NO ACCOMMODATION WITH APARTHEID Speeches of Major-General J.N. Garba, Chairman of the Special Committee against Apartheid, 1984-90

CONTENTS

• CONSTITUTIONAL FRAUD IN SOUTH AFRICA, 3 AUGUST 1984
• ARAB SOLIDARITY WITH STRUGGLE FOR LIBERATION IN SOUTHERN AFRICA, 7 AUGUST 1984
• APARTHEID AND INTERNATIONAL LAW, 13 AUGUST 1984
• MESSAGE TO THE BLACK PEOPLE OF SOUTH AFRICA, 28 AUGUST 1984
• APARTHEID - AN INTERNATIONAL CONCERN, 29 AUGUST 1984
• MESSAGE TO THE SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SOUTHERN AFRICA, ARUSHA, TANZANIA, 4 AND 5 SEPTEMBER 1984
• CONDEMN VIOLENCE AND REPRESSION IN SOUTH AFRICA, 11 SEPTEMBER 1984
• REPORT TO THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON MISSIONS AND CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS, 8 SEPTEMBER 1984
• REPORT TO THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON RECENT DEVELOPMENTS, 27 SEPTEMBER 1984
• AN APPEAL TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, 2 OCTOBER 1984
• APPRECIATION TO FRANCE, 9 OCTOBER 1984
• MESSAGE OF CONGRATULATIONS TO BISHOP TUTU, 16 OCTOBER 1984
• SOLIDARITY WITH SOUTH AFRICAN POLITICAL PRISONERS, 11 OCTOBER 1984
• STATEMENT BEFORE THE SECURITY COUNCIL , 23 OCTOBER 1984
• OPENING STATEMENT BY MAJOR-GENERAL JOSEPH N. GARBA (NIGERIA), CHAIRMAN, AT THE MEETING OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE AGAINST APARTHEID ON THE OCCASION OF ITS 25TH ANNIVERSARY , 6 MAY 1988

On behalf of the Special Committee against Apartheid, I wish to draw attention to the attempts by the racist regime of South Africa to impose a constitutional fraud on the oppressed people of South Africa in complete and total defiance of all the principles and purposes enshrined in the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the declared positions of the international community.

The elections due to be held on 22 and 28 August, for segregated chambers for the so-called Coloured people and people of Asian origin, as a prelude to the bringing into force of the racist constitution on 3 September, are designed to further entrench and consolidate white minority rule and the criminal apartheid system in South Africa.

The imposition of the racist constitution is a calculated conspiracy against the people of South Africa and a challenge to the international community. The racist regime is bent on breaking the historical unity of the oppressed people of South Africa by creating pseudo-parliaments for the so-called Coloured people and people of Asian origin; by conscripting members of these two communities in the apartheid armed forces; and by making the indigenous African majority (constituting 72 per cent of the South African population) foreigners in the land of their birth.

Thus, the racist constitution and the attempts to impose it on the oppressed majority can only be described as a travesty of justice and a gross violation of all parliamentary practices. Moreover, they are a negation of the universally accepted principle of the inalienable right to self-determination and of human rights and fundamental freedoms held sacred by the international community.

This racist constitution has already been rejected and condemned by the General Assembly of the United Nations, by the Summit Conferences of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and the Commonwealth.

History has shown that in the struggle for liberation in South Africa the so-called Coloured people and people of Asian origin have fought shoulder to shoulder with their African compatriots, with great unity of purpose and action, in total solidarity against racist domination and oppression. The overwhelming opposition to the racist constitution is the direct result of that unity.

The Special Committee welcomes and fully endorses the decision of the overwhelming majority of the so-called Coloured people and people of Asian origin to boycott the fraudulent elections. It calls on those who may be enticed by the racist regime to close ranks and frustrate this devious attempt by it to further entrench white supremacy and apartheid . I appeal to all Governments and organisations to take appropriate action in support of the oppressed people of South Africa in their common endeavour to reject and defeat this latest racist conspiracy and to secure the establishment of a non-racial society on the basis of majority rule.

I declare open the Conference of Arab Solidarity with the Struggle for Liberation in Southern Africa.

We, in the Special Committee, attach great importance to this Conference. It is significant that this is the first major event co-sponsored by the United Nations and the League of Arab States. And we are most gratified that the host country of this Conference is Tunisia, a country which attained its independence under the leadership of a great liberation movement, led by His Excellency President Habib Bourguiba, and which has a consistent and commendable record of support for freedom struggles in Africa, in the Arab world and, indeed, all over the world.

I must, first of all, pay tribute, on behalf of the Special Committee, to the Arab countries for their contribution to the struggle against apartheid and for freedom in southern Africa. I recall that in 1946, at the very first session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, the first resolution against racial discrimination was moved by Poland, which had emerged from the holocaust of Nazi racism, and an Arab country, Egypt.

In 1952, when most of Africa was still under colonial domination, the problem of apartheid in South Africa was brought before the General Assembly by Asian and Arab countries. Among the 13 signatories were all the six Arab countries which were then independent: Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen.

I would also like to recall the historic Asian-African Summit Conference which was held in Bandung, Indonesia, in April 1955. That Conference, in which the Arab leaders played a prominent role, for the first time excluded Apartheid South Africa but was attended by two representatives of the liberation movement of South Africa. It declared in its final communique:

"The Asian-African Conference deplored the policies and practices of racial segregation and discrimination which form the basis of government and human relations in large regions of Africa and in other parts of the world. Such conduct is not only a gross violation of human rights, but also a denial of the fundamental values of civilisation and the dignity of man.

The Conference extended its warm sympathy and support for the courageous stand taken by the victims of racial discrimination, especially by the peoples of African, Indian and Pakistani origin in South Africa; applauded all those who sustain their causes; reaffirmed the determination of Asian-African peoples to eradicate every trace of racialism that might exist in their own countries; and pledge to use its full moral influence to guard against the danger of falling victims to the same evil in their struggle to eradicate it."

I need not dwell on the more recent developments. Since the independence of Ghana in 1957, the Arab States of Africa have been part of the African Group of States and hence part of every initiative for the total emancipation of the African continent, while all the other members of the League of Arab States have consistently lent their support to Africa.

Let me also recall that when the apartheid regime proclaimed a so-called "Republic" on the basis of a referendum restricted to the whites and established a "whites only" parliament, Egypt promptly closed its legation in South Africa and other African countries broke relations with it.

In 1973, at the Arab Summit Conference in Algiers, a historic decision was made to impose an oil embargo against the racist regime. Following that decision, the Special Committee invited the League of Arab States to participate in all its deliberations as an observer along with the Organisation of African Unity. I recall all this not only to pay tribute to our Arab brothers but because today the apartheid regime is proceeding to impose a new racist constitution, a diabolic instrument designed to divide the black people and totally exclude the indigenous African majority.

In paying tribute to the Arab Governments and peoples, I express my confidence that we can continue to count on their total support at this critical time in southern Africa.

The solidarity of Africa and the Arab States is but natural, for we are linked by geography, history and common destiny. Our struggles for redemption are linked by our common objectives and, regrettably, the forces that are arrayed against those objectives.

The United Nations has assumed special responsibility for the Territory and people of Namibia. It has proclaimed that the United Nations and the international community have a special responsibility towards the oppressed people of South Africa and their liberation movements, and towards those imprisoned, restricted or exiled for their struggle against apartheid.

Namibia and Palestine are the two territories placed under the mandate of the League of Nations, "a sacred trust of civilisation," which are not yet independent. The legitimate aspirations of the peoples of these countries must always be on the conscience of all civilised men and women of the world. It is no accident that the national liberation movements of South Africa, Namibia and Palestine are conscious of their common struggle, while the regimes in Israel and South Africa have been building and reinforcing an unholy alliance against liberation.

I consider it most appropriate, from here in Tunis, to remind the world of its inescapable moral responsibility for the freedom of peoples of South Africa, Namibia and Palestine, and of the imperative need to counter all alliances designed to reinforce racism and frustrate the efforts of the United Nations for the emancipation of peoples.

I do not wish to dwell on the many parallels between the situations in southern Africa and the Middle East. We have been painfully confronted with the criminal efforts to turn settled communities of indigenous people into homeless deportees, and the constant acts of aggression and subversion against the independent States whom geography has placed on the front line. I am sure that many of the participants will elaborate on these and other matters.

I would only like to stress that this Conference is not one for debates and discourses - for we are all united by a common purpose - but for action.

It is today a hundred years since alien conquerors invaded Namibia and subjected its people to subjugation and genocide. A hundred years of inhumanity and a hundred years of glorious resistance by the people - that is the modern history of Namibia.

Let us declare our full solidarity with the people of Namibia and with South West Africa People’s Organisation, their great liberation movement, and pledge that their struggle for immediate and genuine independence of their motherland is our struggle. Let us proclaim that any aggression against the Namibian people and against front-line States of southern Africa is aggression against our States and peoples, and indeed against the United Nations and the international community.

I would invite you, at this stage, to rise and observe a minute of silence in memory of the countless martyrs who have fallen in the struggle for freedom in Africa and the Arab world.

(Minute of Silence)

I cannot but recall the historic World Conference for Action against Apartheid, held in Lagos seven years ago this month. At that Conference, the Special Committee was able to secure high-level participation from all regions of the world, including the major Western countries, to address the problem of apartheid as a challenge to world conscience and to consider concerted action to fight that inhuman system. That Conference led to important results, most notably the mandatory arms embargo against South Africa by a unanimous decision of the United Nations Security Council.

The Lagos Declaration for Action against Apartheid, endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly, became the plan of action of the Special Committee against Apartheid and of many organisations.

Soon after, however, the major Western Powers began to resist any pressure on the South African regime on the grounds that they could not alienate the racist regime while they were trying to obtain its co-operation in negotiations for the independence of Namibia and Zimbabwe.

This policy of avoiding pressure on the racist-terrorist regime in Pretoria, of coddling and humouring that regime - which came later to be known as "constructive engagement" - has produced disastrous consequences.

