OCTOBER 11, 1991
Today, we have gathered together to pay tribute once again to the sacrifices of the political prisoners of South Africa - those who, after years of incarceration, have been recently released as well as those still remaining in various jails. We are also gathered today not only to show our solidarity with those prisoners but to reiterate our conviction that no South African prisoner whose motivation for his/her acts was political, and by acting to oppose the obnoxious apartheid system, should continue to remain in prison.
We have listened with attention to the words of a former political prisoner, Mr. Walter Sisulu, Deputy President of the African National Congress, a living testimony to the heroic resistance against apartheid, and we have listened with appreciation to the words of Mayor Dinkins, a fighter against racism. On behalf of the Special Committee, I wish to thank them for joining us on this important occasion. I would also like to thank the President of the General Assembly, our Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, the President of the Security Council and all other speakers for participating in this Observance.
Distinguished Delegates and Special Guests,
This Day, therefore, provides us an opportunity to reflect on the past and look to the future. One lesson of the past is that the struggle for freedom and equity has price tags which, unfortunately, includes loss of lives. Our brothers and sisters from South Africa have, over the years, paid this supreme price and, regrettably, this is still ongoing.
Indeed, it was the resistance shown by the overwhelming majority of South Africans against the obnoxious system as well as support from the international community that now made it possible to easily think of the future with greater hope. The continuous resistance entails hardships and deprivations especially for its political prisoners whose courage we now not only once again acknowledge, but salute. The dramatic developments that have occurred in South Africa within the last two years may not have been thinkable if there were not men and women who, through their endurance of hardship and pain in the jails of the apartheid system, were willing to rise up and say no to oppression, exploitation as well as to racism. We express our thanks to those who gave their precious lives, thanks to those who sacrificed several years of their lives in pains and deprivations and thanks to all those who protested and continue to protest against the obnoxious system. All these efforts and sacrifices have today made it possible for us to now start looking with greater optimism to the day when South Africa will become a democratic, free, non-racial and non-sexist society.
There are grounds for optimism for the future. However, we must be concerned today that one and a half years since the United Nations Declaration on Apartheid was adopted, and since President de Klerk declared his intention to eradicate apartheid, there are still hundreds of political prisoners in the jails of South Africa, including the "homeland" of Bophuthatswana. It is unfortunate that while the issue of political exiles, after the agreement with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, has had a positive turn, inadequate consultations and mechanisms, and possibly narrow political exigencies, have prevented the complete resolution of the issue of the release of political prisoners. This is a pity because we have seen progress on other fronts, and I am referring here to the National Peace Accord which was signed a month ago and which, despite some disquieting incidents, appears for the time being to be generally respected.
The Special Committee against Apartheid strongly urges the authorities of South Africa to remove all the remaining obstacles towards genuine negotiations. Good faith should be demonstrated by all sides so that obstacles would be completely removed from the path of the overall political process towards the peaceful end of apartheid. We do look forward with anticipation to the convening of the All-Party forum where all the leaders of South Africa would start discussing the constitutional future of their country.
The Secretary-General, in his Second Progress Report on the Implementation of the United Nations Declaration, emphasizes that a meeting of all parties should now be at the top of the political agenda. However, he also cautions us that the process in South Africa towards the eradication of apartheid might be lengthy and even vulnerable.
This brings me to the issue of the responsibilities of the international community. The Special Committee proposed earlier this year that the international community should follow a two-track approach, namely:
As the process unfolds, the nature of this pressure, of course, will have to be adjusted.
Assistance to the democratic forces in South Africa is an important element of the policy mix. The Special Committee has already taken initiatives regarding the educational needs of South Africans and will soon turn its attention to the socio-economic inequalities in that country which, as the Secretary-General has underlined, can be an obstacle to negotiations.
In this context, all assistance shall be needed for the returning political exiles and the released political prisoners. On this day, on behalf of the Special Committee, I wish to call on the international community to provide effective assistance to those who have been fighting a struggle which is truly our own struggle, i.e., the struggle for freedom, justice and equality. I wish to close by expressing the wish of all of you that today is the last time we observe the Day of Solidarity with South African Political Prisoners.