World Conference for Action Against , Lagos, , 22 - 26 August 1977: Statements by liberation movements

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Alternative title Notes and Documents - Centre Against ApartheidConf. 2 Author/Creator United Nations Centre against Apartheid Contributor Tambo, Oliver R., Leballo, Potlako, Nujoma, Sam, Nkomo, Joshua Publisher United Nations, New York Date 1977-10-00 Resource type Reports Language English Subject Coverage (spatial) South Africa, , Zimbabwe, Nigeria Coverage (temporal) 1977 Source Northwestern University Libraries Description Statements by liberation movements. Statement by Mr. Oliver R. Tambo, President, African National Congress of South Africa (ANC). Statement by Mr. Potlako Leballo, Acting President, Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC). Statement by Mr. , President, People's Organization (SWAPO). Statement by Mr. Joshua Nkomo, Co-leader, Patriotic Front of Zimbabwe. Format extent 30 page(s) (length/size)

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World Conference for Act against A artheid Lagos, Nigeria, 22-26 Augus NOTES AND OCUMENTS ion ~co~2 /V. October 1977 st 1977 7 WORLD CONFERENCE FR ACT AGAINST APARTHEID (Lagos, Nigeria, 22-26 August 1977) Statements by liberation movements Statement by Mr. Oliver R. Tambo, President, African National Congress of South Africa (ANC) .... 1 Statement by Mr. Potlako Leballo, Acting President, Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) ...... 12 Statement by Mr. Sam Nujoma, President, South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) ... 18 Statement by Mr. Joshua Nkomo, Co-leader, Patriotic Front of Zimbabwe ...... 27 77-19152 * All material in these notes and documents may be freely reprinted. Acknowledgement, together with a copy of the publication containing the reprint, would be appreciated.

-1- STATEMENT BY MR. OLIVER TA1BO, President of the African National Congress of South Africa (ANC) Mr. President, Your Distinguished guests and delegates, In the evolution of mankind, humanity came to realize that life for each one of us can be full only if it is based on the acceptance of the principles and practice of self-determination, as well as freedom from want and fear. Throughout her history, Africa has had her own men and women who have shone forth as outstanding fighters for such a full life. We refer to giants such as Chief Albert Luthuli, Eduardo Mondlane, Amilcar Cabral, ,aamal Abdel Nasser, Mohammed V, and others. We refer also to the late General Murtala Mohammed who, hardly eighteen months ago, in said, "when I contemplate the evils of apartheid my heart bleeds ... We did not know then that a month later Murtala Mohammed's heart would bleed for the last time, through fatal wounds opened by the hands of crazed assassins. Neither did the world know then that five months later the blood of South African youth, men, women and children would flow in the streets of Soweto, Langa, Mameledi, Alexandra and other black ghettoes at the hands of the same enemy forces. The enemies of progress were frightened by the fact that he actively led this great nation into the frontline of the struggle to destroy the apartheid regime at a time when that regime was trying to reverse the historical process in , as it has attempted to do in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, away from the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination, away-from freedom from want and fear.

-2- Mr. President, this World Conference for Action against Apartheid has therefore an obligation to honour the memory of this great hero, to honour him in a manner befitting a man of resolute and revolutionary action. The historic statement made to this conference yesterday by the Head of State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Lt. General Olusegun Obasanjo, in the name of the people of Nigeria, was itself a lasting tribute to the life and memory of Murtala Mohammed and a further reassurance that in Obasanjo we have another Mohammed. This conference of action is therefore hosted by a country whose Government and people believe in action. The Southern Africa Relief Fund represents the individual participation of the Nigerian people. You, Mr. President, have played and continue to play a distinguished role leading the Nigerian people and educating them towards ever-increasing commitment to the struggle for the total liberation of Africa. We recall that the Havana Seminar against Apartheid adopted a Programme of Action which was approved by the thirty-first session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Your contributions at the Havana Seminar and subsequently at United Nations forums qualify you to the seat you occupy today, for the implementation of the Programme of Action against Apartheid. Gathering momentum of campaign against apartheid This is the largest and most representative conference ever to meet on the issue of apartheid. Perhaps this is a fitting occasion for the African National Congress to acknowledge, on behalf of the people of South Africa and especially the national liberation movement, the world-wide support which our struggle has received over the years. We acknowledge this as support also for the rest of the people of southern Africa, particularly the people of Namibia and Zimbabwe, led by SWAPO and the Patriotic Front. The presence and participation at this conference of the leaders of SWAPO and the Patriotic Front demonstrates yet again that we are fighting

-3- as one people for the same cause, against the same enemy. Mr. President, moved in part by the sense of urgency and the spirit of commitment displayed in Havana, the thirty-first session of the United Nations General Assembly last year approved the Havana Programme of Action. It went on further to strengthen the Programme with resolutions. It recognized that the oppressed people of South Africa have no alternative but to resort to armed struggle to achieve their legitimate rights. The General Assembly further affirmed the legitimacy of the struggle of the oppressed people of South Africa and their liberation movement for the seizure of power by the people and the exercise of their inalienable right to self-determination. It also reaffirmed that apartheid is a grave threat to international peace and security. The impetus of mobilization against the racist, apartheid, colonialist and fascist regimes of Southern Africa gained ever increasing momentum in the past few months by the now well-known Maputo and Conferences. The World Conference against Colonialism, Racism and Apartheid in Southern Africa held in Lisbon from 16 June this year not only drew representatives of Governments, and of hundreds of grass-roots organizations, but also committed the masses of the world to a programme of action against colonialism, racism and apartheid in direct conti-nuation of the Programme adopted by the United Nations. Considering that the resolutions and the Programme of Action of the United Nations also took into account the successive decisions of both the OAU and the Conference of Non-aligned Countries, we can, without exaggeration, say that, truly, the overwhelming majority of mankind, at both governmental and non-governmental levels, has taken positions of confrontation with the criminal apartheid regime. It is on this foundation that this Lagos World Conference for Action against Apartheid stands. But for it to be an actual and meaningful pinnacle for the great effort of international mobilization that preceded it, the Conference must in fact become a conference for action. It should itself reflect the fact that the struggle of our people in southern Africa has reached a crucial and critical stage. Mr. President, the mass upsurge of Soweto last year has turned out to be but one of a series of explosions that are reverberating across the face of our country. In the minds and hearts of people, Soweto has become a symbol of the undaunted resolve and undying faith of our people to fight for their inalienable birthright until victory or death. The contempt of our youth for death and their heroism have a dimension that only manifests itself in a people when their march to freedom reaches the point of no return. They are an expression of the determination of our people to overthrow racism, apartheid, colonialism and fascism in all its manifestations, no matter what the price. These uprisings are not accidental. They are born of the harsh realities of the pernicious system and mark a new and decisive chapter in the long and bitter struggle led by the African National Congress. No people who are prepared to sacrifice their lives for their inalienable right to self-determination can ever be suppressed and subdued even by the most powerful military monsters. The triumph of the war of liberation of the Vietnamese people against the mightiest imperialist power in the world demonstrates this fact. That victory became the forerunner of the overthrow of Portuguese colonialism in Africa, Mozambique, Angola and Guinea-Bissau destroyed a vital link in the chain of an unholy alliance that had held the peoples of southern Africa enslaved. Supported by the progressive peoples of the world and fortified by their own unshakeable resolve, the peoples of Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa are poised for victory to achieve their birthright and legitimate aspirations. Response of the apartheid r4g me: fascist terror What is Vorster's reply to our people's legitimate demands? What is the regimc's response to the repeated appeals by the international community through its numerous forums and institutions?