The Pretoria regime found it possible to sabotage the United Nations plan for the independence of Namibia to which it had itself subscribed, and to launch direct and indirect aggression against independent African States. It proceeded, under the cloak of so-called "reforms" and "changes", to deprive millions of African people of South Africa of their citizenship through the creation of so-called independent bantustans, and lately to impose a so-called "constitution" to deprive the indigenous people, three-quarters of the population of that country, of their inalienable rights, including citizenship.

The Special Committee felt that we must again confront the conscience of the world with the fundamental moral issues involved, so that no one will be fooled by the cunning propaganda or the diversions of the racists and their friends.

In this Seminar, we have invited jurists to address these issues in the light of international norms of law, justice and morality. The significance of this Seminar which will consider many legal aspects of the problem of apartheid, is, we believe, far larger than its modest size.

I would like to make reference to one aspect which must be of primordial concern, namely, the legal status of South Africa and the apartheid regime.

The Union of South Africa was established in 1910 as a result of the transfer of power by the United Kingdom to the white minority. Successive regimes of that country have since then excluded the African people from the exercise of self-determination. The Union, in our view, was no more legitimate than the Rhodesia of Ian Smith after the unilateral declaration of independence.

The Union of South Africa was invited to the San Francisco Conference in 1945 and became a signatory of the Charter of the United Nations because it had joined the Allied Powers in declaring war against Nazi Germany. It was hoped that by subscribing to the Charter of the United Nations, the Union would move, however gradually, towards extending human rights and fundamental freedoms to all the people of that country.

The Nationalist Party came to power in South Africa in 1948. In 1960 the Nationalist regime held a referendum of the white population - excluding even the few so-called Coloured people who had voting rights at the time. It declared a so-called "Republic" in May 1961. Africa denounced this Republic and all African States broke relations with it. The Republic was forced to leave the Commonwealth.

In the United Nations, however, we showed extreme patience by appealing for the abandonment of apartheid and repression, even after the gruesome massacre in Sharpeville.

The Pretoria regime, however, is an incorrigible regime and immune to appeals. It cannot abandon apartheid any more than a leopard can shed its spots. It proceeded to denationalise the African majority through the establishment of so-called "independent" States in the bantustans. It has announced the denationalisation of eight million Africans and it is now imposing a new constitution which totally excludes the African majority and further entrenches racism.

Neither Africa nor the civilised world can tolerate this crime. We have been patient for too long and it is time the world took decisive action to implement the commitments of the United Nations.

This Seminar meets at a crucial time to consider the implications of the diabolic constitution which the Pretoria regime seeks to bring into force on 3 September 1984.

Is it morally and legally right to continue to recognise South Africa as a State and allow it to be listed as a member of the United Nations and the international community by virtue of the membership of the Union of South Africa from 1945?

The Seminar will also consider the status of the Pretoria regime - a regime which is practising apartheid, defined by the United Nations as a crime, a regime whose credentials are based on apartheid, and a regime which has been proclaimed by the United Nations as illegitimate.

The conclusions of this Seminar on these questions will have wide implications - for instance, as to the legality of the collaboration by Western and other States and transnational corporations with the Pretoria regime, the right of the oppressed people to armed struggle, and the international legal status of the national liberation movements.

I am most gratified that this Seminar is being held in Nigeria, and I have the duty, as Chairman of the Special Committee, to convey our great appreciation to the Federal Military Government of Nigeria for hosting it.

I hope that you will appreciate it if I am restrained in my praise for my own country.

As you know, I was privileged to serve in the Government, at a crucial period when Nigeria declared its total commitment for the liberation of Africa as the centrepiece of its foreign policy. The present Government is fully committed to that policy. The Head of State, Major-General Mohamed Buhari, authorised me to announce on my election as Chairman of the Special Committee in March this year, this national commitment.

I said in my acceptance speech:

"... let me assure you of my unflinching commitment and that of my country to the struggle against apartheid. Africa continues to be the cornerstone of Nigeria’s foreign policy. Our commitment to liberation in southern Africa is total. General Buhari, my Head of State, has charged me to tell you that despite our temporary economic difficulties, Nigeria will meet its responsibilities and continue to provide resources as in the past towards this goal."

In recent months, we have been bombarded with advice that Africa must welcome the so-called changes being made by the Botha regime and reach accommodation with that criminal regime. The response must come from Africa, and it must be clear and unambiguous.

As the late General Murtala Mohamed said at the extraordinary summit of the Organisation of African Unity in January 1976:

"Africa has come of age. It is no longer under the orbit of any extra-continental power.

It should no longer take orders from any country, however powerful. The fortunes of Africa are in our hands to make or mar. For too long have we been kicked around; for too long have we been treated like adolescents who cannot discern their interest and act accordingly. For too long has it been presumed that the African needs outside ‘experts’ to tell him who are his friends and who are his enemies. The time has come when we should make it clear that we can decide for ourselves; that we know our interests and how to protect those interests; that we are capable of resolving African problems without presumptuous lessons in ideological dangers which more often than not have no relevance for us nor for the problems at hand."

Those words are as relevant today as they were in 1976.

From this capital of India I want to send my greetings to the black people of South Africa. They have foiled the plot of racists to divide the oppressed people of South Africa.

By boycotting sham elections to racist chambers of so-called Parliament, in spite of all intimidation and enticement by racists, the so-called Coloured people and people of Indian origin have shown their detestation of apartheid and firm attachment to non-racialism. They have instead joined with indigenous African people in totally rejecting the racist constitution.

They have taught a lesson to those cynical friends of the apartheid regime in the West who claimed that racist elections are a step in the right direction. I salute them.

South Africa belongs to all its people, and we shall never allow that African country to become the preserve of a racist minority.

The United Nations Security Council has denounced the racist constitution as null and void. I hope no Government will in any way recognise the pseudo-Parliament or regime that results from the current elections.

I appreciate this opportunity to share with you some thoughts on the present situation in southern Africa.

Let me say, at the outset, that the situation in southern Africa is extremely critical. It is critical not because of the crimes of the apartheid regime in South Africa - we expect that from the desperate racists - but because the major Western Powers have allowed it to run amok. Instead of progress of freedom, we face a racist offensive, not only to preserve and perpetuate apartheid, but to undermine the hard-won freedom of independent African States.

The racist regime in South Africa has been able to subdue, intimidate or threaten neighbouring independent States, and it is laying claim to regional hegemony.

It is rushing the imposition of its "master plan" to turn South Africa into a country of settlers by excluding and expelling the indigenous African people, who constitute no less than 72 per cent of the population.

The apartheid regime and its Western friends try to cover-up this reality with sophisticated propaganda tricks.

A militarist-terrorist regime, which has devastated neighbouring countries, is lately depicted as becoming peaceful, merely because it signs some agreements with the victims of its oppression and destabilisation.

A regime which tries to denationalise the great majority of the population is described as moving in the right direction when it tries to entice and intimidate the Coloured and Indian minorities to betray the African majority.

And some Western leaders find it opportune to receive and entertain the head of the racist regime at this time - ostensibly to persuade and encourage him to make further changes.

The moves to lend respectability and encouragement to the despicable racist regime - and the plot to turn southern Africa into the sphere of influence of a racist bastion - are the challenges we face today.

I want to emphasise that the situation is very grave. But it is not my intention to spread any pessimism.

True, the Pretoria regime has military and economic power, and even nuclear capability, and it has allies, both overt and covert.

But it is hardly omnipotent.

It has been unable to suppress the liberation struggles in South Africa and Namibia - despite the serious odds faced by the freedom fighters and the recent difficulties resulting from the vulnerability of the front-line States.

The mobilisation of the oppressed people and their resistance have instead greatly advanced.

On this occasion, I would like to pay tribute to the black people for the unity and courage they have demonstrated in the past few days in resisting the new racist constitution.

The boycott by the Coloured people and the Indians of elections to racially segregated chambers of Parliament - under a constitution which excludes the African majority - despite all the offers of privileges and enticements by the racist regime - is an indication of the maturity and strength of the national liberation movement. It has aborted the hopes of the Pretoria regime to divide the black people and deceive world opinion. It should put to shame those cynical leaders in the West who have welcomed the so-called reforms by the Pretoria regime.

The black people of South Africa have demonstrated clearly that they totally reject any form of apartheid and any adjustments in apartheid. They have declared their loyalty to their leaders in prison and reaffirmed their ideal of a non-racial society. They have denounced all moves to lend respectability to the Botha regime.

The black people of South Africa have not been disheartened by the apparent successes of the apartheid regime in its diplomacy of terror and deceit, but have shown even greater determination.

Their determination must be matched by that of the international community, especially the great majority of Governments and organisations, and world public opinion, which have solemnly declared their commitment for the total elimination of apartheid.

For the past few months, there has been a deliberate effort to persuade the world public opinion that the front-line States have collapsed or were collapsing, and that the liberation struggles had therefore become unviable. The purpose of this propaganda has been to convince us that there was no choice but to accept an accommodation with apartheid, to ignore the numerous decisions of the United Nations on sanctions against the apartheid regime and support to the liberation struggle, and indeed to abandon the international alliance of Governments and anti-apartheid movements in support of the liberation struggle.

If the people in South Africa have rejected accommodation with apartheid, the public outrage against Botha’s recent visit to European countries has rebuffed the advocates of so-called "constructive engagement."

Temporary reverses, caused by the machinations of our adversaries, cannot and should not lead to the abandonment of the struggle for liberation or its principles.

As Nelson Mandela pointed out in South Africa - and Pandit Nehru did in this country - there is "no easy walk to freedom."

Freedom struggles face reverses, but they need and will reach the one final victory. We have seen the collapse of colonialism in Algeria, in Mozambique and in Southern Rhodesia, soon after the colonialist forces were claiming great victories in their offensives against freedom fighters.

What we need is a reassessment of the situation and a greater determination to meet the counter-offensive of the enemy.

