Читать книгу Let Freedom Reign - Henry Russell - Страница 10

That Mandela had learned an important early lesson may be seen in the following extracts from his long speech to the ANC Youth League just before the start of the Defiance Campaign Against Unjust Laws – the largest non-violent resistance initiative ever seen in South Africa and the first to be pursued jointly by all racial groups under the leadership of the ANC and the South African Indian Congress (SAIC). The script shows the early coalescence of his oratorical style: mastery of detail; avoidance of inflammatory language, in spite of his apocalyptic vision of the consequences of apartheid for South African society; clear, logical exposition of policy, and, at the end of the opening paragraph, an admixture of humour. His speech also, in spite of the odd omitted preposition, conjunction and article, shows a growing mastery of English – his second language.

It is always a most difficult task to deliver a presidential address to an organization such as ours. One is expected to give as comprehensive a picture as possible of the political situation, both nationally and internationally. Then included must be the review of the organizational strength and power of the movement and the progress it has made in its efforts to carry the people to victory. Lastly, some indication must be given to the reply the organization must make to the situation having regard to the preceding analyses. Quite clearly it is not possible to do justice to all these, and yet a presidential address in which anyone of them is missing is not worthy of the name. I have [heard] it said that Dr. [Kwame] Nkrumah [founding president of Ghana, 1957–66] addresses conferences for five hours. I do not intend to break his record.

Mankind as a whole is today standing on the threshold of great events – events that at times seem to threaten its very existence…

In Africa the colonial powers… are attempting with the help of the notorious American ruling class to maintain colonial rule and oppression. Millions of pounds are pouring into the continent in the form of capital for the exploitation of our resources in the sole interests of the imperialist powers. So-called geological and archaeological expeditions are roaming the continent ostensibly engaged in gathering material for the advancement of science and the furtherance of humanity but being in reality the advance guard of American penetration. It is important for us and for the African people as a whole to realize that but for the support of American finance it would have been difficult if not impossible for the Western colonial powers to maintain rule in Africa, nor indeed anywhere in the world. In thinking of the direct enemies of the African people, namely, Great Britain, Spain, France, Portugal, Italy and S.A. [South Africa], we must never forget the indirect enemy, the infinitely more dangerous enemy who sustains all those with loans, capital, and arms.

In common with people all over the world, humanity in Africa is fighting these forces… These are hopeful signs, but precisely because the African liberation movement is gaining strength the rulers will become more brutal and, in their desperation, will practice all manner of deception in order to stay on at any rate to postpone the day of final victory. But history is on the side of the oppressed.

Here in South Africa the situation is an extremely grave and serious one… The situation is developing [in] the direction of an openly fascist state… The acts passed by the government … provide the ready-made framework for the establishment of the fascist state…

But the development of fascism in the country is an indication of the fear they have [of] the people. They realize that their world is a dying world and that the appearance of impregnable strength is a mere façade. The new world is the one in which the oppressed Africans live. They see before their eyes the growth of a mighty people’s movement. The struggles of 1950 were an indication that the leaders of the Africans and their allies were fully aware of the weakest link in the chain of white supremacy. The labour power of the African people is a force which when fully tapped is going to sweep the people to power in the land of their birth. True, the struggle will be a bitter one. Leaders will be deported, imprisoned, and even shot. The government will terrorize the people and their leaders in an effort to halt the forward march; ordinary forms of organization will be rendered impossible. But the spirit of the people cannot be crushed, and no matter what happens to the present leadership, new leaders will arise like mushrooms till full victory is won…

Sons and daughters of Africa, I do not think we differ concerning our ideas of the aims of African nationalism in Africa. In any case the very nature of [the] national movement to which we belong makes it impossible to expect [an] absolutely identical approach…

Then we have to design on concrete steps to be taken to deal with the situation that has arisen as a result of the Suppression of Communism Amendment Act. How are we going to react to the liquidation of Congress leaders as [a] result of this act? And how are the operations going to be carried on in the event of our being banned?…

We have to discuss measures [for] the creation of strong nuclei of active workers in the struggle on the proper organization of the League and the Congress [and] the elimination of unredeemable reactionaries, which work has proceeded quite far in certain areas. We have to consider measures to eliminate the looseness and lack of discipline in the movement and also the cultivation of a serious approach to the struggle. In this context we have to examine various tactics and weapons in our struggle, including boycott, civil disobedience, and strikes.

Sons and daughters of Africa, our tasks are mighty indeed, but I have abundant faith in our ability to reply to the challenge posed by the situation. Under the slogan of FULL DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS IN SOUTH AFRICA NOW, we must march forward into victory.