South African History Online

Pretoria University, 29 April 1991

I am pleased to have this opportunity to speak at the University of Pretoria.

I am aware that this feeling may not be shared by all members of this
University and there are undoubtedly many who will not welcome my presence.

I think this hostility and fear is not directed at me personally but at what
I represent as a leader of the ANC - an organisation that many have been told
threatens everything that you value.

If you value racism more than anything else in life then the ANC is to be
feared.

We have vowed to rid this land of racism and bury it once and for all, with
everything else that has meant dehumanisation for the majority of South Africans
for so long.

If you value the privileges that go with racism, that depend on the blacks of
this country being downtrodden, then you have reason to fear. We want equality
and we will settle for nothing less.

But there may be more legitimate concerns. There may be people here who
suspect that the ANC is going to do Whites what Whites have done to Blacks for
so long.

But there is no reason to fear that. The ANC is committed to non-racialism,
to having all the people of South Africa live in peace and friendship.

The very first words of the freedom charter, our main policy document begin:
South Africa belongs to all who live in it Black and White.

The ANC is as committed to National Liberation, to the ending of apartheid
and freedom for all our people as it is to the type of society we want in its
place.

We believe this society is one that should not hold fear, but hope for all
who want peace in this land.

Whites are living on a volcano. They are deluded if they think they can
continue to live as they have on the backs of Black South Africans. Surely you,
the Afrikaner, who fought for your freedom from British imperialism would lose
all respect for the African people and the Blacks in general if we just meekly
accepted the denial of our rights?

Surely you understand that we are not prepared to live any longer as second
class citizens in the land of our birth.

Surely you are appreciate that we are unwilling to accept gutter education,
which was conceived to prepare us for inferiority?

The Bantu Education system is now in a crisis, that all acknowledge but which
the state refuses to take adequate responsibility.

These are broad and general questions.

I have not come here to be provoked but to try and create a better
understanding of why the ANC believes its policies and principles hold out the
best prospects for a peaceful and just future for all.

I have said that we are committed to non-racialism and the can be very little
evidence to doubt this. It has been part and parcel of ANC thinking for decades.

But let me get more specific and address matters that are generally raised as
concerns of the Afrikaner people.

We are told that there is a need for protection of group rights. If this does
not mean group privileges we are legitimate and of value to any community.

That is why we, as a movement, are totally committed to respect for the
culture of all the peoples of South Africa.

The Freedom charter declares.

All people shall have equal ,rights to use their own language and to develop
their own folk culture and customs.

The ANC draft bill of rights makes extensive provision for the protection and
development of cultural, linguistic and religious freedom.

This also elaborated in the discussion document:

'Constitutional Principles and Structures for a Democratic South
Africa', prepared by the ANC constitutional committee.

? My Afrikaans is not up to checking?

Ons is veral besorg oor die Afrikaanese taal. Soos julle seker almal weet is
die Afrikaans deur meerste Swaartmense as die taal van onderdruikking beskou.

Dit is die taal van die polisie en die taal van die tronk.

Dit is een van die twee amptelike tale van hierdie land, waar die tale van
meer as 70 persent van die bevolking nie as amptelik beskou word nie.

Maar ons in die ANC beskou die Afrikaans taal nie net die taak van
onderdrukking nie.

Dit is nie net die taal van wit Afrikaaners nie en daar is ook baie wit
Afrikaaners wat nie rassiste is nie.

Ons beskou die Afrikaans wat nou in die proses van ontwikkeling is, die
Afrikaans van die nuwe Suid Afrika, as 'n taal van bevryding.

Hierdie taal moet ontwikkel as deel van 'nuwe demokratiese staat.

Ons wil ook 'n situasie skep waar daar 'n nuwe begrip van die woord
patriotisme ontwikkel, waar ons patriotisme vertaan as iets wat al die mense van
ons land liefhet.

Soos die vryheidsmannifes oor die onderwys se.

Die doel van die onderwys sal wees die jeug te leer om hulle mense en kultuur
lief te he en om die broederskap van mense, vryheid verde te eer.

Dit is die tipe Suid -Afrika wat die ANC probeer bou.

Niemand wat belange van die mense van ons land op hul harte dra hoef te vrees
oor hierdie toekoms nie.

