Oliver Tambo: The Beast is in the Open

Oliver Tambo: The Beast is in the Open

(Extracts of a Speech by African National Congress President Oliver Tambo at the International Conference in Solidarity with the Struggle of the Namibian People at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, 13 September 1980)

“The conference has revealed a high level of agreement on the nature and demands of the Namibian struggle, a deep commitment on the part of all participants to the resolute prosecution of that struggle and an unmistakable conviction in the inevitability of defeat for the South African racist regime.”

“We are thus left in no doubt that 500 years after the first African country was occupied by a European power, the continent of Africa stands poised to rid itself for ever of the yoke of colonial domination. It is significant that the 1980’s have opened as a decade pointing to the certainty of victory over the forces of reaction for the peoples of Southern Africa.”

“The central issue before this Conference has therefore been one of time, for the victory of the Namibian people is certain. The question is: How much more life and property must the regime be allowed to destroy before the day dawns when Namibia declares her independence? In calling for solidarity and material support, SWAPO is calling attention to the time factor – it is of the essence.”

“The central issue is time. But the central problem is the Western powers – for they are joint beneficiaries from the occupation of Namibia and the exploitation of its mineral wealth.”

“In South Africa we have benefitted and drawn strength from the victories of struggling peoples throughout the world. Today we extend our solidarity to all these friends throughout the world – in Asia, in Africa, in Europe and Latin America.”

“Speaking as the leader of a liberation movement, I would like to assure our comrades-in-arms in the liberation struggles, Polisario, Fretilin, the PLO, the fighters in the Canary Islands, that by definition their struggle is ours. Every victory they win advances our cause against the forces of imperialism and racism. We fight in our countries to advance their struggle. As far as the PLO is concerned our fight is carried on in the knowledge of the degree of intimacy and political, military and economic alliance that has developed between racism and Zionism.”

“Finally, I should like to address myself to you, Comrade President Sam Nujoma, to the militants of SWAPO who are here today. I should like to do so in the name of your colleagues and mine, members of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, in the name of Umkhonto we Sizwe, in the name of our entire membership and movement, in the name of our people. You have sacrificed lives already to defeat the enemy – the exploiter and oppressor of the people of South Africa. You have made great inroads, you have corroded the apartheid power structure in Namibia, which within South Africa itself, remains relatively unshaken. We admire your gallantry, your courage, your efficiency, your capability on the battlefield.”

“By your actions you have forged bonds of unity between yourselves and us, the Namibian people and the people of South Africa – bonds of brotherhood and comradeship, forged in blood, and for that reason indissoluble.”

“We of the ANC have come to this Conference, not so much to talk of our struggle, but to participate in yours. We would like to pledge before you in the name of all our people and particularly in the name of our leaders … – we pledge, that we shall fight, and fight, and fight, until this our common enemy is defeated not only in Namibia but also on South African soil.”

A Luta Continua!

– Oliver Tambo (13 September 1980) –

Source:
Oliver Tambo, “The Beast is in the Open”, Sechaba, December 1980, pp. 2 – 6.

Castro Khwela
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