-5- The reply is an ever-growing fascist terror. It is the wanton murder of defenceless men, women and children. It is mass arrests, detentions without trial, as well as the torture and massive assassination of detainees in prison cells and torture chambers. It is the sentencing to life imprisonment and the hanging of the best sons and daughters who, inspired by the noble ideals enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, have resolutely fought for a democratic South Africa. The streets of Sharpeville, Soweto, Langa, Guguletu and other black ghettoes are drenched with the blood of South African patriots who, like all the distinguished delegates and participants gathered here today, have the right to live and strive for freedom, justice and human dignity - to seek peace and happiness. This is Vorter's answer.- It is a fascist answer. It is an answer dictated by the nature of the fascist apartheid system. As the people's struggle for liberation intensifies, fascist repression grows more barbaric and will continue to grow more vicious. Thus does the Vorster regime confront the peoples of the world with defiant and brutal arrogance. And yet the imperialist powers refuse to act against the apartheid regime. The main guilt for the crimes committed against our people, against the peoples of Africamust be placed squarely on the Western Powers and the multinational corporations which have placed profits above human life, and which value their selfish interests above human aspirations. As these interests grewso did the commitment of the imperialist Powers to the defence and strengthening of the racist regimes also grow. This was because the imperialists had come to the simple conclusion that the vhite utinority regirnes consituted guarantors of the security of these interests. Correspondingly, the imperialist Bowers viewed the liberation of the peoples of southern Africa as an inadmissible threat to these interests. This much was clear from the

-6- strategies spelt out in the United States Government document, National Security Council Memorandum 39. The victory of FRELIMO and the MPLA in Mozambique and Angola respectively, and the intensification of the struggle in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe have forced the imperialists to depart significantly from the positions stated in Memorandum 39. In essence these shifts are, in our view, of a tactical rather than a strategic nature. In a situation in which the national liberation movement in southern Africa has made advances in spite of the fierce opposition of the Western Powers and their resident allies, in which it has become clear that nothing could stop the liberation of the area as a whole, the Western Powers in recognition of this new reality, had to consider what new tactics andstrategy to adopt to retain their domination of the region. A central feature of this "new strategy" is that the relations between the imperialist Powers and the'racist Vorster regime will remain unchanged. Over the last few days, countries such as France and Italy have stated thathenceforththey will apply a strict arms embargo against the Vorster r~gime. But France, of course, has also announced that she will honour existing contracts to supply the racist regime, particularly with warships of various types. The background to these statements which puts them in their true perspective is that these countiies have in fact been working to make the racists self-sufficient in military hardware. To this end, they have not only supplied large quantities of material but also helped to build up an armaments industry within South Africa. There is also the additional fact that,even if an arms embargo were maintained "voluntarily" by the major Western Powers, the possibility still exists to route new arms supplies via such countries as Israel, Taiwan, South Korea and .

-7- It is now known that for years the Western Powers have grossly understated the quantities of arms they delivered to the racist regimes. According to evidence given to the United States Congress only last month, items such as combat aircraft and tanks have been understated by as much as 400 and 300 per cent respectively. There is now the shocking news that the racist regime is about to test its own atomic bomb, thanks to the extensive scientific, technological and financial support given by the Western imperialist Powers to the racists' nuclear programme. The African National Congress of South Africa has recently provided the world with conclusive evidence of West German participation in this heinous crime. But the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany remains adamant and unrepentant. On the diplomatic front, the imperialist Powers have also shown that they are not prepared to countenance the total isolation of the Vorster regime. Hence the "triple veto" in the Security Council. This diplomatic defence of the apartheid regime has also been accompanied by active attempts to rehabilitate the Vorster regime in world politics. These attempts centre on the effort to present the Vorster regime as a liberator of the people of Zimbabwe and Namibia. The process of political rehabilitation of the Vorster regime, therefore, consists in: (a) giving the colonial regime the right to be a co-determinant of how, when and under what circumstances Zimbabwe and Namibia shall be free; and (b) giving the regime legitimacy and international acceptability and allowing it added time to strengthen its positions within the country and abroad. Quite clearly, therefore, the imperialist Powers are still bent on pursuing a strategy which leaves the situation within South Africa fundamentally unchanged. Undoubtedly, these Powers will continue to insist that the Vorster regime should introduce some reforms. This at best will remove the outward trappings, of racial discrimination but leave effective power in the hands of the white minority, no doubt supported by a few black puppets. According to these calculations, through its military and economic strength, the South African r6gime would remain the dominant force in southern Africa, a base from which the Western imperialist Powers would continue to direct the lives of millions of African people to suit the interests of these powers. Another feature of this "new strategy" is that the Western Bowers have recognized the fact that the situation in Zimbabwe and Namibia cannot continue as before, their client r~gimes having failed to stop the advance of the national liberation movement. They have, therefore, intervened directly in southern Africa. The aim is to take the initiative out of the hands of the liberation movement to ensure that the solutions that emerge accommodate the interests of the imperialists. The situation, however, compels these Powers to pose as part of the forces that are interested in the genuine liberation of South Africa. In our view, the test of anybody's commitment to the genuine liberation of Zimbabwe and Namibia must turn on their attitude towards the Patriotic Front and SWAPO respectively, and the question of the transfer of State power to them. The military aggression and involvement of fascist South Africa in Angola, before and after the independence of that country, clearly showed that racist South Africa is more than just a threat to independent Africa. Racist South Africa is directly involved in the barbarous attacks on Mozambique and Zambia and constantly threatens Botswana. Western countries, especially the United States of America, , France, Federal Republic of Germany, Japan, Italy, etc., are arming South Africa and therefore violating United Vations decisions. This -F-