We are now in a new phase on the way to the realization of these ideals.

It is no longer just a dream that we will have a new South Africa, where
justice will prevail. It is in our hands to turn this dream into a reality.

We, in the ANC, have committed ourselves to seek a peaceful resolution of the
apartheid conflict. We have met with the Government in order to create a climate
where serious negotiations can take place in order to make a lasting
constitution that will forge a new, peace-loving nation.

In the course of our talks we have been willing to make substantial
compromises in order to keep this process on track. In particular, I refer to
our decision last year to unilaterally suspend armed action. This is a decision
that we have found very hard to explain to our members who feel that it is a
compromise that has not been met with equal concessions on the side of the
Government.

We made this compromise because we took responsibility for ensuring that the
peace process did not break down. Even though we viewed the actions of UMKHONTO
WE SIZWE as fundamentally defensive and reactive to apartheid violence, we did
not want this to be presented as an obstacle that would hold up the release of
prisoners, the return of exiles and other factors facilitating normal political
action. We did not want the Government to be able to use this to delay the peace
process as a whole.

Unfortunately, our gesture has not been met with a reasonable response.

In fact, we know that the period since our suspension of armed action has
witnessed a massive carnage on the reef which is on a scale that is quite
unprecedented, aside from there already being a continuing war in Natal for many
years.

We believe that the state has not taken adequate steps to bring this violence
to an end.

We believe in fact that sections of the state security forces are involved in
the violence, who think there is something to gain from is continuing. They
think the ANC is weakened by it and that the campaign of violence may actuality
benefit organisations who are more sympathetic to their negotiations goals.

What we have then is an objection to armed action of the ANC as an obstacle
to negotiations on the one hand, and on the other side, the use of terror
against the communities as a factor in the negotiations. We believe that it is
well within the power of this Government to end the violence, but that,
shortsightedly, they are allowing and in some cases encouraging it to continue.

The ANC recently indicated that it was not prepared to let the negotiations
flounder through this irresponsibility. We made demands that we consider
completely reasonable, to save the peace process. We acted responsibly and we
hope that all peace-loving South Africans will try to bring this Government to
understand that is not the ANC ultimatum that crated a crisis. Rather our
ultimatum was a response, an attempt to stop a crisis that was already
threatening to derail any idea of a settlement.

Before concluding I want to briefly refer to one of the most pressing
questions that we put before the people of South Africa in regard to the
unfolding process.

This question is how the transition process should be managed and how the new
constitution should be made. We believe that if we agree that there should a
democratic constitution there needs also to be a democratic process that creates
the constitution. Ordinary people so long excluded from any part in the major
decisions concerning their lives, must now help to make the new constitution.
This would be an important part of their liberation.

This we believe, can be done through election, on the basis of one person one
vote, to a constituent assembly, which would draw up the new constitution.

Whichever party gets the most votes would obviously have a major say in
deciding on the content of the new constitution. And that is what democracy is
about. If its good enough for every other state that we profess to admire we do
not see why should be denied it in South Africa.

The process is inclusive because any organisation has the opportunity to
canvass support and elect representatives who would bring into the
constitution-making process, ideas in line with theirs.

Something that still needs to be a addressed is the question of how decisions
would be made in such a constituent assembly.

We have no firm view on this and it may be that we will have to consider a
two thirds rather than a simple majority situation. I say this because the ANC
does not want to create an 'ANC Constitution' but one that wins the loyalty of
all.

If the constitution is made by a one per cent majority it obviously has
little chance of winning broad support.

It is crucial that the process of transition to democracy is managed by a
Government that has broad support and can be relied on to carry out that task.

The present Government is clearly unfit and we propose the establishment of
an Interim Government, composed of major parties, which would oversee elections
for a constituent assembly ensuring there is free political activity and all
other factors necessary for completing this constitutional process successfully

We believe these are reasonable demands, just demands that will lead to the
peace that we all long for. We ask you to join us in this quest for democracy,
this quest to create a new country which we are all proud to call our own.

I want to conclude by urging you to consider these final words of the freedom
charter: Let all who love their people and their country now say, as here: these
freedoms we will fight for, side by side, throughout our lives until we won our
liberty.

Thank You.