselves responsible for the economic and military might of South Africa, are so conspicuously silent.
Mandela's Message
However no amount of killings and repression can stop our people's march to freedom. In fact this desperation on the part of the regime is the fascist reply to what they realise to be a "total onslaught" against the apartheid system. They have been forced to recognise the extent of the people's resistance spearheaded by the ANC. One example of the growing stature and strength of our movement is the nation-wide FREE MANDELA CAMPAIGN which has been launched in the country. For our people Mandela's name is synonymous with their aspirations for a non-racial, democratic society based on the Freedom Charter.
The campaign has involved the broadest spectrum of organisations and individuals. Political, religious, cultural, sporting, youth and students and community organisations have become actively involved.
Free Mandela committees have been established in many areas of the country and mass meetings involving thousands of people are taking place in various parts of the country. The police have adopted many tactics to smash the campaign. Activists involved in the campaign have been arrested and intimidation is widespread. However the campaign continues to grow in scope and momentum.
Mandela has already served 18 years imprisonment but his spirit of "no surrender" even from within the prison walls serves as a beacon of inspiration to our people. In a message recently smuggled out of prison, Mandela said:
"The first condition for victory is Black unity. Every effort to divide the Blacks, to woo and put one Black group against another, must be vigorously repulsed. Our people — African, Coloured, Indian and democratic whites — must be united into a single massive and solid wall of resistance..."
He went on to say "we face the future with confidence, for the guns that serve apartheid cannot render it unconquerable. Those who live by the gun shall perish by the gun".
The spirit of this message that comes from within the dungeons of Botha's prisons must inspire us to raise our activities to newer and higher levels.
Umkhonto we Sizwe strikes
Another important aspect of the resistance in South Africa is the fact that the organisational and combat capacity of the ANC and our people's army Umkhonto we Sizwe, is steadily being consolidated and strengthened. Today we ale not only able to withstand the enemies onslaught but we are able to hit back politically and militarily. In January 1977. Kruger, the then Minister of Police waving a Kalashnikov, elatedly told Parliament that "urban terrorism is totally finished". Within 5 months he was forced to admit that "today our enemies are no longer far away but on our doorstep". He concluded: "It would be the utmost of self delusion to maintain all is well and that there is no reason to warn our people that difficult times lie ahead..."
We do not often agree with the enemy but on this occasion we are compelled to do so. In various parts of our country underground units of our organisation are carrying out an increasing number of activities, both armed and non-armed. The majority of these have not been reported.
However the extent of this is reflected by the enemy's admission that they have not been able to destroy the ANC and that they are working "around the clock" to uncover underground units that are carrying out attacks against enemy installations and personnel.
Recently in Soweto two police stations were attacked and casualties inflicted on the enemy forces. The enemy has also been forced to disclose that there have been several clashes between the racist forces and ANC guerrillas inside South Africa's borders and that an increasing number of trained and equipped ANC cadres were returning to South Africa. The rocket attack on the Booysens police station in a white suburb of Johannesburg was largely acclaimed as opening a new chapter of ANC's armed onslaught on enemy installations. This was further developed by the daring attack carried out by ANC guerrillas on two of South Africa's major oil from coal plants (SASOL I and II). This operation once again demonstrated the growing skill and sophistication of our cadres and dramatically shattered any illusions of invincibility that our oppressors still harboured. On the other hand it injected a new sense of confidence and inspiration to the oppressed people. In future no military-industrial complex is immune
from such attacks. Let this serve as a warning to all those who are reaping huge profits from the super-exploitation of the Blacks and who are helping to bolster the apartheid system....
Our underground activities
Despite the fact that our cadres involved in propaganda and other political work are receiving harsh sentences of 10-12 years and that possession of our material is illegal, our underground political and propaganda units continue to develop and grow, and our pamphlets, leaflets, badges, posters and other literature are increasingly being distributed.
The extent of our activities is further reflected by the increasing number of political trials involving members of our organisation. In 1977 there were 95 major political trials. These involved 1,232 people of whom 73 patriots were sentenced to a total of 878 years. In 1978 there were over 70 major trials. This trend has continued in 1979 and 1980. While it saddens us to learn of these trials we are encouraged by the fact that they reflect the extent of the all-round and nation-wide activities of our movement. Through. out the history of our struggle it has largely been our cadres who filled the court rooms and jails of the regime. Our leadership role has been achieved not by proclamation but by actions. Our detainees, trialists and prisoners are concrete expression of this.
Solomon Mahlangu and James Mange
As freedom fighter Solomon Mahlangu walked to the gallows he defiantly said: `'Do not worry about me. But worry about those who are suffering. My blood will nourish the tree that will bear the fruits of freedom. Tell my people that I love them and they must continue the struggle. A lute continua!"
This militant and fighting spirit even in the face of death is a magnificent testimony to the calibre of our people.
Today another young freedom fighter James Mange is awaiting execution. It is clear that the regime and its judicial apparatus are committed to executing many of our patriots. We must not let this happen. We call on the international community to exert maximum pressure to save the life of Mange. We must also intensify the campaign to ensure that our comrades, members of our people's army are accorded prisoner of war status under the relevant Geneva conventions.
From the brief report that I have been able to give it is clear that our cadres are operating throughout the country and we can't help agreeing with the then Minister of Police who in exasperation said "the ANC is everywhere". In addition the Minister of Police, le Grange recently told Parliament that the government believes that Soweto's leading black consciousness organisations are either totally or partly controlled by the ANC. We are not in a position to verify or deny this but we can quite categorically state that today nobody can challenge the fact that the stature and influence of the ANC inside South Africa is higher than at any time since the 50's. In all deliberations and assessments of the political situation in South Africa some reference is always made to the ANC.