The struggle in southern Africa has to be seen as part of the historic process of decolonisation, especially since India became independent in August 1947.

With the great advances that were made, some of us even believed that colonialism is dead, that the few small pockets or remnants of colonialism would be cleared, that racism would soon disappear, and that we can turn our minds wholly to economic and social development.

But Namibia, the "sacred trust of civilisation", still endures the agony of apartheid and illegal occupation. The Arab people of Palestine, another mandate of the League of Nations, are still dispersed and homeless. And the black people of South Africa with one of the longest freedom movements - it is 90 years since Mahatma Gandhi founded the Natal Indian Congress and 72 years since the African National Congress was established - are not yet free.

Indeed, they face worse oppression than ever and the racist regime is even depriving them, according to its illegal laws, of their nationality.

The issue is not merely the inalienable rights of some thirty million Namibians, Palestinians and South Africans. The Pretoria regime in southern Africa and Israel in the Middle East are converted into two bastions in the Third World to warn us that we are not yet free and we will never be allowed our full freedom.

Let me say, as an African and as a Nigerian, that we can never accept such a prospect. We recognise that none of us is free unless and until every inch of Africa is free and every person of African descent can walk on this planet in dignity. We will fight until the shame of the humiliation of Africa is totally ended.

We need a clear understanding that what is at stake in southern Africa is not merely the urge of the people of South Africa and Namibia for freedom, but the honour and dignity of Africa, the viability of the Non-Aligned Movement, and, indeed, the basic tenets of international law and foundations of international order.

The struggle for freedom in southern Africa is not a mere African concern; it has been an international issue ever since India brought the matter to the United Nations.

I do not ignore, in fact, I am acutely and painfully aware, of the difficult international situation and the great difficulties now faced by the African and Non-Aligned Countries. But I do feel that we can overcome, and we must overcome. For this, we must learn from experience and we must shed any illusions.

Looking back over the experience, since the apartheid regime came to power in 1948, I would like to make two points.

First of all, although the inveterate racists managed to come to power in South Africa and to control its economic resources, it is inconceivable that the international community did not have the capacity to deal with them after all the denunciations of apartheid as an international crime.

The fact is that the Western Powers consistently resisted any action against that regime. Even when they were persuaded by public outrage in their countries, or because of concerted pressure by non-aligned and other countries, to take some action, they have been very restrictive and have allowed every possible loophole.

That has been, for instance, the experience with the arms embargo.

Thirty-two years of United Nations consideration of apartheid has led to greater understanding and support of the freedom struggle in South Africa, even in the Western countries. But the time was used by the Pretoria regime and its friends to build an enormous military and repressive machine not only to confront the liberation movements but to blackmail independent African States.

Secondly, during these decades of confrontation between the racists and the black majority, the suffering and the casualties have been on one side only, and they have been enormous.

The Pretoria regime has not hesitated to resort to every brutality, including internal deportation of three and a half million blacks, torture to death of many fine leaders, the indiscriminate killing of unarmed children and refugees, and other acts of barbarism and terrorism.

The black people and their liberation movements have not retaliated in kind against the whites. It is not that they could not, but they have deliberately shown extreme restraint.

I do not criticise them, nor do I incite them in any way. I respect the judgement of the national liberation movements. And, as a soldier, I cannot advocate indiscriminate and cowardly killing.

I refer to this aspect only to stress that not all the bloated military budget of South Africa can buy security for the white people. The black people and their national liberation movements have been the real trustees of that security.

The Pretoria regime, it may be said, has been stupid, but that is normal for a doomed and dying system. But what can we say about the civilised countries which have been encouraging that regime?

Thirdly, the restraint of the liberation movements has been matched by the extreme restraint and moderation of the African and other States which have always stressed the objective of a solution in the interests of all the people of South Africa. We have tried to avert a disastrous racial conflict in the hope of salvaging a non-racial society in South Africa.

The front-line States have been attacked by the Pretoria regime not because they had committed any act of aggression or intervention, but because that regime chose to take advantage of their weakness to widen the area of conflict. Faced with growing resistance inside South Africa and Namibia, it decided to divert attention by attacking neighbouring States.

The front-line States in southern Africa have, in fact, made utmost efforts to promote negotiated solutions in southern Africa and Namibia, and could have proved equally helpful in South Africa if only the Pretoria regime had sought a peaceful solution.

There has yet been no proof of military bases of the African National Congress in any State adjacent to South Africa, and there has been no letdown in armed actions by freedom fighters in South Africa since the accords by the Pretoria regime with Swaziland and Mozambique.

I think we should get away from long-distance armchair predictions on the liberation struggles.

The struggle is inside South Africa and Namibia. The liberation movements will find strategies and tactics to overcome those of the enemy, and the friends of those movements can find ways to provide the necessary assistance.

I would like to say a few words about the front-line States.

In the course of the freedom struggles in Asia and Africa, the neighbouring independent States have often been able to provide valuable assistance, though at great risk to themselves.

But we could not expect the newly-independent States in southern Africa with their very unfavourable situation to act as the bastions of the liberation struggle against the Pretoria regime. The assistance they have provided, such as hospitality to refugees and political support to liberation movements, has been modest. We could not, and we did not expect more. We realised that until their economics and communications were strengthened, and they were assured of all necessary military assistance for defence, they could become the hostages of South Africa.

The reference to southern African States as front-line States was mainly in relation to Zimbabwe and Namibia, or largely a geographical expression.

We have always recognised that the situation in South Africa is not a regional or even an African issue, but a matter of international concern.

In fact, we have recognised that the struggle is inside South Africa, and the other vital area of confrontation was in the Western countries which have assisted apartheid.

The front-line is not in Lesotho or Mozambique, but in Nigeria and India, and even more in the United States and Western Europe.

The independent States in southern Africa deserve all international assistance to withstand the offensive of the Pretoria regime.

But at the same time, we need to increase assistance of all kinds and from all regions of the world to the liberation struggle in southern Africa, and we must mobilise the influence of committed Governments and organisations to confront the short-sighted and dangerous manoeuvres of some Western Powers to shore-up apartheid.

That has been the main concern of the Special Committee since the beginning of this year - and of myself since I was elected Chairman of the Special Committee a few days after the Nkomati Accord.

We have tried to counteract the propaganda about the peaceful intentions of the apartheid regime and the reforms in South Africa.

We have approached the Western countries - both those like the Nordic countries which have been supportive, and those which have been collaborating with the apartheid regime - to make clear that we seek more energetic action in accordance with the United Nations resolutions rather than a let-up on sanctions.

We have paid even greater attention to mobilising the public in Western countries in support of the liberation struggles.

In June, for instance, we organised a North American Regional Conference for Action against Apartheid, with the participation of leaders like Senator Edward Kennedy, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, as well as many public groups.

While we are distressed at the disastrous policy of "constructive engagement" espoused by the current United States Administration, we are encouraged by numerous actions in the Congress, in States and cities, and in the development of campaigns for divestment from South Africa. They can have a great impact if they are further developed, and we are anxious to encourage them.

Later in June, I undertook a mission to the United Kingdom where the British Anti-Apartheid Movement has been playing a crucial role in the international campaign against apartheid. I visited Cardiff, Sheffield and Leeds to pay tribute to over a hundred local authorities which have taken action against apartheid and in support of the campaign for the release of Nelson Mandela and all other political prisoners.

In July, I was received by His Holiness the Pope who gave me a special message which is valuable in our effort to mobilise the religious bodies of the world against apartheid.

In early August, we organised in Tunis the Conference of Arab Solidarity with the Struggle for Liberation in Southern Africa, and soon after, an important Seminar in Lagos on the Legal Status of the Apartheid Regime and Other Aspects of the Struggle against Apartheid.

My present visit to India is in continuation of these efforts.

I have felt that it is most important to consult with the Government of India, with its most commendable record against apartheid, and the Chairperson of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries on all aspects of our work.

I am aware of the difficult international situation and the economic problems faced by Non-Aligned Countries, which have tended to weaken the international campaign against apartheid.

But we must and we will find ways to give a new impetus.

Nigeria, as you know, has been confronted with serious, though temporary, economic problems, but our present Government has pledged that there will be no reduction in resources for the liberation struggle in southern Africa. In fact, the Head of State of Nigeria has recently assured the Special Committee of active diplomatic and other support by Nigeria.

I am sure that this great country is equally committed, and I would like to express my great appreciation for the action taken by the Government of India and its Prime Minister, Madame Indira Gandhi, in connection with the recent racist elections in South Africa.

Thirty-seven years ago, when India attained independence, Prime Minister Nehru pointed out that the dreams of the people of India and their leaders were not only for India but for the world.

In Nigeria, the largest African country, our people and our leaders recognise our wider responsibility, especially for the emancipation of Africa and people of African descent.

I am, therefore, most gratified at the close cooperation between Nigeria and India and the very friendly welcome I have again received here.

It is perhaps symbolic that United Nations action against apartheid is led by the Chairman of the Special Committee against Apartheid, a Nigerian, in association with the head of the Centre against Apartheid, a national of India.

I would like to express my greatest appreciation for the commitment and contribution of Mr. Reddy whose advice and assistance have been most valuable to me.

On behalf of the United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid, I extend my warm greetings to all participants in the Socialist International Conference on Southern Africa.

I pay tribute to the Socialist International and its affiliates for their valuable contribution over many years to the international campaign against apartheid. We have benefited from consultations with many of their leaders in promoting international efforts for the elimination of apartheid.

The Socialist Parties have made a particularly crucial contribution in the Western countries, so that a majority of Western countries now support, in principle, sanctions against South Africa and assistance to the national liberation movement in South Africa.

The situation in southern Africa is extremely grave and we seek full understanding and a new level of support from you, especially in view of the current difficulties faced by Africa which, I am confident, are temporary.

The Pretoria regime has been able - because of the inaction, if not the encouragement, connivance and collusion of some Governments and vested interests - to blackmail and threaten independent African States in its efforts to secure regional hegemony. It continues to occupy Angolan territory and to frustrate the United Nations plan for the independence of Namibia.

