On 3 February 1990, speaking in Lusaka on behalf of the African National Congress (ANC) President Oliver Tambo, member of the National Executive Committee (NEC), Pallo Jordan, mentioned that “the notion of the ANC unilaterally abandoning the armed struggle is out of the question”, which was a reiteration of the stance the Movement had adopted in line with the Harare Declaration. Based on the Harare Declaration, “any ceasing of hostilities will have to be negotiated and will arise out of a mutually binding cease-fire” (“ANC Vows to Continue the Armed Struggle”, United Press International, 3 February 1990).
Jordan further declared that the ANC acknowledged that De Klerk had gone a long way towards “creating a climate conducive to negotiations”, however the Movement was still “gravely concerned that the Pretoria regime had taken the decision that some political prisoners will not be released, that the State of Emergency is not lifted and the practice of detention without trial will continue” (“On First Legal Day, ANC Reassesses Strategy”, Associated Press, 3 February 1990). Pallo Jordan was reacting to apartheid President F.W. de Klerk’s address opening South Africa’s Parliament on 2 February 1990, wherein De Klerk reminded his audience that he had committed his government during his inauguration to give active attention to the critical obstacles in the way of reaching a negotiated arrangement.
The decision, according to De Klerk, followed consu