The Freedom Charter
It is significant that in 1980 the 25th anniversary of the Freedom Charter, increasing numbers of organisations and people inside South Africa are accepting the Freedom Charter as their programme. Thousands of copies of the Charter are being distributed internally and the future South Africa is being discussed within the context of the Charter.
Comrades, today we are seeing the fruition of our efforts to build a unity in action of all patriotic forces and to encourage all forms of resistance. Today more than at any other time Africans, Coloureds, Indians and democratic whites are finding common ground in action.
We.continuously encourage our people to organise themselves into all manner of formations to continue the struggle and raise the level of confrontation. The strategic outlook we project and encourage is one which focuses on mass struggle against the regime. There can be no question of agreements with anybody outside this framework. Our activists whether functioning in the legal or illegal level have the task of drawing the masses of people into conscious, organised and united action. It is our task to win into one common front of united action all organisations that are fighting for genuine national and social emancipation.
However in pursuit of this goal we are vigilant against the danger of so-called leaders and organisations whose primary task is to subvert our revolution or to bring about changes that do not accord with the aspirations of the masses.
Shifting Sands of Illusion
In 1953 Mandela warned of this when he said:
"Talk of democratic and constitutional means (of struggle) can only have a basis in reality for those people who enjoy democratic and constitutional rights. We must accept the fact that in our country we cannot win one single victory of political freedom without overcoming a desperate resistance on the part of the government, and that victory will not come of itself but only as a result of a bitter struggle by the oppressed people for the overthrow of racial discrimination... No organisation whose interests are identical with those of the toiling masses will advocate conciliation to win its demands... The only sure road to (the) goal (of freedom) leads through the uncompromising and determined mass struggle for the overthrow of fascism and the establishment of democratic forms of government".
"The time has come that those who wish to be counted among the forces of national liberation in our country should extricate themselves from the shifting sands of illusion that we will win our demands by dialogue and conciliation with the fascist regime".
Thus it is clear that it is only through the application of all forms of mass militant struggle - legal; semi-legal and "illegal", armed and non-armed that we can achieve our liberation. All talk of "constructive engagement", "moderation" "non-violence" and "negotiations" has the single purpose of disarming our people and diverting us from our real objectives.
At periods such as the one through which our struggle is going, when the enemy begins to sense his impending demise, it has often been the strategy of reactionary forces to find spokesmen from among the oppressed people to intercede between the oppressed and the oppressor in favour of the latter. We are now seeing the implementation of this strategy in South Africa, also.
The African National Congress was born as an instrument in the hands of our people to unite them and all the democratic forces of our country into one force of struggle for a democratic South Africa. To this day this remains a principal objective that we pursue.
Those who place themselves in the path of the struggling masses shall inevitably be swept away together with their racist master whom they serve. We have Gatsha Buthelezi in mind. In our region that is a lesson which has been confirmed in the recent past by the victories of Frelimo, the MPLA and the Patriotic Front Alliance, in Mozambique, Angola and Zimbabwe respectively. South Africa will be no exception! Indeed the very same lesson is being confirmed in Namibia today.
Lutuli's appeal
We have outlined our role in the struggle not to extol our contribution at the expense of others, but to clarify more sharply the forces of liberation and social change in our country. This is crucial not only for our own political perspectives but also for the perspectives of any meaningful solidarity activities. We have already shown that imperialism having launched a world-wide offensive to regain its "spheres of influence" on the continent of Africa, the racist South African regime is a very important element in this strategy.
We can expect a concerted effort to bring South Africa out of the cold and to prevent any effective sanctions to be imposed on the regime.
This conference will, we hope, reflect the extreme urgency of the situation. There is no time to lose. The situation calls for the tight relentless operation of effective mandatory economic sanctions. This must be related to an increase in all round support for the genuine liberation movements in Namibia and South Africa. We are well armed with declarations of principles and resolutions, in short there is no shortage of guidelines. Our hope is that this conference will formulate, not fresh resolutions but proposals for concrete actions.
There are those who argue that effective sanctions will only cause greater hardship to the Blacks. We are touched by this sudden concern for our sufferings. However once again let us unequivocally restate our position on this. In 1964 when launching the appeal for the international boycott of South Africa, Chief Lutuli decreed:
"We are committed to the suffering that will lead us to freedom — as it has been the lot of all oppressed people before us from time immemorial. What we are determined not to do, cost what it may, is to acquiesce in a status quo that makes us semi-slaves in our own country". He went on to call on peoples and governments not to be "deterred by the excuse often advanced by our oppressors - that sanctions and boycotts will bring to us, Blacks, more suffering... We have been victims of suffering before out boycott and sanctions call to the world".
We have no illusions that our struggle is going to be hard and bitter but we believe that if we are able to intensify our activities and bring about the effective isolation of South Africa as well as increase the all round political, diplomatic, and material assistance to those fighting the regime, this day will be sooner than later.
Our struggle is your struggle. We are united in one great family fighting against racism, colonialism and imperialism wherever its ugly head rears itself.
Our people are showing in action that they are willing to sacrifice and if need be die for their liberation. We urge you to take up this challenge of the 80s which has brought the centre of gravity of Africa's liberation struggle to our land.
In Mandela's smuggled out message he concluded:
"Between the anvil of united mass action and the hammer of armed struggle we shall crush apartheid and white minority racist rule"
Let us Through our united action work to ensure that this becomes a reality.
Amandla!
Power to the People!