In South Africa itself, it is proceeding with its criminal moves to denationalise the indigenous African majority.

Yet, some of its powerful friends try to convince the world that the regime has become more peaceful and that it is making positive changes. They try to undermine United Nations decisions on sanctions against the racist regime and support for the legitimate struggle of the oppressed people for freedom.

The Pretoria regime has been making special efforts to confuse and compromise Western countries in which the Socialist Parties are in power, as in connection with the recent visit of P.W. Botha to Western Europe. I would like to express great appreciation to France for refusing to receive him and to the Socialist Parties of other countries which have denounced his tour.

I appeal to all Socialist Parties, both at the governmental and public level, to take action to counteract the propaganda of the Pretoria regime, reject the so-called policy of "constructive engagement" with it, and take initiatives for a fully effective arms embargo and other sanctions against the Pretoria regime.

I appeal to them to consider greater assistance to the independent States in southern Africa and to the national liberation movements in South Africa and Namibia.

I would request them to take urgent action to secure the immediate release of all those detained for opposition to the recent racist elections.

I appeal to them to help reinforce the campaign for the release of Nelson Mandela and all other political prisoners.

The Pretoria regime is imposing a new racist constitution which was denounced by the Security Council as null and void. There is no parallel to this constitution except in Nazi Germany.

I hope the Socialist Parties will join with us in all action to ostracise that regime, and build anti-apartheid activity in all segments of world opinion.

Apartheid is a matter of international concern and responsibility and we must secure universal support for its elimination. Southern Africa must be kept free of the complications of East-West confrontations.

I look forward to close cooperation between the Special Committee and the Socialist International.

The Special Committee against Apartheid expresses grave concern over the increased repression to which the racist Pretoria regime has resorted in the face of the vigorous and determined opposition by the oppressed people of South Africa to the so-called "new constitution" which the white minority regime has imposed on that country.

It condemns vigorously the killing of 32 demonstrators, the brutal assault on many others, and the detention of the leaders of the major opposition groups which have expressed their unconditional and total rejection of the so-called "new constitution."

The almost total boycott of the sham elections by the so-called Coloureds and the people of Indian origin, as well as the recent massive demonstrations by the oppressed people, show the determined opposition of the masses to a constitution which is not only intended to diffuse their solidarity but also to further entrench apartheid.

The demonstrations in the townships of Sharpeville -the symbol of the indomitable resistance in South Africa - Sebokeng, Booibatong, Evaton and Tembisa, while ostensibly against exorbitant rent increases and a system of racially segregated education, clearly reflect the profound and united resistance of the oppressed people against a regime that is an affront to human dignity and an offence against all mankind.

With characteristic arrogance and contempt for the will of the international community, the Pretoria regime has conducted the most vicious and violent attacks against the opponents of the so called "new constitution". The killing of 32 demonstrators shows that the Pretoria regime will spare no means to maintain and entrench apartheid.

The violent response of the Pretoria regime to peaceful demonstrations belies South Africa’s attempt to portray itself as moving towards "reforms" and "peaceful changes." The international community must therefore not be deceived by South Africa’s much vaunted constitutional reform and peaceful tendencies.

On behalf of the Special Committee, I urge all Governments, organisations and individuals to condemn these killings and to assist the oppressed people of South Africa in their legitimate struggle for a non-racial democratic society.

First, I would like to report on the Conference of Arab Solidarity with the Struggle for Liberation in Southern Africa held in Tunis, and the Seminar

on the Legal Status of the Apartheid Regime and Other Legal Aspects of the Struggle against Apartheid held in Lagos - two very important events which were successful even beyond our high expectations - and on my mission to New Delhi.

These conferences and missions were in continuation of the determined efforts of the Special Committee this year to counter and frustrate the offensive of the apartheid regime and to promote even greater action in support of the liberation struggle in South Africa. They follow the very successful North American Regional Conference for Action against Apartheid, the national convention on the 25th anniversary of the British Anti-Apartheid Movement, and the missions I led to London, Washington, Paris and Vatican.

The Tunis Conference, organised by the Special Committee, in cooperation with the League of Arab States, from 7 to 9 August 1984, was attended by well over a hundred participants, including representatives of Arab Governments and a large spectrum of Arab non-governmental organisations.

It provided us an opportunity to convey our appreciation to the Arab States and peoples for their solidarity with the struggle for freedom in South Africa.

Even more important, it provided an opportunity for consultations to promote not only greater action at governmental level, but also anti-apartheid activity by the public in the Arab countries.

The opening of the Conference coincided with the 100th anniversary of the foreign occupation of Namibia and the participants pledged all efforts to secure the liberation of Namibia. The Conference ended on the Day of Solidarity with the Struggle of Women of South Africa and Namibia, which was effectively observed.

The proceedings of the Conference received extensive coverage by the media in Tunisia and other Arab countries.

The Tunis Conference was the first conference organised by the United Nations in cooperation with the League of Arab States. As a result of this Conference and its decisions, we can look forward with full confidence to much greater cooperation by the Arab League in the work of the Special Committee and the international campaign against apartheid. We are in consultations with them on a number of specific activities - and I would like to express my appreciation to the Secretary-General and other officials of the Arab League for their co-operation.

I must also express great appreciation, on behalf of the Special Committee, to the Government of Tunisia, led by the distinguished President Habib Bourguiba, for their generous and valuable co-operation in ensuring the success of this Conference. The message by the Head of State, the meeting which the Prime Minister held with the officers of the Conference, the opening address by the Foreign Minister, and the very able leadership of H.E. Mr. Mahmoud Mestiri, as chairman of the Conference, reflected the commitment of the Government and people of Tunisia, and ensured that this Conference would be an important milestone in action against apartheid.

I would also like to express my gratitude to the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Mr. Yassir Arafat, for his participation in the Conference and his valuable co-operation.

I was received by him during the Conference and held very useful discussions with him and his colleagues. I was greatly impressed by his strong support for the liberation struggles in South Africa and Namibia, and his conviction that those struggles are inextricably linked with the struggle of his own Palestinian people.

The Conference, as you know, drew special attention to the inescapable responsibility of the international community for the people of South Africa, Namibia and Palestine.

The Lagos Seminar was organised by the Special Committee, in co-operation with the Federal Government of Nigeria, from 13 to 16 August 1984.

It was opened by the Minister of External Affairs of Nigeria and chaired by the Minister of Justice of Nigeria. It was attended by jurists from all parts of the world, including the Minister of Higher Education of Senegal and the Minister of Justice of Zimbabwe.

The Seminar dealt with fundamental issues concerning apartheid from their legal aspects - questions such as the very legitimacy of the racist regime of South Africa, the status of the national liberation movements and the implications of the definition of apartheid as a crime.

It was most timely, as it took place when the Pretoria regime was trying to impose a new racist constitution and the Security Council was considering the matter, eventually taking a historic decision declaring that constitution null and void.

The Seminar addressed all the relevant issues very seriously and adopted a very important Declaration by consensus. This Declaration, I am sure, will be very valuable in all our efforts at the present time.

At the conclusion of the Seminar, the officers of the Seminar were received by the Head of State of Nigeria, Major-General Mohamed Buhari, who expressed great satisfaction at its results. He also assured us of the full support of Nigeria in all efforts for the liberation of southern Africa. He also accepted patronage of the World Campaign against Military and Nuclear Collaboration with South Africa.

I would like to record my great appreciation, on behalf of the Special Committee, to the Federal Government of Nigeria, and to the Head of State personally, for their valuable contribution to the success of this important Seminar.

I would also like to note with great satisfaction the very active interest taken by the representatives of the media and the extensive coverage provided by them for the Seminar and all related activities.

During the Seminar, Mr. Reddy and I participated in a ceremony at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs for the inauguration of the anti-apartheid archives at the Institute.

The archives will house the many documents, publications, posters, records, films, badges and other information material produced by the United Nations and Governments, as well as the numerous anti-apartheid groups, during the many years of international concern over apartheid.

Its purpose is not only to preserve valuable material for scholars and for a free South Africa, but also to make it available for exhibits and other activities during the continuing campaign against apartheid.

I would like to express my appreciation, on behalf of the Special Committee, to the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs and its distinguished Director for undertaking this important project, and to Mr. Reddy for his initiative in promoting it.

During the mission to Lagos, we also held a very useful meeting with the National Committee against Apartheid, and held discussions with several other organisations.

From 28 to 30 August 1984, I undertook a mission to New Delhi, accompanied by Mr. Reddy, for consultations with the Government of India and with the Prime Minister of India, H.E. Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the Chairperson of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries.

I attached great importance to this mission for two reasons.

It is but natural that at this critical time, when we seek to take the international efforts for the eradication of the monstrous crime of apartheid to a new level, we should consult at the highest possible level with the Government of India which has pioneered in the campaign against apartheid and has consistently made a valuable contribution to that campaign.

Secondly, in view of the critical situation in southern Africa, I felt it essential to appeal for even greater initiative and leadership by the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, and its eminent Chairperson, in promoting international action.

During the short visit to New Delhi, we called on the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha (the Upper House of Parliament) and held very detailed discussions with senior officials of the Ministry of External Affairs, led by H.E. Dr. T.S. Teja and with H.E. Mr. G. Parthasarathi, the chairman of the Policy Planning Committee of the Ministry.

We were honoured to be received on 30 August by H.E. Mrs. Indira Gandhi who showed keen interest in all our work. I took the opportunity to convey to her our greatest appreciation for her appeal to the South African people to boycott the racist elections, and sought her counsel on international action at this critical time in southern Africa.

It is difficult for me to report on the results of the discussions and consultations in India because they only confirmed the unlimited commitment of India and its Prime Minister to the struggle against apartheid and for the total liberation of South Africa.

I am continuing consultations with the Permanent Representative of India and I am confident of very positive results from the increased cooperation between the Special Committee and the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries.