-/9 - in turn, boosts the morale of the fascists who consciously and deliberately provoke neighbouring countries and escalate instability and tension in southern Africa. Mr. President, it is relevant to state that South Africa plays an important role in the aggressive NATO strategy which regards southern Africa as the main operational zone and the racist regime as the main striking force in Africa and the southern hemisphere. This is important to note because one of our tasks at this Conference is to clearly identify our enemies so as to work out a clear strategy. NATO Rowers supply racist South Africa with arms and skills and the strategy is clear: war against the peoples of Africa. South Africa has a significant role to play in the whole southern hemisphere and it is therefore no surprise that NATO countries envisage the creation of SATO (South Atlantic Treaty Organization) ds a counterpart of NATO in which South Africa has a leading role to play. In short, the imperialist countries provide the South African racists with the latest military equipment, planes, missiles, tanks, artillery, blueprints for armaments production and military skills. Part of this imperialist strategy is the consolidation of ties between Zionist Israel and fascist South Africa. In the Middle East, the conspiracy is to attempt to destroy the legitimate aspirations and struggle of the Arab peoples and,in particular, the Palestinian people under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Our will to be free The racists and fascists in southern Africa, for the time being, enjoy the support of what they regard as powerful forces. However, we are armed with a just cause and a will to be free. Behind the struggle of our people for the seizure of power we have the peoples of the world represented at this Conference, the invincible concerted international support of the anti-racist , anti-imperialist and anti-fascist

- 10 - forces of the world composed of the democratic, socialist and progressive peoples and States. The African National Congress appreciates and welcomes the support for the armed struggle of our suffering and oppressed people. We want to make it clear to all our friends that support for the ANC is support for the establishment of a democratic and non-racial South Africa as enshrined in the Freedom Charter. The Freedom Charter, adopted by the oppressed people of South Africa in 1955, is an expression of the genuine aspirations of our people for the establishment of a just and equitable society. It is only through the implementation of the provisions of the Freedom Charter that freedom can be made meaningful for all our people in South Africa. We have come to this Conference with high expectations. This Conference, dedicated to finding concrete steps that the world must take to give practical and meaningful support to our people, convenes at a crucial time for our struggle. His President Kenneth Kaunda spoke with supreme effectiveness on the crucial character of the stage our struggle has reached, and identified the way to action. His Excellency Lt. General Olusegun Obasanjo demonstrated the meaning of action. Mr. President, a Programme of Action was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly at its thirty-first session. We call on this historic Conference of representatives of the peoples of the world to ensure the implementation of the Programme, with the additions such as those already proposed at this Conference. In particular, we ask the Conference to adopt for implementation the following measures: (i) increased political and material support for the national liberation movements in southern Africa: the African National Congress of South Africa, SWAPO of Namibia and the Zimbabwe Patriotic Front, which are committed to armed struggle for the seizure of power;

- 11 - (ii) the invocation of Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations and the imposition of mandatory economic sanctions and an arms embargo against the Vorster regime; (iii) increased pressure against the Governments of the imperialist countries, the multinational corporations and other institutions which continue to apartheid; (iv) a renewed and intensified campaign for the immediate and unconditional release of all persons imprisoned or restricted for their involvement in the struggle for the liberation of South Africa; (v) the enforcement of the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid; (vi) assistance for the student refugees who are the victims of "Bantu education" and repression in apartheid South Africa; and (vii) the expulsion of the apartheid regime from the United Nations. Our people, under the leadership of the African National Congress, recognize and accept the challenge with which history has confronted us. Our revolution can only be the product of our own efforts and we shall not shirk our duty. The assistance and support we ask of the world cannot supplant the need for us to wage our struggle. However the world, by implementing these proposals, can help create more favou' able conditions for victory which cannot be denied our people. Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria! Long live the anti-fascist and anti-imperialist struggle! Long live the Organization of African Unity! Long live the United Nations!

- 12 - STATEMENT BY MR. POTLAKO K. LEBALLO Acting President of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) Mr. President Mr. Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity, Your Excellencies, Comrades and Friends, The World Conference for Action against ARArtheid takes place at a time when events of moment are unfolding in Azania. A heroic national uprising is sweeping through the country, violently upsetting the apartheid-colonial status quo. The Organization of African Unity has given important recognition to the valiant struggle our people are waging by deciding, during the Summit in Libreville, last month, to increase all assistance to the Azanian -nticnl !ierp.tion rrov r.nt - this so that the struggle may be intensified and rapidly developed into an all-out guerrilla warfare against the apartheid regime. We owe it to the heroic stand of our children in Soweto on 16 June 1976, 'ih n they came out in the thousands to protest the inferior education for Africans. The Azanian people as a whole have begun a final thrust against white settler domination. The Pan Africanist Congress, in a deep going revolutionary manner, has swiftly moved to take advantage of the excellent political climate prevailing at home to prepare the people even more thoroughly for the battles ahead. People's war is the only course White minority rule in Azania can only be brought down through armed struggle. The Azanian people accept this, and that is why in Soweto, in Guguletu, in Langa, in Pretoria and all over the country the national uprising has been marked by our people counter-attacking the reactionary violence of South Africa's fascist police with their own revolutionary violence, even if with sticks and stones. Under the circumstances the task of our liberation movement is to effectively deploy well-prepared cadres to guide the struggling masses in a scientific way. Whilst the mass action will and must continue, under the PAC's strategy armed struggle plays the central role. It may take us years or decades to achieve our goal of overthrowing white settler colonialism and seizing political power, but people's war is the only course that can lead us to that victory.

