Oliver Tambo: Capture the Citadel

Oliver Tambo: Capture the Citadel

“The supreme challenge to our nation, to the African National Congress, to all democrats in our country and to the Umkhonto we Sizwe, indeed the challenge to all Africa and all anti-imperialists still remains; this is the capture of the citadel of white supremacy, South Africa, and its conversion into a fortress of true democracy, peace and progress for all our people and for mankind.”

“This is the formidable challenge in the face of which many fighters will flee the ranks of the revolutionary forces and join condemned platoons of counter-revolutionaries and traitors. A challenge, in the face of which governments, once counted among militant opponents of colonialism and imperialism, will abandon their positions in the imperialist front, and crawl cap in hand for crumbs under the neo-colonialist table.”

“But the oppressed and freedom-loving masses of our country are equal to that challenge. … Our people under the leadership of the ANC are now poised for large-scale guerrilla warfare against the usurpers of the people’s power and we too shall defeat the racists and exploiters.”

“Our Morogoro Conference last May sought to accelerate our progress towards this armed confrontation with the enemy. It examined in detail various aspects of our struggle, it carried out a thorough review of our strategy and tactics, our programme and our policies, it called for the closing of ranks, for unity and for vigilance against splitters and wedge-drivers and against conscious or unconscious enemy agents in our midst.”

“We are called upon to work very hard and faithfully to achieve the goals set by the Morogoro Conference. We have to redouble our efforts to eliminate flaws in our work and create and maintain an increasingly more efficient machine for the prosecution of our struggle at all levels whether we operate in South Africa or from outside its borders.”

“To say this is not to underestimate the strength of our enemy. The South African white minority regime has vast resources which have been mobilised against our people. It has made great efforts to corrupt our natural allies in independent African States. Already some states have fallen for the blandishments of apartheid and have succumbed to its bullying and blackmail.”

“The enemy has powerful allies in the imperialist countries. In no other part of the world and at no time in history has an oppressed people been confronted by such a formidable combination of imperialist powers and fascist forces. In spite of all this, however, the enemy is headed for inevitable and ignominious defeat.”

“Who shall avenge the blood and settle accounts with the murderers? Umkhonto we Sizwe, the ANC, the masses of our land, backed and supported by the united might of progressive and anti-imperialist forces.”

LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION!
MAATLA KE ARONA!

– Oliver Tambo –
16 December 1969

Source:
Oliver Tambo, “Capture the Citadel”, Sechaba, Vol. 4, No. 3, March 1970, p. 3.

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