While in New Delhi, I delivered a lecture at the India International Centre, addressed a press conference, and gave several interviews to the television, radio and the press. Through the good offices of the All India Radio, I was able to send a message of greetings to the black people of South Africa for their courageous boycott of the racist elections in that country.

Mr. Reddy and I also met with Mr. B.R. Bhagat, member of Parliament and Chairman of the Indian Council on World Affairs which has agreed to host an anti-apartheid archive, to present publications for the archive.

Today, the day when the United Nations General Assembly meets here, a so-called Parliament of the racist regime meets in Cape Town.

It will have, for the first time, a few black faces in segregated chambers parading as members of the Parliament and even as members of the Cabinet - pitiful specimens overwhelmingly rejected by the Coloured and Indian communities.

I understand that they are to be paid generous salaries and even given passes to "pass" as honorary whites, but they are not allowed to dine with the white members of that Parliament.

I will leave it at that, so far as the so-called non-white members of the so-called Parliament are concerned.

We need not waste our time with the few blacks who cooperate with the oppressors because of intimidation, corruption or lack of courage.

But I must say a few words about the new racist constitution imposed by the apartheid regime in South Africa.

The Security Council, in its resolution 554 (1984) of 17 August 1984, declared as null and void the so-called "new constitution" of South Africa and the elections under the new constitution. It urged all Governments and organisations not to accord recognition to the results of the so-called elections to the segregated Chambers of Parliament for the Coloured people and people of Indian origin.

All Governments and organisations must seriously consider the implications of this very important declaration by the highest organ of the United Nations.

I have pointed out in several statements that any regime which emerges from the new racist constitution, and the farce of elections under it, is totally without legal foundation. It is, in fact, no more legitimate than the so-called "independent" bantustans which are not recognised by any Government.

No State can maintain normal relations with the regime in Pretoria.

The racist regime may go through with its facade of parliamentary procedures - such as the so-called election of P.W. Botha as State President last Friday or the meeting of the so-called Parliament today. But that facade should not deceive anyone. Criminals do not cease to be criminals because they adopt parliamentary procedures to decide on their crimes.

It is perhaps very appropriate that the six leaders of the people whom the illegal regime seeks to incarcerate have sought refuge in the Consulate-General of the United Kingdom which handed over power to the white minority in South Africa, and thereby reminded it of its historic responsibility.

I urge the Governments which continue to maintain diplomatic relations with South Africa to reconsider their position in the light of Security Council resolution 554 (1984).

I may recall that ten years ago, in October 1974, the Security Council considered the question of relations between the United Nations and South Africa. The majority of the Security Council agreed that the Pretoria regime should be expelled from the United Nations.

The Pretoria regime then promised to move away from racial discrimination. Its promises were used as an excuse by the Western Permanent Members of the Security Council to veto the resolution for the exclusion of South Africa.

What has happened since?

The Pretoria regime has not abandoned apartheid because it cannot, by its very nature, exist without racism.

Instead, it has used the opportunity created by the policies of the United States and other Powers to accelerate aggression and repression, and indeed to extend racism.

I believe it is time that the Security Council reconsiders the matter. It has not the slightest justification to be fooled by the Pretoria regime or by the excuses of its allies. The Pretoria regime has blatantly defied Resolution 554 (1984) and has extended racist oppression to the extent of purporting to deprive the indigenous African people of citizenship in an African country.

There can be no more justification for the membership of South Africa in the United Nations. The Security Council must act firmly and forthwith, and declare that the Pretoria regime has excluded itself from the international community.

In the week of 3 September, as you know, police attacked peaceful demonstrators in many black townships, especially around Sharpeville. According to police reports, 31 were dead and 50 injured: Even a 9-year-old girl was beaten up by the police as she was returning from her school. Bishop Desmond Tutu told the press on 7 September that there were many more casualties than reported by the police and that the churches were undertaking their own investigation.

Many of the killings occurred reportedly when the African people were demonstrating against rent increases which are a great burden to the impoverished African families at a time of large-scale unemployment.

But this is not a purely economic matter. It is apartheid that forces the Africans to stay in segregated locations far from their places of employment, and incur exorbitant transportation costs. It is apartheid that causes African poverty and unemployment.

The rent increases were ordered by the so-called Black Community Councils set up by the regime in accordance with its master plan to circumscribe African rights. They are boycotted by the African people. These puppet councils were set up so that the rent increases and other hardships can be seen as imposed by people with black faces rather than the racist regime. But the African people have clearly placed the responsibility on the racist regime.

The struggle against the rent increases must, therefore, be seen as part of the struggle against all manifestations of apartheid.

At the same time, resistance of black students has been continuing all over South Africa. It began with a series of strikes against discrimination in education and for student rights. More than a hundred thousand students went on strikes and played a very important role in the great boycott of the so-called elections in August under the racist constitution.

Many precious young men and women have been killed and injured and hundreds have been jailed. The list of martyrs now includes a 15-year-old girl from Pretoria, Emma Sathekge.

The black students deserve our admiration in writing another glorious page in the liberation struggle.

It was the intervention by Bishop Tutu and other religious leaders that on several occasions prevented the further aggravation of the situation and casualties.

But the regime has not learned anything and in its desperation, it is increasing repression.

On 11 September, it issued an order banning even indoor meetings, even funeral and memorial meetings over most of South Africa - a step which it has taken only in national emergencies.

This ban was issued on the eve of the anniversary of the death in police custody of the great martyr Steve Biko. Police used violence against people who gathered at the Regina Mundi Church in Soweto and other places for the traditional meeting in memory of Steve Biko.

The brutal repression by the Pretoria regime, in its desperation because of its inability to hoax the people into accepting the racist constitution, will, we hope, help even those who have welcomed its manoeuvres to change their minds. The protests around the world give us some hope.

I would like now to refer to some significant positive developments in the international efforts for the elimination of apartheid.

I have received from the Permanent Mission of Iceland the communiqué issued after the meeting of the Nordic Foreign Ministers held on 4 and 5 September l984. I would like to express satisfaction at the very positive attitude of the Nordic countries.

I have received from the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement a copy of a circular sent by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Ireland stating the "it is inappropriate for any public body to engage in direct contact with South Africa or for public funds to be used to purchase produce from that country while the South African Government continues its apartheid policy." I am sending a letter of appreciation to the Government of Ireland for this very important action.

On 7 September 1984, Mayor Raymond L. Flynn of Boston, Mayor Edward Koch of New York and other Mayors called on the United States urban leaders to help enact legislation in their respective municipalities for divestment from South Africa. It is reported that this proposal received the support of the Executive Committee of the United States Conference of Mayors and it is in response to the brutal repression in South Africa in the past few days. I congratulate the Mayors on this very important initiative.

I would also like to congratulate the Government of New Zealand for its actions which led to the closing of the South African Consulate-General in that country.

We will soon be considering the annual report of the Special Committee to the General Assembly. First of all, I believe that we must emphasise that apartheid is a matter of international concern and that all States and organisations must contribute to the struggle against apartheid.

It is not a concern of Africa alone, or of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries alone.

We value the consistent support of the Socialist States. We have welcomed the support of Nordic and other Western countries, and of public opinion in the major Western countries which continue to collaborate with South Africa.

Secondly, the international community has recognised for many years the unique moral challenge of apartheid. The argument used by some for inaction, namely that there are human rights violations in other countries, must be rejected.

There can be no compromise with apartheid and no accommodation with apartheid.

Thirdly, we cannot but reject the so-called policy of "constructive engagement" which has been interpreted by the Pretoria regime as a licence for aggression and repression.

My country, Nigeria, has very friendly relations with the United States of America - and I myself have great respect for this country - but we cannot be silent when it follows a policy which is hostile to the struggle for liberation in Africa. Indeed, it is our duty to speak out.

Fourthly, we must give urgent attention to means to secure the immediate release of all those detained for their legitimate opposition to the racist constitution - and indeed, for the release of Nelson Mandela and all other political prisoners as the first step towards a peaceful solution.

Fifthly, in view of the inordinate pressures which are being exerted by the Pretoria regime against Lesotho and Botswana in particular, we must help defend them - and press the United Kingdom and the United States to force the Pretoria regime to stop its blackmail of neighbouring States.

Sixthly, we should increase our efforts to support the anti-apartheid movements, and to promote public action against apartheid in all countries.

In accordance with the request of the Special Committee, I have been meeting and consulting with a number of leaders who have arrived here for the

session of the General Assembly on the developments in southern Africa and the work of the Special Committee.

I will report briefly on the consultations with the Prime Minister of New Zealand and the Foreign Minister of Sweden, supplementing the information notes which have been circulated to members.

The Prime Minister of New Zealand, H.E. Mr. David Lange, received me on 25 September 1984.

I took the opportunity to convey our great appreciation for the actions taken by the new Government of New Zealand - especially on the boycott of apartheid sport and the closing of the South African Consulate-General in New Zealand, which had become a very active centre of apartheid propaganda. I also thanked him for receiving, at the highest level, our delegation of women leaders early this month.

The Prime Minister assured me of the firm commitment of his Government to oppose apartheid, not only by statements but also in action.

He assured me categorically that his Government would implement the Gleneagles Agreement faithfully, and will not permit South African sports teams to play in New Zealand.

While it has no legal means to prevent New Zealand sportsmen from going to South Africa, it will exert all possible influence to discourage such visits and to make it clear that any such visit is against the wishes of the Government. He made particular reference to the proposed New Zealand rugby tour of South Africa in 1985.

We had a very useful consultation and I was impressed by the commitment of Prime Minister Lange. I am sure we can look forward to close cooperation with his Government.

He invited me to visit New Zealand and I accepted it with gratitude.

I was received by the Foreign Minister of Sweden, H.E. Mr. Lenart Bodstrom, on 26 September 1984.

I took the opportunity to convey our great appreciation for the actions taken by Sweden, especially during the recent difficult period, and also for the personal contribution of the Foreign Minister.