- 13 - Accordingly, and in respect of the sacred will of the Azanian people, there can be no compromise on the fundamental principle of struggling for Azania's liberation through armed struggle. We know that there are cynics who, for a variety of reasons,see no prospect of a successful people's war in Azania. Frequently these are the same people who saw no prospects for successful armed struggle in Angola, M4ozambique and Guinea-Bissau. They are also the people who, before 16 June last year, wpre "expertly" comnenting that the black people in South Africa have come to accept their lot, are apathetic and will not struggle. There is going to be an armed struggle in Azania. It will be a difficult one and it is bound to take a heavy toll on human lives. This cannot be avoided because the Azanian people, like people in all country's that have suffered colonial oppression and imperialist exploitation, are determined to free themselves and assert their right to self-determination. The international community,which has proclaimed itself as having a special responsibility towards the Azanian people in a resolution of the United Nations, has a duty to support the Azanian people's noble cause. It is therefore appropriate that this World Conference is being held at this time, a time when we are witnessing unprecedented bravery in the streets of Johannesburg, , Port Elizabeth, Pretoria and other cities, towns, locations and villages, as our people rise to challenge aartheid rule. The Federal Republic of Nigeria deserves special praise for having agreed to host a conference of this magnitude and significance. The Nigerian Government's decision reflects the militant foreign policy adopted by this country under the leadership of one of Africa's truly great sons - General Hurtala Muhammed, the late Head of State. Enjoying as we do, in the Pan Africanist Congress, the close support and solidarity of Nigeria, we have living proof that LieutenantGeneral Olusegun Cbacanjo and the team he leads are faithfully holding on to the course charted by General Hh'oiammed. We salute the Special Committee against Apartheid of the United Nations, and its indefatigable Chairman, Ambassador Leslie 0. Harriman, for spearheading the move by the United Nations, in collaboration with the OAU and the Federal 2epublic of Nigeria, to hold the World Conference for Action against Apartheid. Ever since the positive action campaign of the Pan Africanist Congress on 21 March 1960, during which the massacres at "harpeville, Langa, Nyanga and Vanderbijil Park took place, the United Nations has closely monitored the situation in South Africa, especially after the

- 14 - establishment of the Special Committee against ;Aptheeid in 1963. The evidence a-cumulat - of ever mounting repression against the indigenous African majority has led to the United Nations adopting a series of resolutions condemning eprtheid and urging the white settler regime to abolish the obnoxiob.s system. None of the resolutions expressing the world communityts outrage have been respected by South Africa's aheid regime. Instead the South African racists treat the rr:olutions passed by the General Assembly of the Unfted Nations each year with contempt, and they have come to regard these as quotidian. The apartheid regime has been reinforced in its arrogance by the fact that General Assembly resolutions, which are not mandatory, lack the force of law. Also South Africa's Western supporters openly flout the decisions passed by the majority of Member States of the United Nations. Encouraged by the seeming impotence of the world community, and wantonly using its military might and police, the apartheid regime has systematically denuded the African people in South Africa of fundamental rights. Draconian laws curtailing the freedom of movement of Africans, depriving them of their land, retaining them as slave labour, disregarding the sanctity of their married life, forbidding them recreation and forcing upon them inferior education have been packed into the South African statute book. To be sure, South Africa's trading partners in the West have joined in routine condemnations of apartheid. But always they have steadfastly refused to join in the international action to isolate South Africa and give support to the champions of principles advocated in the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the struggling Azanian masses and their liberation movement. Mounting repression has not daunted us Western indifference to their suffering has strengthened the Azanian peoplets resolve to be their own liberators. With support from the independent Statesin Africa, other third world countries and socialist countries, the Azanian national liberation movement has steadily developed the struggle. Vorster's jails are packed with heroes like Zeph Mothupeng, Selby Ngedane and Mlali Makwetu, all national executive members of the Pan Africanist Congress who were arrested soon after the national uprising broke out on 16 June 1976. The three have previously served time in various South African prisons and on Robben Island since 1960. There are others, detained in a special detention centre for the PAC in Pietermaritzburg, who are accused of being trained gueirilia commanders from abroad and of mounting military operations g:airst the regime.

- 15 - On 11 July the South African security police interrogated Iangaliso Sobukwe, the President of PAC and national leader of the Azanian people, for five hours. His wife, Zodwa, ims also questioned. A friend of the Sobukwes' who was also questioned after police had thoroughly searched his house was told by them that they were looking for "terror money" from abroad. The detentions and police harassments have failed to intimidate Azanians. Our mass organizations such as the Black People's Convention (BPC), South African Students' Organization (SASO), Soweto Students' Representative Council (SSRC), and the Black Parents' Association continue to denounce the r6gime and to struggle against it. At a conference of black nass organizations in Hammanskraal, on 17 July, it was solemnly resolved to mobilize the masses against the bantustanization of our country. Part of the resolution adopted at the conference says: "Mobilize all black people itn Azania to demonstrate in no uncertain terms their rejection of bantusten independence". BPC, SASO and the Black Women's Convention also participated at that conference. In Soweto the SSRC brought down the puppet "Urban Bantu Council" by forcing its members to resign. This victory is outstanding in that this is the first apartheid-created body to be brought down through popular mass action. The apartheid regime was dealt another severe blow when the Labour Party announced that it was throwing in its lot with other black organizations struggling for national liberation, and would never again participate in the apartheid "Coloured People's Representative Council". But, as I have already said, the armed struggle remains the main strategy for our liberation struggle. Our people show their support for this correct line by giving cover to our freedom fighters and by sending their sons and daughters, in the hundreds, to join the ranks of the Azanian national liberation movement. We are therefore ready to accelerate the struggle and we expect that this World Conference will produce a concrete programme of action in support of the Azanian people's liberation struggle. In order to do this effectively, serious attention must be paid to the fact that the Organization of African Unity and the United Nations recognize our liberation movement as the legitimate representatives of the people of South Africa. And as our people's representativES we know their needs in the struggle and have already told you the mode of struggle they prefer to follow. Accordingly the mnst meaningful assistance is that which our people, though their liberation movement, request.

