South African History Online

Speech by President Nelson Mandela on receiving an honorary doctorate from Chulalongkorn University

Bangkok, Thailand, 17 July 1997

President of Chulalongkorn University;
Members of the
University;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen,

One of the greatest privileges of high office, and the most humbling, is to
receive honours that commemorate the achievements of the people whom one
represents. And it is truly inspiring when such a gesture comes from a people so
far away. For in the shared aspirations of nations lie our greatest hopes for a
better world.

I can think of no accolade better deserved by the people of South Africa, nor
one more gladly accepted by me on their behalf, than one which celebrates
freedom and peace. They, the people of South Africa, have done what the world
thought impossible. They turned oppression, division and conflict into their
very opposites.

It is a special honour for me to stand before you on the campus of Thailand's
oldest and most prestigious University. There is particular satisfaction in
being associated with an institution that has made it its mission to serve the
people and to pursue knowledge and excellence through international contact and
exchange. For these are principles that are close to my own heart, and they are
cherished by my people. Education can bring enlightenment and understanding of
others. It can realise the creative potential inherent in each person. It can
equip nations with the knowledge and the skills required for development and
economic success.

South Africa's own experience was very different. The education of most of
our people was neglected. We saw a whole generation deprived of proper education
because it was misused to divide and control people.

Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen,

South Africa is free at last and at peace with itself. Our victory is yours
too, for it was won with the support of the international community, including
the government and people of Thailand. We thank you from the bottom of our
hearts for your contribution to the attainment of our freedom.

Our freedom brought release from imprisonment for many of us, and an end to
decades of exile for many more. For millions it meant a lifting of the
ever-present threat of coercive violence, the halting of arbitrary and demeaning
limitations on their lives.

Beyond that, our whole society was liberated from conflict, mistrust and
insecurity. We were freed from a system which kept oppressed and oppressors
alike in roles that demeaned and diminished us all.

No longer are South Africans constrained by narrow labels derived from racist
doctrines. Instead they are experiencing the freedom to be who they really are
and who they choose to be. Now that all our cultures, religions and languages
are protected in our constitution and respected by fellow-citizens, our
communities no longer regard themselves as minorities in opposition to the rest
of the nation, but simply as part of the whole South African nation.

Our political freedom is being given material content by programmes to
improve the lives of our people. We are guided by the knowledge that no part of
a society can be secure in its rights while many of their fellow citizens live
in conditions which prevent them exercising their rights.

Political liberation is therefore only the beginning of a new struggle, the
struggle for reconstruction and development.

In the same way, although Thailand was never colonised, it has still been
subject to the imperatives of a world in which the fate of nations and the
quality of their peoples' lives, depend on their place in a system of unequal
power. And so Thailand, never deprived of its sovereignty, identifies itself
with those whose underdevelopment was the legacy of colonialism.

The recent history of our regions and continents underlines these lessons.

Though conflict and lack of freedom are still realities in many parts of the
world, even close to your own borders and in parts of our continent, democracy
and peace have gained great ground in the last half century.

And yet for most people in Africa, and many in Asia, poverty, homelessness,
disease and illiteracy cast a shadow over the rights that have been won through
struggle and sacrifice. The bright hopes that decolonisation would soon bring
development, faded before the continuing imbalance in world economic power.

The challenge we all face is to close the gap between rich and poor. And we
are urged do so in the knowledge that poverty and inequality remain the most
enduring source of conflict, instability and insecurity.

This is a challenge which we must in the first instance address within our
own countries. For that reason, at the heart of South Africa's programme of
reconstruction and development is an economic strategy for growth, employment
and redistribution. It is premised on our becoming competitive in the world
market-place.

In short, we are following the maxim that in order to succeed, nations must
rely on their own resources. But in an integrated world, none can succeed on
their own. Just as no part of a nation can prosper in security while others are
deprived, so too, no nation can sustain itself as an island of prosperity while
so much of the world is mired in poverty.

In this context, we attach the highest importance to efforts to ensure that
world economic growth is translated into the benefits of development. It is
therefore significant that South Africa, the country which currently holds the
Presidency of UNCTAD, is today being honoured by the country which will host the
next summit of UNCTAD, a body whose work is so critical to eliminating the
economics of dependency and inequality.

In the same spirit, Thailand has been host to important meetings aimed at
fostering co-operation between continents - the first summit of European and
Asian leaders last year, and even more recently the second Africa-Asian forum.

International co-operation; balanced development; and equitable distribution
of power in the global economy and international institutions are essential to
the new and better world we are seeking, one based on mutual respect and
benefit.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The goals to which we aspire are therefore dependent on each other. Our
aspirations to peace and freedom will remain frustrated, as they have been for
centuries, without development, equity and democracy. But freedom, peace and
equitable distribution of power are also essential conditions for the
advancement of the world's developing countries.

Your award today is therefore more than a tribute to the people of South
Africa for their achievements. Though our countries are separated by geography,
language, and culture, we are partners in humanity's quest for it's most noble
ideals. Your award and our acceptance celebrates that unity and is a pledge that
our two nations will work together for a better world.

Many centuries ago the Romans declared that - "Pax vincit omnia". - "Peace
conquers all". It was a rule to which they did not the guiding principle in
world affairs, not least because the conditions for peace are still to be
realised for much of the world. But it is in our power to make it true.

As we enter the new millennium let us join hands, South African and Thai,
Asian and African, in a partnership for peace and prosperity!

Thank you very much.

Issued by: Office of the President