The Foreign Minister expressed high regard for the work of the Special Committee and assured me of full cooperation. He invited me to Sweden for fuller consultations - not only with the Government, but also with political parties and others. I accepted the invitation with gratitude.

I have been greatly concerned over the escalating repression in South Africa against workers, students and leaders in the struggle against apartheid, and have spent much of my time in recent weeks in an effort to promote international action.

There has been so much repression in South Africa by the racist regime that the world tends to become callous. We must make it clear that what is happening today in South Africa is not a routine occurrence.

Persecution of one dissident or a handful of people in some other region becomes headline news. Leaders of major Western countries go on the television as champions of human rights.

But the indiscriminate killings, shootings and detentions in South Africa - and the case of six great and courageous leaders of the people now in the British Consulate in Durban - get little attention. The representatives of the United Democratic Front were not even received by a Minister in London.

We should make it clear that we, and the great majority of the people in world, will find it very difficult to accept the sincerity of the leaders in the major Western countries if violations of rights of African people do not concern them, if they are only outraged when human rights issues can be used for cold war purposes.

Let us be very clear as to what is happening in South Africa.

The racist regime has totally lost any claim to legitimacy by imposing a racist constitution which has been rejected by the overwhelming majority of the people - despite all its intimidation and tricks, and despite all the support it received from two or three major Western Powers. The Security Council, the highest organ of the United Nations, has, in fact, declared that constitution null and void.

The Botha regime has no more legal basis than a regime in a bantustan. In fact, it is as illegal as a bunch of pirates.

Yet, it is now taking vengeance on the people for resisting the illegal constitution and for exposing its diabolic plan.

Detentions of popular leaders is one case.

These detentions are arbitrary and illegal. The detainees are kept incommunicado, without access to family or lawyers, and at the mercy of the Security Police indefinitely. Anyone who is detained by the racist regime cannot be quoted, and can be prohibited from joining any organisation. The racist regime seeks to silence, intimidate and incarcerate the genuine leaders of the people in order to suppress the popular resistance.

There is today a virtual state of emergency in South Africa. The racist regime is unable to control the upsurge of the people. It survives only because of short-sighted and deplorable support of some powerful forces abroad who are more anxious than ever to protect that despicable regime.

The racist regime has tried to link the case of the six leaders in Durban with that of four arms smugglers. This linkage is as reprehensible as the linkage of Namibia’s independence with the question of Cuban troops in Angola. We cannot but take the matter seriously.

Four South Africans, belonging to Armscor, the South African Armament Corporation, were caught in the United Kingdom and charged in the court for trying to smuggle arms to South Africa in violation of British law. They were, however, released on bail, and allowed to leave the country and go to South Africa pending their trial. The Pretoria regime announced two days ago that it will not send them back for trial.

The Security Council unanimously imposed a mandatory arms embargo against South Africa in November 1977. But South African officials engaged in arms procurement are able to visit freely various countries. They do not even need visas to visit the United Kingdom. Even when they are caught and charged in a British court, they are not only released on bail, but allowed to leave the country.

The case reflects laxness, to say the least, in the implementation and monitoring of the mandatory arms embargo. It also shows that the Pretoria regime is allowed to commit crimes even in the United Kingdom and get away with it.

I suggest that the Special Committee take up the matter with the Security Council and its Committee on the Question of South Africa.

I would now like to say a few words on the report which appeared in the New York Times on 23 September 1984 about a poll in South Africa which is said to have shown that black South African factory workers oppose restrictions on foreign investments in South Africa.

It was perhaps not a coincidence that this report should appear on the eve of the general debate in the General Assembly, indeed the day before the address by the President of the United States. It should fool no one.

The Pretoria regime and its friends have been greatly concerned over the nation-wide movement in the United States for divestment from South Africa, and have been using every means to counter it, including expensive advertisements and all-expense-paid trips to state legislators.

But they have not been successful.

In August alone, three more large cities: New York, Boston and Newark took action to divest their funds from United States companies operating in South Africa.

The poll by Professor Lawrence Schlemmer of Natal University was, therefore, produced urgently at this time.

The Professor has long been a supporter of United States investment in South Africa. He is an adviser to Chief Gatsha Buthelezi, another opponent of divestment.

The American Committee on Africa, which has been playing an important role in promoting the divestment campaign, has made inquiries and found that the poll was financed by the United States ambassador to South Africa, Mr. Herman Nickel.

The New York Times report seemed to imply that the study was sponsored by the South African Institute of Race Relations which has a liberal reputation. But the Institute has totally dissociated itself from the survey by Professor Schlemmer.

As you know, under South African law, anyone opposing investment in South Africa and calling for sanctions can be imprisoned for up to twenty years.

No one has said that sanctions will not hurt the blacks in South Africa. But it is the black people and their genuine leaders who have appealed to the world for more than 25 years to impose sanctions against South Africa as the only effective peaceful means to enable them to achieve freedom.

The foreign investors in South Africa not only buttress the apartheid regime in South Africa, but set up lobbies in their own countries for pro-apartheid propaganda. It is our duty to expose them and their tactics.

The racist regime in Pretoria - denounced by the world, disowned by the great majority of the South African people and devoid of any shred of legitimacy - has seen fit to warn the United States of America, this "home of the brave and land of the free," against even "favourable consideration" of the appeal of six recognised leaders of the people for sanctuary. The embassy of the United States then rushed to deny that the appeal is even being "carefully" or "seriously" considered.

The impudence of the racist regime knows no bounds, as it acts in confidence that powerful forces abroad have chosen to be its hostages.

The case of the Durban Six has now taken another dramatic turn and demands of the people of the United States to search their consciences. I hope no one will plead ignorance of the facts nor be diverted by malicious propaganda.

Faced with massive opposition to its new racist constitution and the show of unity of the oppressed majority, the racist regime has resorted to increased repression. It has served detention orders on many leaders of the people. Any one can be subjected to these orders at the whim and fancy of the racist Minister. He need give no reason and there is no trial. The detainees are confined indefinitely at the mercy of the Security Police, notorious for the torture and murder of many patriots. Once detained, the victim can never be quoted in the media and can be barred from membership of any organisation - thus being removed from effective participation or leadership in the midst of his people struggling for democracy.

The six leaders felt that the detention orders, issued after the United Nations declared the constitution "null and void" have no force of law. They felt no obligation to cooperate with the racists intent on hijacking the leaders of the people.

They decided, not merely as individuals but as leaders of the United Democratic Front and the Natal Indian Congress, to enter the British Consulate to confront the United Kingdom, in particular, and the world in general with the moral imperatives of the situation.

Their requests were simple. They asked reasons for the detention orders against them. They asked the United Kingdom to take appropriate action to end repression in South Africa.

Their purposes were simple too: to find a means to let world public opinion know of the situation in South Africa, and to put to test the policies pursued by the Governments of the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries which claim that their approach of "dialogue" with the racists is moral.

The United Kingdom was the first choice. For, seventy years ago, it betrayed the trust of the African people and handed them over to the mercy of the racists. And only a few weeks ago its Government received the racist Prime Minister ostensibly to persuade him to abandon racism. It is the largest investor in apartheid South Africa.

The United Kingdom Government treated the leaders of the people as "unwelcome guests." The representatives of the Six were refused a meeting with any Minister in the Government for fear that that would antagonise the racists whom the Government seeks to continue to entertain. But public opinion in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and in the world has become aware of the reality.

Now, it is the turn of the United States of America, which has become the largest trading partner of South Africa and the inventor of the so-called policy of "constructive engagement."

Have the links with the racists overtaken the professed principles so that you cannot even receive the representatives of the millions of people who are struggling with courage and heroism against a brutal racist oppressor? This is no time for pretexts or so-called "quiet diplomacy" but for a public and categorical answer.

The Durban Six do not seek to exploit the "hospitality" of the Consulates of Western Governments. They will not stay a day longer than their people ask them to stay, a day longer than it is necessary to test the honesty of the professions of the Western Governments to enable the people to speak out.

This they must.

The oppressed people of South Africa are obliged to embark on a new and even more difficult stage of their struggle because some Western Governments have enabled the racist regime to impose a new constitution designed to deprive the African majority of even its citizenship. They need the increased support of all friends of freedom. But they also find it imperative that the world should know the falsity of the protestations of those who collude with the oppressors and claim to be against oppression.

I recall that the United States Government denounced the Sharpeville massacre of 1960 and the murder of Steve Biko in 1977. Why is it silent now? How many massacres must the South African people suffer and how many Bikos must sacrifice their lives before the United States dissociates itself from apartheid?

Will history have to record that in this year of 1984, the United States was more intent on finding pretexts not to condemn the racists in Pretoria than in expressing solidarity with the oppressed and fighting people?

Today is the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, who founded the Natal Indian Congress 90 years ago. His experiments with truth on African soil led eventually to the freedom of India. I trust that the present dramatic experiment in Durban will enable the people of the West to return to their cherished ideals, which have been blemished by the collusion with the racists of Pretoria.

We appreciate very greatly that you have found time to come to this Committee of the General Assembly.

We consider it a further evidence of your detestation of apartheid, of your regard and, indeed affection, for the work of this Committee in promoting concerted action by all Governments and all peoples for the speedy elimination of apartheid.

Successive chairpersons of the Special Committee have had the benefit of consultations with you for ten years. We have valued your friendship and advice - and I have no hesitation in acknowledging that your counsel has led to several initiatives of this Committee - for instance, on the need for liaison with the institutions, political parties and organisations of the European Communities, and on promoting action by religious leaders against apartheid. Indeed, I may refer to my own recent visit to the Vatican, during which His Holiness the Pope gave us a special message on apartheid.

There was a time in the 1960s and 1970s when we were obliged to express our disappointment and distress at the policy of the Government of France on apartheid - a policy which seemed to us in contradiction with the great traditions of the country, a policy which seemed inexplicable in the light of France’s own experience with Nazi racism.

But we maintained faith in France.

