Oliver Tambo: Racists Humiliated

Oliver Tambo: Racists Humiliated

(Oliver Tambo, President of the African National Congress of South Africa, spent two weeks in the People’s Republic of Angola as a guest of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola – MPLA. In Luanda, the capital, he gave an inclusive interview to Michael Wolfers, representing Sechaba, on the reasons for his visit, which included a journey to Southern Angola at the time when the last South African racist troops were being expelled from Angolan territory, March 1976).

“The MPLA has always had the closest relations with the ANC – for well over ten years – and together with FRELIMO of the People’s Republic of Mozambique, PAIGC of Guinea-Bissau and MLSTP of Sao Tome and Principe worked closely as part of an alliance of liberation movements bound by the same objectives in their struggle. The victory of these liberation movements over Portuguese colonialism is a victory for the people of South Africa, for the continent of Africa and for progressives the world over.”

“It was clear ever since 1964 that MPLA faced special problems in Angola because of the much greater imperialist involvement in the economy of the country. The fact that the independence of Angola under MPLA was proclaimed with the capital ringed round by invading forces was for that reason hardly surprising. The emergence of the People’s Republic of Angola, despite this racist and fascist offensive, was the triumph of the struggle of the Angolan people and was hailed by all those who had supported the MPLA’s struggle against Portuguese fascism.”

“I wanted to convey by the visit the hearty congratulations of the working people, the oppressed, the progressive elements of South Africa, on the decisive military victory scored by FAPLA (the People’s Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola) over the invading troops of the South African racist regime. Few events in the history of the South African struggle in the past sixty years (since the formation of ANC) could be regarded as more significant than the defeat of the invading South African army in Angola by the Angolan people under the leadership of the MPLA.”

“… as we drove further south towards the border with Namibia, the South Africa troops were completing their retreat from Angolan soil. This was March 27 and stands out for Angola, for MPLA militants and members of FAPLA, as a date to be remembered in their history. It marked the end of a period of eight or nine months which witnessed a great demonstration of international solidarity and the implementation of the policies of internationalism – by Cuba and the Soviet Union, and by Nigeria and Tanzania among other countries, who had rallied with other countries to the call of the MPLA for support in its struggle against the imperialist, invading forces.”

“The 27th of March was the second great victory for the people of Angola. They had their first in alliance with FRELIMO, PAIGC and MLSTP when they defeated Portuguese colonialism after more than ten years of bitter struggle. This victory was followed immediately by a neo-colonialist invasion that featured the South African racist regime and brought in fascist mercenaries, puppets and CIA agents into an allied front to deprive the Angolan people of the gains made in fourteen years of struggle. The MPLA has defeated and frustrated this attempt and in the process has provided the liberation struggle in the rest of Southern Africa with many useful lessons to learn for the future course of the offensive directed to the total liberation of the continent.”

“We recall that the defeated South African army had been purchasing from the West the most sophisticated weapons – ever since the 1960s – and had boasted shortly before its defeat of its military strength. The myth was destroyed by men who had been hardened in struggle over a period of fourteen years and it was a source of inspiration to know that no African country, however newly independent, need be subject to domination, harassment or bullying by a fascist regime if it is determined to defend its sovereignty and knows who its genuine friends are.”

Source:
Oliver Tambo, “Racists Humiliated: Inclusive Interview by Michael Wolfers, Sechaba, March 1976”, Sechaba, Vol. 10, Third Quarter 1976, pp. 28 – 31.

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