ANC Declares 1986 the Year of Umkhonto we Sizwe – the People’s Army

On 8 January 1986, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the African National Congress (ANC) declared 1986 the Year of Umkhonto we Sizwe – the People’s Army. Delivering the Statement, ANC President Oliver Tambo extended warm revolutionary greetings of the ANC to all Compatriots and saluted them in the name of the People’s Army, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK).

In the introduction to the statement, OR Tambo mentioned that the ANC was speaking to the nation “fully aware of the immense responsibility that rests on all of us to make the apartheid system of oppression and exploitation, repression and aggression a thing of the past. It is our singular honour that we have been charged with the serious responsibility to point the way forward in the coming period.”

“We approach this task,” according to Tambo, “with the same seriousness that has inspired you as you launched countless heroic mass battles during the year that has just ended. The message of that year, the Year of the Cadre, is simple and yet momentous. It is that the end of the criminal system of apartheid is in sight.”

Continuing with the triumphant introduction, OR Tambo maintained that “There is nothing that the Pretoria regime can do that can change this historic outcome of our struggle. Our uninterrupted forward march has thrown the apartheid system into an enormous general crisis. A central feature of this crisis is the rebellion of millions of our people against the criminal system. Even the stubborn racist can now see that we are no longer prepared to live as slaves and are determined to liberate ourselves whatever the price we have to pay in human lives. Realising that power is slipping out of its hands, the Botha regime could not rule in the old way any longer.”

Supporting OR Tambo, the Editorial of Sechaba, February 1986, stated “Umkhonto we Sizwe (The Spear of the Nation) … is inflicting casualties on the enemy … Umkhonto we Sizwe is attacking not only the ‘symbols of apartheid’ but apartheid itself, including army personnel and farmers integrated into the racist defence force. These operations of Umkhonto we Sizwe have a political and psychological impact; they instil self-confidence in the people and transform the latent hostility of the people to the regime into open mass confrontation; they intensify the sense of unease and insecurity among the enemy forces; they increase the conviction among the struggling people that victory is certain.”

According to the Editorial, “These armed actions create the political and psychological climate which makes it easier for political and military organisers to organise within our country. The decision to designate 1986, The Year of Umkhonto we Sizwe – the People’s Army could not have come at a more appropriate time when our people, the whole nation are up in arms not only defying the regime but also attacking in innumerable ways. The enemy is on the retreat. Umkhonto we Sizwe has played a vital role in the shaping of our history. Formed and established as an underground organisation, it has fought heroically in its 25 years of existence.”

Emphasising the significance of declaring the Year of Umkhonto we Sizwe, President Oliver Tambo declared, “Let this Year of the People’s Army see us engulf the apartheid system in the fires and the thunder of a people’s war! Let the year of MK see us mount a military offensive that will push the enemy into a strategic retreat! Let us use the opportunities that this Year gives us to replace each combatant with a hundred more, and, building on our achievements, to create a formidable fighting force of the people, superior to the enemy forces because of the justice of our cause, the discipline of our combatants and the bravery and boldness of our warriors.”

Concluding the Statement, Tambo asserted that “During the Year of Umkhonto we Sizwe – The People’s Army: Let us mount a determined mass political and military offensive! Let us retain the strategic initiative! Let us, in struggle, shift the balance of power further in favour of the revolution! Let us turn every corner of our country into a battlefield! Let us weaken the enemy and prepare to seize power!”

“EVERY PATRIOT A COMBATANT!
EVERY COMBATANT A PATRIOT!”

Castro Khwela
Good day fellow Compatriots!