Our faith was sustained by the friendship and support of a number of French organisations and of eminent Frenchmen and women.

I might make special mention of the great writer and philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre, who inaugurated the French Anti-Apartheid Committee in the 1960s.

And in 1975, as Commissioner of the European Communities, you extended your support to the work of this Committee at a time when the Government in Paris was equivocal. In view of your own record in resistance against Nazi racism, and as a freedom fighter of France, you provided us with encouragement and inspiration.

In 1977, as President of the World Conference for Action against Apartheid held in Lagos, I had the great honour of receiving the message from the then First Secretary of the Socialist Party of France, Mr. Francois Mitterand, a message of solidarity in the struggle for justice, freedom and peace. In fact, he pointed to the crux of the problem that confronts us when he said, "Apartheid is the greatest obstacle of all to the emancipation of Africa."

Our faith was fulfilled in May 1981, when the new Government led by Mr. Mitterand, took office and recaptured the glorious traditions and legacy of France in its total rejection of apartheid.

We shall never forget that the very first official statement by you as Minister of the French Government was on Africa Liberation Day, at the International Conference on Sanctions against South Africa, organised by this Special Committee at UNESCO House, when you paid homage to those who were struggling and suffering "so that Africa may be free and independent, so that Africans may recover their dignity, so that they may be masters of their own fate, free from any external pressure."

We have enjoyed the close co-operation of the Government of France, and of yourself personally, since that time.

We had reasons, earlier this year, to be anxious about the situation in southern Africa. Apartheid had mounted an offensive, seeking to perpetuate itself by excluding the African majority from citizenship in South Africa, to secure a so-called peaceful environment through blackmail of newly-independent African States with their frail economies, and to gain acceptance and respectability in Western countries which cherish democracy and human rights.

I had the honour of being received by you in May, on the eve of the visit of P.W. Botha to some European countries, and was very moved by your solidarity. I salute you for your support in those difficult days, which we shall never forget.

The grand design of apartheid has, I believe, been frustrated by the courage, sacrifice and unity of the black people of South Africa, as well as the integrity of some democratic whites, and by the outrage of the decent people in Europe.

Today, however, we face new anxieties as apartheid, in its desperation, resorts to brutal repression and revenge against the oppressed people. We seek again the understanding, goodwill and support of all our friends.

I would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to the present Government of France for the many positive steps it has taken, for its faithful implementation of the arms embargo against South Africa, its decision to forsake a lucrative contract to supply a second nuclear reactor to South Africa, its condemnation of acts of aggression by the Pretoria regime and its support of the front-line States, its respect for the national liberation movements, its patronage of the Art contre/against Apartheid exhibit, and its opposition to sports and cultural collaboration with apartheid.

I express appreciation, not satisfaction, for none of us can be satisfied with our contribution until apartheid is totally eradicated. But we are gratified that the Government of France is sensitive to our appeals and sincere in its commitment.

I would also like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the Socialist Party of France and its First Secretary, Mr. Lionel Jospin, for their cooperation and commitment.

We appreciate that the actions of Governments are dependent on public opinion.

We face a difficult task since the growing economic relations of Western and other countries with South Africa have created powerful vested interests and lobbies which serve the designs of apartheid and corrupt their societies. They tempt the public in the West with the profits of collaboration with apartheid while the oppressed people of South Africa and their friends can offer little more than gratitude and goodwill.

We need to count, therefore, on the Governments and leaders of Western nations to educate and lead public opinion, in accordance with their cherished values, to join in dissociation from apartheid.

I would like to express my admiration for your personal contribution in this respect.

We have often said that South Africa is a microcosm of the world, with people of varied racial origins and religions.

While the rulers of that country try to entrench racist domination at the risk of a cataclysmic conflict, we seek a society in which all the people, including the white minority, will enjoy equal rights and live in harmony.

We attach special importance to the attitudes of the countries of origin of the population of South Africa. It is their duty to dissuade, with all their influence, the forces which lead toward a suicidal conflict, and encourage those who seek a harmonious future.

Africa has categorically supported the aspiration of the great majority of the South African people for a just, non-racial democratic society. We note with satisfaction that India, Indonesia and Malaysia have called on the black people to unite for justice. We have commended the Government and people of the Netherlands for its espousal of non-racialism in South Africa.

We are gratified that the leaders of France, one of the countries of origin of the white community of South Africa, share our convictions and our faith.

I must, as an African and a Nigerian, pay tribute to your long friendship with Africa and the Third World. We recall your courageous opposition, even as a senior civil servant, to the colonial war against Algeria. We are well aware of your efforts to promote co-operation between the European Communities and the developing States of Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific.

Members of this Committee recall the many years you spent in their countries and the lasting friendships you made.

I am very happy to invite Your Excellency to address the Special Committee.

I am most delighted that Bishop Desmond Tutu, General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches, has been awarded Nobel Peace Prize for this year.

He eminently deserves this award for his courageous struggle against apartheid, defying constant persecution and intimidation by the Pretoria regime. Acting as the voice of the oppressed people, he has played a tremendous role in uniting all decent men and women in his country against the crimes of the Pretoria regime, and in encouraging support of world opinion in their just struggle.

The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Chief Albert Lutuli in 1961 and to Bishop Tutu in 1984 underlines international recognition of the contribution of the oppressed people of South Africa and their freedom movement to the cause of peace, and it is at the same time an indictment of the racist regime which is the source of conflict in southern Africa.

The Special Committee against Apartheid has valued the cooperation of Bishop Tutu. It held a special meeting on 23 March 1981 to express its appreciation to him.

On behalf of the Special Committee, I send my hearty congratulations to Bishop Tutu and through him, to all the oppressed people of South Africa.

 SOLIDARITY WITH SOUTH AFRICAN POLITICAL PRISONERS

This is a Day of Solidarity - I emphasise solidarity - with the leaders and militants of the great national liberation movement of South Africa who are languishing in the dungeons of apartheid for rejecting and opposing that inhuman system of racism, for struggling for the freedom of all the people of their land and for upholding the principles of this Organisation and of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

They do not ask for pity. They do not seek mercy. They demand and they deserve the genuine solidarity of all Governments, of all peoples, of all individuals who detest apartheid and racism, and who cherish freedom and human equality.

The men, women and children in South African prisons have dedicated their lives for a sacred cause. They declared, as Nelson Mandela declared from the dock twenty years ago in April 1964:

"During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

These prisoners are not dissidents who have been denied their rights, nor people who fell foul of any law that deserves respect. They are the tested and respected leaders and spokesmen of the great majority of the people of their country.

They have been jailed by a regime which has been proclaimed by this Organisation as illegitimate and whose policies have been denounced as no less than a crime against humanity.

Only a few weeks ago, that regime has reconstituted itself under an obnoxious constitution which the Security Council and the General Assembly have declared "null and void." It is today no more than a gang of international outlaws.

One very sad fact that emerges from the drama in Durban in recent weeks is that some great Powers have greater respect for the edicts of the gangsters of the racist regime than for the organisations and leaders of millions of oppressed people.

On no issue has this Organisation pronounced itself with as much unanimity, and for as long, as on the condemnation of apartheid and the call for the release of the South African political prisoners.

But condemnations are hardly enough when confronted with a situation where a gang of outlaws is holding an entire nation at its mercy. No less than 17 million people have been jailed under racist laws in South Africa in this century.

We are concerned not merely with the condition of hundreds of leaders in prison, but with the inalienable rights and the legitimate aspirations of all the people of South Africa.

To condemn the racists in words and then to sustain them through military, economic and other collaboration, is it not a collusion in crime?

From this rostrum I want to extend the greetings of the Special Committee to Nelson Mandela and his colleagues like Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Ahmad Kathrada and Dennis Goldberg, who sought to unite people of all racial origins, under the banner of the African National Congress, in the struggle against the racist tyranny.

I send my greetings to Zeph Mothopeng, the leader of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, the six PAC men who were sentenced to long terms in 1963, some of them in their childhood, and in secret trials - for demanding that the ancestral lands must be restored to the African people.

I greet the many leaders of the United Democratic Front and other organisations who have been detained in recent weeks for opposing a constitution which divides people like cattle and denies any rights to the children of Africa in their own continent.

I extend my special greetings to the women and children in prison.

I greet the three young whites who are now charged with high treason for allegedly trying to pass on to front-line States proof that South Africa was training, equipping and financing subversive forces against them.

I greet all other political prisoners belonging to various ideologies and organisations which together form the great national liberation movement of South Africa.

We shall do all we can to make the world aware of the crimes of the apartheid regime and of the noble cause for which these leaders of the people have fought and suffered.

We shall continue to demand, and to mobilise the people of the world to demand total international sanctions against the apartheid regime.

There should be no dialogue with the racists, but there must be dialogue with the leaders of the people in prison, in restriction and in exile.

The fighters for freedom in South Africa are fighting and sacrificing for the future of all the people of South Africa, irrespective of race, colour or creed.

They are also fighting for the completion of the epic struggle for the total emancipation of the continent of Africa.

Solidarity with them is a duty of Africa and of the international community.

Let us pledge to be true to our principles and do our duty.

As we meet today, we know that the racist regime of South Africa sent no fewer than 7,000 men into the segregated African township of Sebokeng, near Johannesburg, in the middle of the night to intimidate the African people, and to carry out house-to-house searches and arrest hundreds of Africans. In spite of what the South African representative said a few minutes ago, I am sure that those members who watched CBS News this morning saw exactly what happened. I did, and I was astounded. The press has also reported that that township of 120,000 people was transformed into a military camp, with white racist soldiers in combat gear, with assault rifles and Alsatian dogs combing the township, and with helicopters circling overhead. Reporters were taken through the streets in armoured troop carriers and saw soldiers spaced 15 metres apart on all the streets of the township.

According to the report by Reuters: "It was the Army’s first major operation against its own citizens since 1960" - that is, since the state of emergency after the gruesome Sharpeville massacre of 1960. The report went on to say that it was "the largest combined South African defence force-police operation ever."