- 16 - It has been proved at Sharpeville, Soweto and in hundreds of places all over the country that the South African racist regime relies on the use of extreme violence for suppressing the black masses. A partheid, which must oe understood as white settler colonialism, follows colonial aggression and the usurpation of our land and its resources by imperialist Powers. Its perpetrators have intransigently refused to bow to the will of the African majority. They have outlawed our people's genuine representatives, the Pan Africanist Congress and the African National Congress, and have imprisoned, placed under house arrest, banned and exiled our legitimate leaders. For us it is therefore a matter of national duty to wage an armed struggle to liquidate the violent oppression of our people. Call for international action The United Nations has declared apartheid a crime against humanity, and a Convention to that effect has been ratified. The international community is bound by duty to recognize the legitimacy of using armed struggle to overthrow the evil system of apartheid and all it represents. Only through this course can the Azanian people, like all of mankind, exercise their right to self-, determination. It must also be recognized that the South African arartheid regime seriously poses a grave danger to peace and security in Africa. Thanks to the c&-operation of some Western countries, South Africa has secretly been developing nuclear weapons, weapons it intends to use as a blackmail against African countries which support our just struggle. The PAC urges that the Security Council of the United Nations be convened as soon as possible over the South African question, of which it has remained seized since June 1976, and pass a resolution, under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, imposing an arms elioargo on the apartheid rggime. '1hilst such a resolution will not in itself stop South Africa from having nuclear weapons, just as it will not take lich the huge arsenal of war weapons, certain Western countries have generously supplied to the apartheid r'gime, it will demonstrate that the international community is serious in its condeimation of South Africa. The boycott of South Africa should not be restricted to arms. At a time when the country's economy has been sevei ely crippled by the national uprising, an economic boycott of South Africa will make the regime even more vulnerable to the armed struggle.

- 17 - There is no other course of international action which can shorten the suffering of the Azanian people, minimize the bloodshed in the violent struggle we must wage and liquidate the danger to world peace and security posed by the South African apartheid rgime. Let me conclude by assuring you, Mr. President and distinguished delegates, that, come what may, the Azanian people are determined to wage an uncompromising struggle for their freedom and genuine independence. For as our leader, Mangaliso Sobukwe, accurately put it to an overseas journalist who interviewed him in his place of house arrest in Kimberly: "Each uprising is more determined than the last. "In Sharpeville we overcame the consequences of disobeying the law ... Soweto has been a lesson in overcoming fear of the gun."

- 18 - STAT0MENT BY MR. SAM NUJOMA, President of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) Mr. President, Distinguished participants, Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is with a distinct sense of pride and appreciation that I mount the rostrum to address this august gathering, on behalf of the Central Committee of SWAPO of Namibia and indeed the oppressed people of my country. I feel this way because the World Conference for Action against Apartheid is meeting in Nigeria, a proud and vigorous country which has assumed its historic responsibility and is using its enormous weight in the interest of Africa at the United Nations and other international fora. Nigeria is listened to and that means Africa is now being taken seriously. For us in SWAPO this is a source of great satisfaction and inspiration. Mr. President, it is with all this in mind that I extend to you my delegation's warmest congratulations upon your brilliant election fortified in the knowledge that you will with your usual courage and skill guide our deliberations to a successful conclusion. The same also goes for the rest of the Bureau. Conference of the conscience of the world Mr. President, this is clearly an august assembly. It is attended by the Heads of State and Government, Secretary-General of the United Nations, OAU Administrative Secretary-General, Ministers, eminent international personalities, leaders of national liberation movements, church leaders, representatives of non- governmental organizations, liberation support groups and special guests. This representative composition makes it truly "a Conference of the Conscience of the World". We believe that there will be a lot of action in the next few days. Vorster must know in no uncertain terms that we are meeting here for serious business. Yesterday we listened to two important addresses by His Excellency Lt. General Olusegun Obasanjo and His Excellency Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, together with the opening statement by Dr. Kurt Waldheim. These messages are serious and call for practical actions to deal a final death-blow to colonialism, oppression, exploitation and apartheid in southern Africa.

- 19 - Certainly, there remain problems to be overcome. But we have been told in clear and encouraging terms about the prospects that lay ahead for the total victory of the forces of liberation. It is here that the increased support of the world community is most urgently called for. It goes without saying, Mr. President, that these messages, plus the statements of the leaders of the liberation movements of southern Africa, especially that of South Africa, will form the basis of the discussions for the Conference and that we shall all continue to be inspired by them even after we have left Lagos. In more concrete terms, the Declaration which will be adopted at the end of this Conferenc must reflect proposals contained therein. Mr. President, before I deal with the substance of my statement, I wish,through you, to reassure the Head of State, the Government and the people of Nigeria that SWAPO and our oppressed people are most grateful for the continued invaluable material assistance that you are rendering us. I want you to know that this assistance is being fully utilized to defeat the enemy and seize political power in Namibia. Our people are now more than ever committed and victory is certain. SWAPO and the people of Namibia are confident that you, the rest of Africa and the progressive world community will be proud to witness eventually that we have used your support to your complete satisfaction. Namibia shall be liberated! It is a matter of historical importance that Nigeria did take a positive, definite and uncompromising stand during the critical stage of the Angola liberation struggle. The Nigerian stand which was initiated by the late Head of State, Lt. General Murtala Muhammed, and continued with intensified vigour by Lt. General Olusegun Obasanjo, has significantly contributed to the total victory of MPLA under the dynamic and revolutionary leadership of President Neto and to the humiliating defeat of South African fascist troops of aggression in Angola in particular and the forces of imperialism and their agents in general. Today Angola is a free country and an effective rear base for our struggle in Namibia. That historical stand of Nigeria will always be enshrined in the annals of history of the African national liberation struggle. In this connexion, may I be allowed also to express our thanks and gratitude to the for the support given us and the sacrifices, in terms of death and destruction, that their people and countries suffer at the hands of the enemy, because of their uncompromising support for our cause. Yesterday President Kaunda reiterated this support in a moving address. It is our country that is illegally being used by the Vorster regime to commit aggression against Namibians, the People's Republic of Angola and the Republic of Zambia, as well as the United Nations, which has assumed a special responsibility over Namibia.

