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Reference code
ZA COM MR-S-1128
Title
Address by Nelson Mandela to the Athletes
Date(s)
- 1990-01-01 - 1999-12-31 (c1990s)
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Transcription of speech made by Mr Mandela
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Migrated from the Nelson Mandela Speeches Database (Sep-2018).
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ANC Archives, Office of the ANC President, Nelson Mandela Papers, University of Fort Hare
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- English
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TRANSCRIPT
It gives me great pleasure to welcome all of you not only to this gathering but more importantly to our country. You have come here during a very crucial period when we are preparing the burial of apartheid. I can assure you this would be one funeral which all of us are going to celebrate.
The sports boycott campaign was very important in our struggle against racism. Therefore the suspension of apartheid South Africa from international athletics was most significant. This was not easy when apartheid South Africa had so many friends in Europe.
That is why I am so delighted to welcome again our dear brother Lamine Diack, President of the African Athletic Confederation, who together with our brother Jean Claude Ganga, played so important a role in the exclusion of apartheid from international athletics. I know he was assisted by many of his colleagues. I am not going to dare to mention all of them as I fear I might omit the names of several of them. But we greatly appreciate your support. Thank you.
Our African athletes have made so many sacrifices in the past. In 1976 potential gold medalists made the greatest sacrifice at the Montreal Olympic games by withdrawing in protest against apartheid and the collaborators with apartheid. Again in 1986 African, Asian and Caribbean countries withdrew from the commonwealth games in Edinburgh to demonstrate solidarity with us oppressed South Africans. This was indeed a sacrifice of the highest order. I do not think that we can ever re-pay all these fine athletes fro lost opportunities. But we are going to try.
We have amongst us today world champions, Samuel Matete of Zambia, for so many years the headquarters of the ANC in exile, Maria Mutola from Mozambique who arrived this morning and John Ngugi of Kenya. We also have amongst us African sprint champion Mary Onyali and several others. Please tell your predecessors that their sacrifices were not in vain.
We hope you are going to enjoy your short stay with us in our country which was until recently forbidden territory for Africa.
We welcome also Dr Primo Nebiolo, President of the International Amateur Athletic Federation and his council members. I believe I will be meeting with you and your colleagues tomorrow.
I have not mentioned many of you by name. But please be assured that I am delighted and honoured to see you all here today. You are all very important.
The ANC has propagated the entry of South Africa into international sport in advance of reaching a political settlement. We feel that this was important during this interim stage. We believe that the sports arena is one platform which will assist us in projecting the new image for the new South Africa. A South Africa which will be totally non-racial. A South Africa where colour and race will take a back seat.
We are convinced that our sportsmen and women, part of the future decision-makers in our country, will help in fortifying our unity in the new democratic South Africa. They will demonstrate that racism has no place in our society and that it is useless in resisting non-racialism. But we have also insisted that unity in sport and meaningful non-racialism are a pre-requisite for international participation. It is no use to have non-racialism merely on paper because then the privileged few who had all the opportunities and facilities provided them by apartheid will continue to dominate sport.
That is why we have insisted on a development programme which will address and redress the inequities of apartheid. We believe that in the future all our athletes- irrespective of race and colour- must have equal opportunities and facilities to give of their best. We know that athletics has achieved this and that is why we have endorsed the holding of the African Unity Games.
Now it is up to the athletes- from South Africa and the rest of Africa- to assist us in our nation building process.
Sport is important in our nation building process. Unity is sport- where people of all colours and creed can now mix so freely- will definitely reverberate onto the rest of our social behaviour. Our country is looking for national identity and sport is providing this.
For this reason we have asked sports organisations not to retain apartheid identities. We have not yet endorsed our flag and anthem, although we know what we wish them to be.
Interim arrangements are necessary for the interim period. But we are not expecting this period to last for long. I am pleased to state that sport has acted very responsibly in this respect.
Unity is the theme for the athletics event and we hope that unity will be perpetuated forever.
