"Gandhi remained committed to nonviolence; I followed the Gandhian strategy for as long as I could, but then there came a point in our struggle when the brute force of the oppressor could no longer be countered through passive resistance alone. We founded Umkhonto we Sizwe and added a military dimension to our struggle. Even then, we chose sabotage because it did not involve the loss of life, and it offered the best hope for future race relations. Militant action became part of the African agenda officially supported by the Organization of African Unity (O.A.U.) following my address to the Pan-African Freedom Movement of East and Central Africa (PAFMECA) in 1962, in which I stated, "Force is the only language the imperialists can hear, and no country became free without some sort of violence.""
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
RevolutionariesPolitical activistsNobel Peace Prize laureatesPresidents of South AfricaActivists from South Africa
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Related Quotes
"The true test of our devotion to freedom is just beginning. I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not…"
"But the violence which we chose to adopt was not terrorism. We who formed Umkhonto were all members of the African Na…"
"For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of…"
"I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all during my life; I fight…"
"It is fit and proper to raise the question sharply, what is this rigid color-bar in the administration of justice? Wh…"
"In its proper meaning equality before the law means the right to participate in the making of the laws by which one i…"
"I must deal immediately and at some length with the question of violence. Some of the things so far told to the Court…"
"Ethiopia has always held a special place in my own imagination and the prospect of visiting attracted me more strongl…"
"There are thousands of people who feel that it is useless and futile for us to continue talking peace and non-violenc…"
"I have already mentioned that I was one of the persons who helped to form Umkhonto. I, and the others who started the…"