- 20 - Same thanks go also for the socialist countries, without whose support we would not maintain the intensity and momentum of the struggle, Nordic countries and Holland which are giving us generous humanitarian assistance, Western non-governmental organizations and the countries of the Third World and the non-aligned movement. Mr. President, we have reason to mention these countries, organizations and groups at this Conference. Discussion of the apartheid system or Vorster's colonial and racist policies and practices has been done many times in the past and is being done annually at the United Nations, under the guidance of the United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid, now ably chaired by Ambassador Harriman of Nigeria, and also by other United Nations bodies dealing with the questions of decolonization. The Conference must discuss critically practical ways and means towards the total eradication of the entire system of apartheid by all means necessary. But the most important consideration must be to provide worldwide support and concrete assistance to the oppressed people of South Africa, through their recognized, authentic representatives the liberation movement . In this respect, their movement has not only provided useful information about the nature of the struggle in South Africa but has also made proposals-and recommendations for consideration and adoption by this Conference. SWAPO of Namibia associates itself with that stance about the liberation of South Africa and supports the recommendations. Our goal: seizure of power by the majority Mr. President, our view about apartheid is clear. We regard it as an aspect of the colonial system of oppression and repression of an illegitimate, minority rngime over the indigenous majority. The days of colonialism are long gone. What we are talking about is the seizure of power by that majority. Here SWAPO is convinced that this will happen much sooner than is believed by certain quarters. The balance of forces has changed since 1974 in favour of the oppressed masses in southern Africa. Zimbabwe and Namibia are now at the threshold of great decisions of transition from the illegal, colonial regimes to people's governments. Where would South Africa be then? Listen to the voice of Soweto. The masses inside South Africa are defying, getting ready for patriotic actions. When the minority whites in South Africa say that they too are indigenous Africans because they have lived there for some 300 years, they must remember that the Portuguese stayed in Africa for more than 500 years. But they were driven out because they refused to come to terms with the history of decolonization and the demands of the oppressed for their freedom and right to self-determination and independence.

- 21 - Id SWAPO we believe that there are only two ways out of a political conflict: negotiated settlement or seizure of power through revolutionary violence. We are employing both in our own struggle. The option of a negotiated settlement to the problems of Southern Africa is increasingly becoming futile. As far as the seizure of power by means of revolutionary violence is concerned, this has already started with varying degrees of intensity in all the remaining colonial territories in southern Africa. This is what the armed struggle is all about. You have Just heard from the leaders of the oppressed people of South Africa as to what plans they have for the liberation of their country. There is no retreat from this resolve by the liberation movement concerned, even if they may still talk about a negotiated settlement. What we should then talk about is how much death and destruction it would take before the minority racists and their collaborators would realize the impending bloodbath- a bloodbath which they are now precipitating in southern Africa through their policies and actions to maintain the status quo and protect the continued plunder of our raw materials and other resources by the Western multinational corporations and other business interests. Our struggle in Namibia Mr. President, I would like now to turn briefly to Namibia. Briefly, because this is an occasion for our colleagues of South Africa to guide us about the situation in their country. This is also in keeping with the theme of the Conference itself. The programme of the Conference has an item for Friday, 26 August 1977. This is with reference to the observance of Namibia Day, 1977, which means SWAPO's 11 years of armed struggle. We will have an occasion then to say more about the struggle. For now, I should like to say something about the initiative of the five Western members of the United Nations Security Council to explore with the Vorster regime and other parties concerned possibilities for a negotiated settlement to the Namibia problem. It was this exercise that led to us being invited recently to New York by the "five" to exchange views with them regarding the conditions and modalities for the independence of Namibia. From the very inception, SWAPO's position has always been that we favour peaceful options to achieve a genuine indpendence for our people. We have tried all reasonable alternatives. It is South Africa's colonial oppression and ruthless aggression, using the military and police, that forced us to resort to the armed liberation struggle. In this respect, we remain committed to this only viable and effective alternative, the armed struggle, unless all the conditions that have led to our war of national liberation in our country are eliminated.

- 22 - Mr. President, it is for this reason that we have followed with keen interest the initiative of the "five". As we understand this exercise, it is a private undertaking by these countries aimed at assisting the United Nations, on the basis of Security Council resolution 385 (1976), to create a climate of peace in Namibia and favourable conditions that will lead to the holding of elections in the whole of Namibia under the supervision and control of the United Nations. In this context, we feel that we should show our interest and,not only that, express our point of view. We have expressed serious doubts as to South Africa's complete compliance and fulfilment of the outstanding United Nations resolutions, especially resolution 385 (1976). There were other diplomatic "explorations" in the past that were rendered laughing-stocks by the arrogance, insincerity and untrustworthiness of the successive regimes in Pretoria. We have also said elsewhere that we are prepared to take risks in talks or negotiations in the hope that the hopes and aspirations of the Namibian people are realized. What we will not do is to commit the crime tantamount to national suicide. This we cannot and will not do, for we owe it to those Namibians and non-Namibians who died, have been maimed and are imprisoned for our national cause. Mr. President, SWAPO is a national liberation movement, which was born as a direct result of the colonial situation in our country. All these years of our existence, we have endlessly laboured to tell the world, as we are doing right now, about the loss of lives and the destruction in Namibia. It is a great source of satisfaction for us to see today the overwhelming majority of the world community joining hands with us in support of and.solidarity with our struggle. In this sense, we of this generation are more fortunate than our forefathers who had to resist so bravely the imperial German occupation of our country at the beginning of this century by themselves. We must, therefore, be understood, Mr. President, when we insist that as long as the enemy troops and the para-military police force of South Africa remain in Namibia, and as long as the Vorster rdgime and those who see the situation his way obstruct the United Nations to move into Namibia with a sufficiently large and effective force, there can be no negotiated settlement in that country. Obstacle to settlement: South Africa's intransigence and manoeuvre We the victims of South Africa's aggression should not be accused for obstructing a settlement, as if there were one.