Lastly, may I wish all the athletes the very best of luck. And come back soon after we have a truly non-racial government. Then we will feast you and manifest our appreciation in grander style for all what you are doing.
It gives me great pleasure to welcome all of you not only to this gathering but more importantly to our country. You have come here during a very crucial period when we are preparing the burial of apartheid. I can assure you this would be one funeral which all of us are going to celebrate.
The sports boycott campaign was very important in our struggle against racism. Therefore the suspension of apartheid South Africa from international athletics was most significant. This was not easy when apartheid South Africa had so many friends in Europe.
That is why I am so delighted to welcome again our dear brother Lamine Diack, President of the African Athletic Confederation, who together with our brother Jean Claude Ganga, played so important a role in the exclusion of apartheid from international athletics. I know he was assisted by many of his colleagues. I am not going to dare to mention all of them as I fear I might omit the names of several of them. But we greatly appreciate your support. Thank you.
Our African athletes have made so many sacrifices in the past. In 1976 potential gold medalists made the greatest sacrifice at the Montreal Olympic games by withdrawing in protest against apartheid and the collaborators with apartheid. Again in 1986 African, Asian and Caribbean countries withdrew from the commonwealth games in Edinburgh to demonstrate solidarity with us oppressed South Africans. This was indeed a sacrifice of the highest order. I do not think that we can ever re-pay all these fine athletes fro lost opportunities. But we are going to try.
We have amongst us today world champions, Samuel Matete of Zambia, for so many years the headquarters of the ANC in exile, Maria Mutola from Mozambique who arrived this morning and John Ngugi of Kenya. We also have amongst us African sprint champion Mary Onyali and several others. Please tell your predecessors that their sacrifices were not in vain.
We hope you are going to enjoy your short stay with us in our country which was until recently forbidden territory for Africa.
We welcome also Dr Primo Nebiolo, President of the International Amateur Athletic Federation and his council members. I believe I will be meeting with you and your colleagues tomorrow.
I have not mentioned many of you by name. But please be assured that I am delighted and honoured to see you all here today. You are all very important.
The ANC has propagated the entry of South Africa into international sport in advance of reaching a political settlement. We feel that this was important during this interim stage. We believe that the sports arena is one platform which will assist us in projecting the new image for the new South Africa. A South Africa which will be totally non-racial. A South Africa where colour and race will take a back seat.
We are convinced that our sportsmen and women, part of the future decision-makers in our country, will help in fortifying our unity in the new democratic South Africa. They will demonstrate that racism has no place in our society and that it is useless in resisting non-racialism. But we have also insisted that unity in sport and meaningful non-racialism are a pre-requisite for international participation. It is no use to have non-racialism merely on paper because then the privileged few who had all the opportunities and facilities provided them by apartheid will continue to dominate sport.
That is why we have insisted on a development programme which will address and redress the inequities of apartheid. We believe that in the future all our athletes- irrespective of race and colour- must have equal opportunities and facilities to give of their best. We know that athletics has achieved this and that is why we have endorsed the holding of the African Unity Games.
Now it is up to the athletes- from South Africa and the rest of Africa- to assist us in our nation building process.
Sport is important in our nation building process. Unity is sport- where people of all colours and creed can now mix so freely- will definitely reverberate onto the rest of our social behaviour. Our country is looking for national identity and sport is providing this.
For this reason we have asked sports organisations not to retain apartheid identities. We have not yet endorsed our flag and anthem, although we know what we wish them to be.
Interim arrangements are necessary for the interim period. But we are not expecting this period to last for long. I am pleased to state that sport has acted very responsibly in this respect.
Unity is the theme for the athletics event and we hope that unity will be perpetuated forever.
Lastly, may I wish all the athletes the very best of luck. And come back soon after we have a truly non-racial government. Then we will feast you and manifest our appreciation in grander style for all what you are doing.
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- Mandela, Nelson Rolihlahla (c1990s)
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Acquisition method: Hardcopy ; Source: ANC Archives, Office of the ANC President, Nelson Mandela Papers, University of Fort Hare. Accessioned on 14/01/2010 by Zintle Bambata