They have made this call after consultation with the anti-apartheid movement and other public organisations. I will only make some general comments on the international context. In the past twenty years, as the solidarity movement developed at the governmental and non-governmental level, the situation in South Africa itself has grown from bad to worse. There has been a tremendous military build-up, accompanied by numerous acts of aggression against independent African States. There is now the imminent danger of acquisition of nuclear capability by the apartheid regime.
Some people tend to feel despondent that the solidarity activities have been in vain.
I believe that is very wrong. We should not underestimate the tremendous victories of the international campaign against apartheid. The arms embargo against South Africa, the funds for assistance to the oppressed people and the international convention against apartheid have hardly any precedents in history. We must recognise the growth of the anti-apartheid forces in the past twenty years and of their potential strength, if they are mobilised and concerted. Africa is no more a colonial preserve.