On the other hand, it is cunning twist of history to suggest that the United Nations is blocking the possibilities for settlement in Namibia, whereas the truth is that both the General Assembly and the Security Council have for years cajoled, requested, urged and later ordered South Africa to comply with their peaceful resolutions. That regime has always remained intransigent, as it does today with regard to resolution 385 (1976). This is the truth of our tragic colonial situation. During all this time investments, trade and other dealings that adversely affect the situation in Namibia have been conducted by certain Western powers. Now who is obstructing a negotiated settlement in Namibia? Clearly not SWAPO, the people of Namibia or the United Nations. By the process of elimination this Conference can conclude who is. While Vorster and his aides are supposedly turning in favour of Namibia's independence and are making what are called"far-reaching concessions,' demonstrative of a reported change of heart, we see Vorster going unabatedly ahead with long-formulated neo-colonial schemes and manoeuvres in Namibia. Mr. President these are some of the examples: While SWAPO is being made to believe by the "contact group" of the "five" that the South African Government has agreed to scrap the Turnhalle Plan for the bantustanization of Namibia, there is a concrete effort to implement the same Turnhalle Plan. Evidence shows quite clearly that South Africa andTurnhalle puppets are going ahead with their programmes of establishing the so-called second tier ethnic authorities for the whole of Namibia before the end of this year. Besides the existing so-called Ovambo, Kavango and Caprivi Legislative Councils, South Africa has inaugurated the so-called Nama Legislative Council on 9 July 1977. Also on 28 July 1977, that very regime proclaimed the establishment of the so-called Damara Legislative and Executive Councils. In addition, the illegal South African authorities announced on 14 July 1977 the plan for the establishment of the Rehoboth Legislative Council in the near future. Even more alarming is South Africa's sinister programme to train tribal armies for each of the 11 Turnhalle tribal groups. Already the South African army in Namibia is busy training armies for the so-called white, the Ovambo, the Okavango, the Basters and the Caprivi homelands. According to the announcement on 21 July 1977 by Commandant J. T. Louw, who is in charge of military training for the ethnic groups, the decision has also been made to train the so-called Nama army beginning August 1977. A similar plan i! being worked out for the training of the so-called Herero and Damara armies. It is therefore - 2:5

- 24 - evident that South Africa has not abandoned its designs to reduce Namibia to a confederation of tribal and neo-feudal mini-states. The establishment of the so- called tribal legislative councils and tribal armies constitutes a clear indication, on the part of South Africa, to sow seeds for a civil war in Namibia. It must also be recalled that, despite the fact that South Africa had reportedly agreed during the April talks with the "contact group" that the Turnhalle idea of ethnically-based independence wouldbe scrapped, Pretoria went ahead with all-white so-called referendum on 17 May 1977. This referendum was intended to give an opportunity to whites in Namibia to endorse the Turnhalle draft constitution which, of course, assures them of their continued dominance, politically, economically and otherwise. Mounting repression in Namibia Besides all these, the occupation r6gime is carrying on wholesale persecution, harassment and intimidation of SWAPO members. For instance on 30 May 1977, South Africa executed Fillimon Nangolo, a member of SWAPO, for alleged participation in armed resistance to South Africa's illegal and oppressive occupation of our country. On the same day the regime extended the house arrest of the Acting President of SWAPO, Nathaniel Maxuilili, up to 30 June 1982. Comrade Maxuilili spent the last five years under such an arrest for his alleged involvement in the 1971-1972 workers' strike in Namibia. Furthermore, on 15 July 1977, South Africa sentenced four SWAPO members to a total of 40 years' imprisonment. These are Benjamin C. Ulenga (sentenced to 15 years'imprisonment), Ruben Itengu (sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment), Michael Shikongo (sentenced to 5 years) and Lazarus C. Guiteb (sentenced to 8 years). The four were arrested for alleged participation in or collaboration with the armed freedom-fighters in Namibia. Similarly, on 15 July 1977, Vorster's regime remanded Victor Nkandi in central prison for alleged involvement in the killing of Elifas Fillimon, the former so-called Chief Minister of Ovambo bantustan in northern Namibia. Nkandi has already served one year imprisonment for having denied any knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the death of Elifas. Moreover, the repressive emergency regulation R17 imposed on northern Namibia in 1973, following the 1971-1972 workers' strike and generalized resistance of the Namibian people, remains in force and has in fact been extended to cover not only the north, but the north-eastern and north-western regions of Namibia. While this regulation is being used to intimidate SWAPO members and to prevent the people's organization from carrying on its political activities, it allows the Turnhalle puppets unimpeded freedom, with active support of the r6gime, to carry on their pro-South African campaign to sell the idea of ethnic-based sham independence for Namibia.

- 25- Two cardinal issues What is more, only about a week ago, the bellTcose foreign minister of Vorster restated their stance in London in a BBC interview with regard to two cardinal issues regarding a negotiated settlement in Namibia. What he reportedly said is completely at variance with what we have been told South Africa committed itself to in their talks with the "five". On the crucial question of troops withdrawal, he is reported to have said that they have no intention of withdrawing from Namibia for., according to him, Namibia is surrounded by countries where the situation is fluid and flexible and where there is not yet complete stability and peace. Secondly, he is also reported to have ruled out the complete take over by the United Nations of the transitional process in Namibia in order to supervise and control elections. It is clear that Botha had no regard for the results of the talks that the "five', had with SWAPO in New York, which ended only on 11 August 1977. His interview was made only two days after the end of our talks. If he did learn what had been discussed in New York before the interview, then he obviously dismissed everything. Mr. President, the truth is that the matter concerning the initiative of the "five" rests on those two issues: prior agreement on the withdrawal of South African troops and the preponderant role of the United Nations before we talk about elections, which are, in any case, the final exercise in a long process. Mr. President, there are also alarming reports that have reached us that the enemy has not abandoned its aggressive designs to invade the People's Republic of Angola to install the eounter-revolutionary reactionaries of UNITA/FNLA clique as a government in southern Angola. Such a regime is expected to be linked up with a puppet, neo-colonial one that they plan to create in Namibia. As part of this strategy SWAPO bases will be subjected to sustained bombardments, with the hope of destroying them. These are very important developments to us. And they must be taken very seriously. After all these years, SWAPO cannot be manoeuvred into a situation to commit national suicide. Nor can the United Nations be asked now to legalize South Africa's colonial, illegal occupation through bogus negotiated solutions. In conclusion, Mr. President, we assured the "five" in New York that we appreciated their initiatives as we understood them to assist the United Nations on the basis of resolution 385 (1976).We listened and

