Published date
Related Collections from the Archive
In the course of my address to the session of the Special Committee on Apartheid in Stockholm, I asked the Chairman, Ambassador Marof, to convey to Your Excellency the gratitude of my colleagues and myself for your vigilance and concern over the political situation in South Africa.
It is my firm belief that the South African situation has within it all the essential ingredients of an explosion which, in its brutality and repercussions, will have few parallels in modern history. I believe that the force of this explosion will have the effect of a violent earthquake on the whole edifice of African independence. I believe that the most complex and excruciating problems the United Nations has had to face will flow from this explosion. For that reason, I believe that the greatest and most imminent threat to the life of the United Nations Organisation is the deteriorating situation in South Africa.
Your Excellency's personal efforts to encourage and facilitate concerted international action against the white supremacist regime of South Africa could save our country the needless loss of millions of lives, and ensure world peace for the future. We wish you all success in your work.
Yours faithfully, (signed)
Oliver R. Tambo