After a quarter century in jail, Nelson Mandela, the leader of the South African
African National Congress, was released and faced the world's press in a speech
carried live throughout the world.
Comrades and fellow South Africans, I greet you all in the name of peace,
democracy and freedom for all. I stand here before you not as a prophet but
as a humble servant of you, the people. Your tireless and heroic sacrifices
have made it possible for me to be here today. I therefore place the remaining
years of my life in your hands.
On this day of my release, I extend my sincere and warmest gratitude to the
millions of my compatriots and those in every corner of the globe who have campaigned
tirelessly for my release. I extend special greetings to the people of Cape
Town, the city which has been my home for three decades. Your mass marches and
other forms of struggle have served as a constant source of strength to all
political prisoners.
I salute the African National Congress. It has fulfilled our every expectation
In its role as leader of the great march to freedom.
I salute our president, Comrade Oliver Tambo, for leading the ANC even under
the most difficult circumstances.
I salute the rank-and-file members of the ANC: You have sacrificed life and
limb in the pursuit of the noble cause of our struggle.
I salute combatants of Umkhonto We Sizwe (the ANC's military wing) who paid
the ultimate price for the freedom of all South Africans.
I salute the South African Communist Party for its sterling contribution to
the struggle for democracy: You have survived 40 years of unrelenting persecution.
The memory of great Communists like Bram Fisher and Moses Mabhida will be cherished
for generations to come.
I salute General Secretary Joe Slovo, one of our finest patriots. We are heartened
by the fact that the alliance between ourselves and the party remains as strong
as it always was.
I salute the United Democratic Front, the National Education Crisis Committee,
the South African Youth Congress, the Transvaal and Natal Indian Congresses,
and COSATU, and the many other formations of the mass democratic movement.
I also salute the Black Sash and the National Union of South African Students.
We note with pride that you have endured as the conscience of white South Africans,
even during the darkest days of the history of our struggle. You held the flag
of liberty high. The largescale mass mobilization of the past few years is one
of the key factors which led to the opening of the final chapter of our struggle.
I extend my greetings to the working class of our country. Your organized
strength is the pride of our movement: You remain the most dependable force
in the struggle to end exploitation and oppression.
I pay tribute to the many religious communities who carried the campaign for
justice forward when the organizations of our people were silenced.
I greet the traditional leaders of our country: Many among you continue to
walk in the footsteps of great heroes.
I pay tribute for the endless heroism of youth: You, the young lions, have
energized our entire struggle.
I pay tribute to the mothers and wives and sisters of our nation: You are
the rock-hard foundation of our struggle. Apartheid has inflicted more pain
on you than on anyone else.
On this occasion, we thank the world, we thank the world community for their
great contribution to the anti-apartheid struggle. Without your support, our
struggle could not have reached this advanced stage.
The sacrifice of the front-line states will be remembered by South Africans
forever.
My celebrations will be incomplete without expressing my deep appreciation
for the strength that has been given to me during my long and gloomy years in
prison by my beloved wife and family. I am convinced that your pain and suffering
was far greater than my own.
Before I go any further, I wish to make the point that I intend making only
a few preliminary comments at this stage. I will make a more complete statement
only after I have had the opportunity to consult with my comrades.
Today, the majority of South Africans, black and white, recognize that apartheid
has no future. It has to be ended by our own decisive mass action in order to
build peace and security.
The mass campaigns of defiance and other actions of our organizations and
people can only culminate in the establishment of democracy.
The apartheid's destruction on our subcontinent is incalculable. The fabric
of family life of millions of my people has been shattered. Millions are homeless
and unemployed. Our economy lies in ruins and our people are embroiled in political
strife.
Our resort to the armed struggle in 1960 with the formation of the military
wing of the ANC (Umkhoto We Sizwe) was a purely defensive action against the
violence of apartheid. The factors which necessitated the armed struggle still
exist today. We have no option but to continue. We express the hope that a climate
conducive to a negotiated settlement would be created soon, so that there may
no longer be the need for the armed struggle.
I am a loyal and disciplined member of the African National Congress. I am
therefore in full agreement with all of its objectives strategies and tactics.
The need to unite the people of our country is as important a task now as
it always has been. No individual leader is able to take all this enormous task
on his own. It is our task as leaders to place our views before our organization
and to allow the democratic structures to decide on the way forward
On the question of democratic practice, I feel duty-bound to make the point
that a leader of the movement is a person who has been democratically elected
at a national congress. This is a principle which must be upheld without any
exception.
Today, I wish to report to you that my talks with the government have been
aimed at normalizing the political situation in the country. We have not yet
begun discussing the basic demands of the struggle. I wish to stress that I
myself have at no time entered negotiations about the future of our country,
except to insist on a meeting between the ANC and the government.
Mr. de Klerk has gone further than any other nationalist president in taking
real steps to normalize the situation. However, there are further steps, as
outlined in the Harare declaration, that have to be met before negotiations
on the basic demands of our people can begin.
I reiterate our call for, inter-alia, the immediate ending of the state of
emergency and the freeing of all - and not only some - political prisoners.
Only such a normalized situation, which allows for free political activity,
can allow us to consult our people in order to obtain a mandate.
The people need to be consulted on who will negotiate and on the content of
such negotiations.
Negotiations cannot take their place above the heads or behind the backs of
our people.
It Is our belief that the future of our country can only be determined by
a body which is democratically elected on a non-racial basis.
Negotiations on the dismantling of apartheid will have to address the overwhelming
demands of our people for a democratic, non-racial and unitary South Africa.
There must be an end to white monopoly on political power and a fundamental
restructuring of our political and economic systems to ensure that the inequalities
of apartheid are addressed, and our society thoroughly democratized.
It must be added that Mr. de Klerk himself is a man of integrity who is acutely
aware of the dangers of a public figure not honoring his undertaking.
But as an organization, we base our policy and our strategy on the harsh reality
we are faced with, and this reality is that we are still suffering under the
policies of the nationalist government.
Our struggle has reached a decisive moment: We call on our people to seize
this moment, so that the process toward democracy Is rapid and uninterrupted.
We have waited too long for our freedom. We can no longer wait. Now is the
time to intensify the struggle on all fronts. To relax our efforts now would
be a mistake which generations to come will not be able to forgive.
The sight of freedom looming on the horizon should encourage us to redouble
our efforts. It Is only through disciplined mass action that our victory can
be assured.
We call on our white compatriots to join us in the shaping of a new South
Africa. The freedom movement is a political home for you, too.
We call on the international community to continue the campaign to isolate
the apartheid regime. To lift sanctions now would run the risk of aborting the
process toward the complete eradication of apartheid.
Our march toward freedom is irreversible. We must not allow fear to stand
in our way.
Universal suffrage on a common voters roll in a united, democratic and non-racial
South Africa is the only way to peace and racial harmony.
In conclusion, I wish to go to my own words during my trial in 1964 - they
are as true today as they were then:
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 opportunity. 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.
