11 October 19851
On behalf of the African National Congress, the South African political prisoners, men and women who have sacrificed their physical freedom so that others should attain and enjoy full freedom; on behalf of those who have paid the supreme price by giving their lives for others to live a life devoid of oppression, degradation and repression; on behalf of all the fighting people of South Africa, engaged in a life-and-death struggle to destroy a vicious system and regime which does not respect human life and dignity; I greet all those present and express our heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to them for affording us the opportunity to participate in this important meeting and for what they have done and are continuing to do to mobilize the international community on behalf of our just cause.
I was deeply moved by the powerful message of solidarity and the deep and principled commitment expressed in the speech delivered by the Prime Minister of Vanuatu, on his own behalf and in the name of his people. I wish to thank him most profoundly for that, as well as for the exemplary decision he and his people have taken to name a park in Vanuatu after our leader, Comrade Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. This great and concrete gesture of solidarity will be communicated as rapidly as possible to our people and to Nelson Mandela.
For many years the United Nations has organized these meetings to express solidarity with South African political prisoners unjustly incarcerated by the apartheid regime. But those same years have seen a rapid increase in the number of political prisoners, including children of an extremely tender age. This situation has even become worse since the declaration of the state of emergency. Today the entire country is a political prison.
We are talking about people who have been detained without trial; those who have been tortured to death in prison, under the cloak of having committed suicide or fallen from the windows of high buildings or slipped on stairs; those sentenced to prison terms of various lengths; and those judicially assassinated by hanging. We are also talking of all those countless millions of our people who may at any moment meet the same fate.
This meeting takes place at a significant time, when humanity is commemorating the fortieth anniversary of the defeat of fascism and the founding of the United Nations, a body founded to do everything to ensure that the world does not experience a tragedy similar in nature to Hitlerite nazism, Mussolini's fascism and the Nagasaki-Hiroshima catastrophe.
The continued existence of apartheid is an anachronism, because it perpetuates nazism, genocide and other evils which the United Nations was founded to prevent. And apartheid is daily intensifying its reign of terror in typical SS style against our people.
Just as the world was convinced that the only way to deal with fascism was to destroy the Fascist regime, and with it fascism, our people have understood that the only way to deal with apartheid is to destroy the apartheid regime by all the means at their disposal.
As a result of this understanding of the urgent need to stop the wanton killing of our people, the masses have drawn a sharp line in terms of the definition of the internal forces and international forces. The slogan is simply: "You are with us or with the enemy"; there is no middle road. The situation has exposed all those who pretend to be with the people whilst wanting to gain from the oppression of the people.
The African National Congress recognizes the need for a wide democratic front, using all forms of struggle. It recognizes that there are those that will use non-violent forms of struggle and are honestly committed to those forms of struggle. That position of the African National Congress is endorsed by the people.
What the people and the African National Congress will not accept are those who pay lip-service to the struggle, because the time has long passed for that type of behaviour, since the country is at war. The times require people who act against the enemy, be it by force of arms or by other means. People like Gatsha Buthelezi, who profess non-violence when it comes to the enemy but act violently against the people, actually collaborate with the racist police and army and are paid by the regime. They can never be part of the forces poised to destroy apartheid, but are part of the enemy forces.
Apartheid's carrot of reform has never been, and never will be, sweet. The people - men, women and children - continue resolutely to reject it. Through mass united actions and the armed struggle, they continue to make apartheid unworkable and the country ungovernable. The state of emergency and the military dictatorship it has imposed on our people have failed to derail or reverse the escalation of our struggle. The people today are more than ever determined to eradicate apartheid and win their freedom in this lifetime. Apartheid, trapped in the straits of desperation, has resorted to the most savage, pervasive and intense use of repression.
Meanwhile, a growing number of those traditional beneficiaries and allies of apartheid, realizing that apartheid is sinking, are abandoning ship. Its diehard advocates and protagonists are in disarray and scurry about contriving stopgap measures to try and prevent the inevitable destruction of that crime against humanity. It may be that apartheid will murder even more of its opponents. We, of course, regret every life that has been or will be lost. That is why we are all the more determined to eradicate apartheid in order for people to live in a free, non-racial, united and democratic South Africa.
Our people have reached a stage where no sacrifice is too great to meet the need for freedom. They are prepared to die for freedom. They have been liberated from the fear of death, brutality, the army, the police and any other hardship brought to them by the struggle. That attitude is demonstrated by the fearlessness which marks their daily confrontation with the apartheid army and police. They have also made their attitude clear by embarking on a consumer boycott, and on strikes under the most repressive circumstances. We must note that those who, like Gatsha Buthelezi and others, oppose the campaign for economic sanctions against South Africa cannot be speaking on behalf of the people, but are speaking on behalf of themselves, because they have a stake in the exploitation of our people under the apartheid regime.
The international community has declared apartheid a crime against humanity. Therefore, let us see the criminals punished and punished severely for that severe crime. The religious community has declared apartheid a heresy. Let us see the heretics excommunicated.
Let us reject "constructive engagement" with the racists and against the people. Let us rather commence constructive engagement on the side of the people against the oppressor.
The International Court of Justice has declared that the racist regime is occupying Namibia illegally. Let us use the proper instruments to see to it that the racists get out of Namibia immediately and unconditionally, in accordance with Security Council resolution 435 (1978).
We call for the withdrawal of the case against the leadership of the United Democratic Front and the release of those detained under the state of emergency laws. We also call upon the international community further to intensify the campaign for the unconditional release of Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners; they cannot be kept in prison for fighting a crime against humanity.
We appreciate the steps the international community has taken in the line of economic sanctions, but we appeal for the imposition of comprehensive mandatory economic sanctions on the racist regime along with an oil embargo and complete cultural isolation. With a weak economy, the racist regime would not be able to attack neighbouring States.
We note with pride, and with gratitude to the international community, the honours that have been bestowed on Comrade Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners, for these convey in clear terms a reaffirmation of the legitimacy of our struggle and a recognition of the political prisoners as a force in our struggle. Political prisoners are not just passive objects of the atrocities perpetrated against them; they continue to fight for their own rights. It was in prison during the late 1960s and early 1970s that we drew up appeals demanding our own release, because we felt the Fascist regime had no right to keep us in gaol.
We are jubilant that the international community has honoured the Reverend Allan Boesak, Beyers Naude and Mrs. Mandela. That is an honour not only for those individuals, but also for the struggling people of South Africa, which has produced such undeviating fighters for freedom.
Let me express our gratitude and appreciation for the many messages from Heads of State and various organizations, urging us on and encouraging us to continue the struggle until apartheid is thrown into the dustbin of history.
Down with the apartheid regime! Forward to the freedom of the people of Namibia and South Africa!
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