Page 3698 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 17 October 1990
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Mr Mandela has indeed supported the African National Congress's right to resort to violence when violence is offered against that organisation. As he explained at his trial in 1964 - and this again is quoted in the Fraser report:
A time comes in the life of any nation when there remains only two choices, submit or fight. The time has now come to South Africa. We should not submit and we have no choice but to hit back by all the means in our power and in defence of our people, our future and our freedom.
Mr Speaker, the African National Congress has consistently maintained that violence is the last option. It has consistently struggled to achieve free and democratic change towards a non-racial South Africa, and they are objects that we should all applaud. To cast aspersions on their bona fides, to suggest that they are somehow tainted by violence is, in my view, most objectionable.
Their position is that of all of us who hope that we would have the courage, if the position ever came, to stand up for the free and democratic principles in which we believe. It is only those who are fortunate enough to live in a free and democratic society who can really understand what they lose when they do not have those rights and that there may be occasions on which it is necessary to do more than offer non-violent protests. Mr Speaker, I would be ashamed if this Assembly were not to support this motion.
DR KINLOCH (11.08): Mr Speaker, all of us welcome the overall motion, in whatever form it finally appears, and of course we all join in opposition to apartheid. On the last occasion on which this issue about apartheid came up I was forced to say that if my wife and I were in South Africa we would have to live in different hotels, go to different swimming pools and so forth.
I do not think the reforms of Mr de Klerk have gone anywhere near getting at the problems of apartheid. Until there is a free vote by all South Africans - white, black, coloured, brindle, all sorts - there is not freedom. De Klerk's move towards a greater degree of freedom seems to me to be very minimal, as long as, for instance, my family could not go there in freedom. So, let us welcome the overall notion that has been put forward here. We look forward to welcoming Nelson Mandela. I applaud the Speaker for his action in calling for a special reception here.
I will briefly take up the term "non-racial". I do not think that is a particular issue. I raised it. I would have preferred the term "non-racist". Having taught courses on race and racism over many, many years, both here and in other countries, including Malaysia, I would have thought we are all part of a racial entity of some kind or another, even if it is extremely mixed; but what we object to is racism and racialism.
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