- 26 - discussed with them in sincerity, honesty and with a sense of honour. I concluded there that the talks were frank and useful. But it is the attitude and actions of Vorster and his aides which make us seriously doubtful about uhe possibility of a negotiated peace and independence in Namibia. These are the facts that I am reporting to you. We Judge Vorster's regime by what it does or does not do in Namibiaand not by the promises made to gain international respectability, especially in the West, or to placate mounting international pressure. If then a negotiated settlement is elusive,the other option, I submit, is continued intensification of the armed struggle. To this end we are one hundred per cent committed. We believe that both friend and foe will understand why we must. Long live the United Nations! Long live OAU' Long live anti-imperialist forces the world over!

- 27 - STATEMENT BY MR. JOSHUA rIKOMO Co-leader of the Patriotic Front of Zimbabwe Comrade Chairman, Your Excellencies, Distinguished delegates, Comrade leaders of liberation movements, Representatives of voluntary organizations, Brothers and sisters, May I, as co-leader of the Patriotic Front and on behalf of the struggling masses of Zimbabwe and all our fighting forces, express our gratitude to those who have organized this conference, i.e. the World Conference for Action against Apartheid. We are immeasurably gratified that the Government and people of Nigeria, in their abundant and characteristic hospitality, have offered us their city of Lagos as the venue of the Conference. Comrade Chairman, Lagos stands in relations to Nigeria as Nigeria stands in relation to Africa. If Lagos is, as indeed it must be, the heart of Nigeria, so is Nigeria the heart of Africa. Here indeed lies Africa's heartland. Here in Nigeria is the source of Africa's pulse. Here stands Africa's dynamo. This Conference, therefore, must emulate these characteristics of this great nation and people in discharging duties expected of it, not only by the people of South Africa or southern Africa, but by the entire progressive world. Armed revolutionary struggle to counter apartheid violence The theme of the Conference was set yesterday morning by the United Nations Secretary-General and by the Presidents of Nigeria and Zambia. It is not my intention, therefore, to make a long speech, but to present to this Conference what we as liberation movements in southern Africa would like to see as final declarations of the Conference, if it is to match and contain the substance of the theme set by the three leaders who spoke yesterday morning. Apartheid is synonymous to fascism that the world took up arms to destroy from 1939 to 1945. If fascism and racism could not be brought down by declarations and resolutions from 1939 to 1945, it is evident that it cannot be brought down by resolutions and declarations in 1977. Convinced by this fact and having attempted for a number of years to reason with apartheid, we the liberation movements of southern Africa decided that the only means of removing this evil against humanity was the armed revolutionary struggle. We, therefore, invite this Conference that its final declaration should take the form of a prescription for active and decisive action if it is to match the theme set by both President Obasanjo and President Kaunda.

- 2 2c President Kaunda said: "A white idiot in apartheid South Africa is relarded as a superior to a black philosopher". It is, therefore, clear that the exponents of apartheid are themselves idiots and no one can hope to get results by trying to reason with such idiots. The Only way of removing such idiocy is to shoot reason into their rocky heads. It should be understood that the struggle in Zimbabwe is not merely complementary to the struggle against apartheid in South Africa; it is a struggle to remove similar philosophy as espoused by racist Vorster. Let is be known that apartheid is itself violence against the person and spirit of the black man in southern Africa. You cannot, therefore, remove the violence of apartheid by declarations but only by counterviolence; thus, to us, armed revolutionary struggle against Ian Smith is an answer to the violence that Smith and his brother Vorster have meted out to the peace-loving peoples of Zimbabwe and South Africa. People seem amazed and horrified by the killings that took place in Sharpeville and Soweto and in a number of other African townships in South Africa, but let me tell you, brothers and sisters, that bigger numbers of our people in that troubled land have been murdered in gruesome incidents in the secrecy of the walls and fences of South African prisons and detention camps. Thousands of others have died of starvation, malnutrition and deprivation as well as exposure in remote areas of that country where they have been rusticated for years, and yet the world knows nothing about these evils 6f which the Western press is fully aware.The reason why they cover up these evils is because those who control the media are accessories to these hideous crimes. Apartheid, ladies and gentlemen, is not just discrimination against the black man in South Africa; it is indeed murder and genocide. You cannot hope to remove these crimes by just trying to reason with those murderers; you have to take action - real action, which means giving full material support to the liberation movements which have decided to sacrifice their utmost, and that is life itself. Call for effective international action his Conference should further include in its final declaration the following: (1) To call on the entire progressive world not only to mobilize material support for the liberation movement but to take stringent action to isolate the fascist and racists by tight economic sanctions against southern Africa, including an oil embargo;

- 29 - (2) To call on the world community to recognize that apartheid is a system used by a minority white regime to entrench itself and that it can only be effectively removed by a complete transfer of power from a minority to the majority. The minority cannot voluntarily surrender power to the majority - it can only be forcibly removed; (3) To impress on the world community that any country that assists South Africa to acquire nulcear weapons is committing a crime against humanity and must be accordingly dealt with; (4) To call on progressive countries to adopt similar action as that announced by President Obasanjo of the Republic of Nigeria against trasnrntional and other companies that trade with apartheid South Africa. I have stressed the necessity for the use of force in dealing with the elimination of apartheid, because there are people, even among the delegates in the Conferencewho believe that you can simply call on South Africa to stop helping the rebel regime in , to stop mowing down children who protest against apartheid in South Africa or to voluntarily end its illegal occupation of Namibia and so on and so forth. This type of action, that is requesting the racists to effect change, comrades, is no action. If you adopt it at this Conference you might as well call this Conference a "Conference for No Action against Apartheid". There are people who believe that South African racists are too powerful to be dislodged by any form of armed struggle. To those people let me say there is no power on this planet to defeat the power of a people's desire for self-determination and freedom. It may take time, but the force of right will always orevail in the end. Therefore comrades and friends, the struggle must continue, for victory is certain.