Oliver Tambo: Our Will and Readiness to Free Ourselves
(Opening address by President Oliver Tambo to the ANC’s National Consultative Conference held in Johannesburg from 14 to 16 December 1990).
The Chairperson,
Deputy President Comrade Nelson Mandela,
Members of the National Executive Committee,
Regional Convenors and members of the Regional Leadership,
Commanders and members of our glorious army, Umkhonto we Sizwe,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Fellow Delegates, Comrades and friends,
Compatriots,
“I salute you all in the name of all patriotic South Africans, especially those whose sterling contributions have made this day a reality. Many of these have laid down their lives, and still countless others were maimed for life whilst on active duty in the service of their people and country. It is thanks to these, to whom we shall forever be indebted, that today we are witnessing an epoch-making event.
“It is thanks to these heroes and heroines of our struggle that we are able to attend the first legal ANC Consultative Conference inside South Africa, after an underground existence spanning over three decades. We are making history, reshaping the destiny of our country because many, who are not able to be here, have given their all for this day to dawn. They perished so that the nation could live; they did not perish because they loved life any less. It is appropriate, therefore, that we all rise and observe a moment of silence in honour o