It is clear that the racist regime, in its desperation at being unable to curb the growing resistance against apartheid, has embarked on a war against the unarmed and defenceless black majority of that unhappy country. That operation, I may add, comes soon after the very large military manoeuvres staged by the Pretoria regime only last month.

The Azanian People’s Organisation said that the military occupation of Sebokeng is a declaration of war. It also said:

"The occupation shows that the South African Government has completely failed in its policies of apartheid. The revolutionary threat of which the Government talks has its roots in unrepresentative minority rule."

A spokesman for the United Democratic Front recalled its repeated warnings that South Africa was entering a state of civil war. Members of the Council may recall that six leaders of the United Democratic Front entered the British Consulate last month to draw the attention of the world to the explosive situation.

What is happening in South Africa today is not one more struggle by the people for the redress of grievances and one more act of inhuman repression by that regime.

Ten years ago, when this Council considered the situation in South Africa, the racist regime solemnly promised to move away from all discrimination, and the Western Powers used that declaration as a pretext to veto even the exclusion of that regime from the United Nations. Since then, behind propaganda about "changes" and "reforms," in orchestration with some

Western Powers and interests, the racist regime has been trying to dispossess and denationalise the African majority through the so-called independence of bantustans and the forced removals of Africans from their lands and homes. Last year, behind a barrage of misleading propaganda, it enacted a so-called new constitution designed to divide the black people, denationalise the African majority and turn an African country into a white racist bastion. It went ahead with imposing that constitution last month despite categorical rejection by the great majority of the people and despite strong denunciations by the General Assembly and the Security Council. The black people in South Africa are now struggling not only for their homes, their livelihood and their elementary rights, but for their fatherland and, indeed, for the integrity of the continent of Africa. They are struggling for all the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.

I must emphasise that condemnations of the apartheid regime alone are hardly a meaningful response to the situation. We have had numerous condemnations, and we have had repeated defiance by that regime of this highest organ of the United Nations. There can be no excuse for any further delay or equivocation in imposing sanctions against the apartheid regime under the provisions of the Charter. We have seen, following the Sharpeville massacre of 1960 and Soweto massacre of 1976 - to which the representative of South Africa made no reference in his despicable statement a few minutes ago - that the United Nations holds the apartheid regime responsible and condemns it; but that regime proceeds with impunity to take revenge on the black people while the major Western Powers prevent any meaningful action.

The apartheid regime is sensitive to the attitudes of the major Western Powers - particularly the United States of America and the United Kingdom - and of the transnational corporations. It has understood the present attitudes of those Governments as a licence for repression. Indeed, it calculates that it should now resort to even more massive repression in order to suppress resistance so that transnational corporations can continue their operation and earn the "blood money" from the suffering of the black people. It hopes that it can create the calm of the grave so that the major Western Powers can again equivocate on action to eliminate apartheid. But history does not repeat itself. The oppressed people are mobilised more than ever and there is a prospect of an explosion.

I would like to appeal to the Security Council not to rest after adopting another resolution of condemnation or demands to the apartheid regime but to consider measures under the Charter to enforce its resolutions. I would appeal particularly to the United States and the United Kingdom to listen for once to the appeals of the oppressed people of South Africa. To be engaged with the racists and to spurn the representatives of the great majority of the people is, to say the least, not a sign of statesmanship, not an act of friendship with Africa, not evidence of loyalty to the Charter of the United Nations.

Whether the apartheid regime will be allowed to run amok and precipitate a wider conflict, with the black majority forced to lay down lives for its dignity and survival, or the international community will resolve the situation depends, above all, on the United States and the United Kingdom. I hope history will not need to record that those two great countries have again failed to fulfil their duty, despite all our appeals, and have brought on a tragedy.

OPENING STATEMENT BY MAJOR-GENERAL JOSEPH N. GARBA (NIGERIA), CHAIRMAN, AT THE MEETING OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE AGAINST APARTHEID ON THE OCCASION OF ITS 25TH ANNIVERSARY

NEW YORK, 6 MAY 1988

Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

We are meeting today to observe the 25th anniversary of the Special Committee against Apartheid. Anniversaries as this, usually provide the opportunity for a retrospective assessment of the successes and achievements and often call for celebrations,

Ours, however, is not a cause for celebration. It is an opportunity for sober reflection on the failure of the international community to erase the stigma of apartheid. It is also an occasion for reassessment of our approach and recharging our determination.

South African racial policy has been before the United Nations, in one form or another, for more than 40 years. By 1962, when the General Assembly established the Special Committee, 26 resolutions had already been adopted by that august body denouncing the policy and practices of apartheid and calling upon the Pretoria regime to abandon its inhuman and disastrous course. Every appeal to them only triggered a new escalation of internal repression and external aggression. It is not necessary today to recount the efforts undertaken by the United Nations against apartheid after the Special Committee was established. But what can be said is, that not a single minute was lost in fighting that abhorrent system; a system that is so clearly inconsistent with the Charter of the United Nations that it constitutes a crime against humanity and an affront to the conscience and dignity of mankind.

From the beginning of its existence, its first chairman, the late Mr. Diallo Telli of Guinea, underlined the need for urgent action against South Africa. Upon the recommendation of the Committee's first interim report of 6 May, 1963, endorsed by the Summit Conference of African States, the Security Council met in August 1963 and adopted its resolution 181 calling for the first time for an arms embargo.

On 10 May, 1963, the Special Committee heard the first petitioners on apartheid policies. One of them was Mr. George Houser, then executive director of American Committee on Africa, who is today among us. He is one of the many vigorous and persistent pioneers who established the fruitful working relationship of the Committee with anti-apartheid non-governmental organizations. It was the same day when the military wings of the national liberation movements and two other organizations were banned by being declared the same as PAC and ANC.

Through the sixties the international community witnessed a continuing deterioration of the situation in South Africa caused by a serious aggravation of the repression forced on the black majority population. By implementing draconian laws like the Sabotage Act and the Terrorism Act, the racist regime intensified its ruthless, arbitrary and violent attack against any opposition to apartheid. In 1973, the General Assembly adopted overwhelmingly the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid. One year later, South Africa's participation in the work of the General Assembly, under rule 71 of the rules of procedure, was suspended. It was, at the same time, that the General Assembly recognized the legitimacy of the struggle of the oppressed people of South Africa,

It however took several years of brutal violence and arrogant defiance of United Nations resolutions by South Africa to convince member-states to impose, for the first time in the history of the United Nations, an embargo under Chapter VII, on one of its member-states. On 4 November, 1977, a mandatory arms embargo against South Africa was adopted by the Security Council. Since then, the international community, again and again, undertook great efforts to extend the scope of the embargo to other fields. The Security Council has, however, so far failed to agree on further restrictive measures against South Africa due to the negative votes of two of its permanent members.

The World Conferences on sanctions organized by the Special Committee in 1977, 1981 and 1986 have underlined the only peaceful option left to eliminate apartheid. Pretoria would not move towards dismantling apartheid, It had to be coerced, through economic sanctions, through isolation, through a quarantine. The peoples of the world have responded. The sports, cultural and consumer boycotts, the divestment campaigns bear witness to the efforts of men and women around the world. It was the governments that for years failed. It is true that almost all Non-aligned countries, the Socialist countries, the Nordic countries have responded magnificently. Yet, there are still certain western countries, especially the major ones, that for years have collaborated with the apartheid regime, and yet others that have hesitated to disassociate themselves from the apartheid regime in spite of the pressure of their own citizens. Piecemeal and uncoordinated measures when they have been applied to pacify public opinion, only manifest lack of political will, a lamentable absence of moral sensitivity. They are not enough.

Against this background, the Special Committee calls upon the participants in this meeting, as well as all concerned and peace-loving people, to join in decisive efforts to define new ways and means, new strategies for the enhancement of the global struggle against apartheid; for convincing the apologists of South Africa to cease any further collaboration with that regime. It is high time to redouble our efforts in assisting the national liberation movements in their just and legitimate struggle for a free, unfragmented, non-racial and democratic society in their home country.

In recalling developments in the international struggle against apartheid over the past 25 years, one can see successful and inspiring moments. But the shattering ones still outweigh them. Although it is well established that the ultimate solution of the conflict lies in the hands of the South African people, it is up to us, the international community, to effectively assist them in achieving their set objective. It is the view of the Special Committee against Apartheid that concerted and decisive action by the international community has the capacity to stop the state terrorism launched by Pretoria inside South Africa and abroad, and that it can force the racist regime to abide by the many United Nations resolutions, if only they will be brought to bear.

In this connection, I wish also to take this opportunity to commend the people of South Africa and Namibia for their heroic and sustained struggle against apartheid. Their continued and courageous resistance to the policy and practices of apartheid will always be remembered and regarded as an important incentive for international anti-apartheid action.

In conclusion, I wish to thank all those who, during the past 25 years, have been in the forefront of the international anti-apartheid struggle. Their commitment, initiatives and actions have strengthened the efforts of the United Nations and its Special Committee against Apartheid. In particular, the Special Committee wishes to thank the Non-aligned countries and the Socialist States for their firm and longstanding commitment to the struggle against apartheid. It honours the Nordic countries and others who, in recent years, took decisive steps towards the application of concerted and effective action against the racist regime, and, last but not least, it commends the countless and tireless efforts of the anti-apartheid movements in Western countries who attempted to persuade their respective governments to follow suit to the actions of the overwhelming majority of states, not only to condemn apartheid, but to take decisive action against it.

It is also a matter of great pride for the Special Committee and for me, its Chairman, to see so many of you here today to honour the work of our Committee. With your vast experience and dedication to the cause of human dignity, freedom and peace, I have no doubt that our course will be a successful one. While we have not attained our final objective, we remain relentless and persistently committed. To borrow a word of wisdom, let me say that "we have earned our optimism, we have a right to our confidence and we have much to do". Let us then join together and rededicate ourselves to the immediate eradication of apartheid.

Thank you.