The six, speaking in front of several South African journalists, including representatives from Beeld and Rapport, received a standing ovation – the liveliest moment of the conference so far. At the conference, the ANC launched a major new offensive to establish itself as the dominant voice on the South African issue as well as to completely isolate Pretoria.
The four-day conference in Arusha – the first of its kind organised by the ANC – won a significant initial gainwhen the legendary former president of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere, threw his weight behind the organisation. He declared that the armed struggle against the South African government had to continue, clearly throwing his support behind the ANC as opposed w the rival Pan Africanist Congress, which, theTanzanian government has long supported and which has its headquarters in Dar es Salaam.
More than 4 000 delegates from anti-apartheid movements and governments around the world are attending the conference to work out a new strategy to isolate Pretoria. The conference proceedings are premised on the belief that negotiations with Pretoria are out of the question at the moment. The ANC reiterated its position that they would not renounce or suspend the armed struggle until Pretoria had agreed to the principal of one-person, one-vote in a unitary country.
Contrary to recent speculation of a softening of its stance, the Soviet Union expressed unwavering support for the ANC and doubt that negotiations could take place in the current political climate. Addressing the conference, YY Vagris, deputy chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, said the Soviet Union was in favour of a political solution, but "we do not see any measures to create favourable conditions to start the settlement process by the Botha government".
Nyerere said that in the end discussions and negotiations would have to take place with the apartheid authorities. In the meanwhile, he said, the task of the ANC was "to continue the armed struggle and the task of non-racists everywhere is to support it in its struggle". Nyerere pointedly warned of the dangers in a post-apartheid society, saying political power would only be the beginning of a non-racial and democratic future.
"There will be many inside South Africa and even among those outside South Africa who do not like apartheid, who will complain when democracy and justice for all does not exist the day after a representative government takes over the reins of political power. "And the people themselves, after all their years of suffering, will be impatient for radical change, even while their young government is still struggling to create and use new and democratic instruments of government " he said.
Meanwhile, many delegates were disconcerted at the failure of the Zimbabwe government to send messages of solidarity. Although the local Zimbabwean high commissioner attended, Prime Minister Robert Mugabe, the current chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement, also failed to send a message of support on behalf of that organisation.
An ANC spokesman said it was probably due to organisational problems, but it takes place. against the background of historical antagonisms with Mugabe's party, Zanu, though it was believed these antagonisms had been papered over. Amongst other issues, the conference debated the long-running cultural and academic boycott, but failed to come to a conclusion other than an urgent recommendation to the ANC to thrash out, a consistent policy on the issue.
This article originally appeared in the Weekly Mail.
