MANDELA WRITES FROM PRISON:

June 10, 1980

In South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC) makes public a statement by
Nelson Mandela, the long imprisoned leader of the anti-apartheid movement. The
message, smuggled out of Robben Island prison under great risk, read, "UNITE!
MOBILISE! FIGHT ON! BETWEEN THE ANVIL OF UNITED MASS ACTION AND THE HAMMER OF
THE ARMED STRUGGLE WE SHALL CRUSH APARTHEID!"Mandela, born in 1918, was the son
of the chief of the Xhosa-speaking Tembu people. Instead of succeeding his
father as chief, Mandela went to university and became a lawyer. In 1944, he
joined the ANC, a black political organization dedicated to winning rights for
the black majority in white-ruled South Africa. In 1948, the racist National
Party came to power, and apartheid--South Africa's institutionalized system of
white supremacy and racial segregation--became official government policy. With
the loss of black rights under apartheid, black enrollment in the ANC rapidly
grew. Mandela became one of the ANC's leaders and in 1952 was made deputy
national president of the ANC. He organized nonviolent strikes, boycotts,
marches, and other acts of civil disobedience.After the massacre of peaceful
black demonstrators at Sharpeville in 1960, Mandela helped organize a
paramilitary branch of the ANC to engage in acts of sabotage against the white
minority government. He was tried for and acquitted of treason in 1961 but in
1962 was arrested again for illegally leaving the country. Convicted and
sentenced to five years at Robben Island Prison, he was put on trial again in
1963 with seven other ANC members who were arrested at Rivonia in possession of
a store of weapons. Charged with sabotage, treason, and violent conspiracy,
Mandela admitted to many of the charges against him and eloquently defended his
militant activities during the trial. On June 12, 1964, he was sentenced to life
imprisonment.Mandela spent the first 18 of his 27 years in jail at the brutal
Robben Island Prison. He was confined to a small cell without a bed or plumbing
and was forced to do hard labor in a quarry. Once a year, he was allowed to meet
with a visitor for 30 minutes, and once every six months he could write and
receive a letter. At first, he was only allowed to exchange letters with his
family, and these letters were read and censored by prison officials. Later he
was allowed to write to friends and associates, but any writing of a political
nature was forbidden. With the help of fellow prisoners and his visitors,
Mandela smuggled out statements and letters to spark the continuing
anti-apartheid movement. A 500-page autobiography, manually miniaturized into 50
pages, was smuggled out by a departing prisoner in 1976. The original manuscript
of the autobiography, buried in a garden, was discovered by the prison warden
soon after. As punishment, Mandela and three others lost their study rights for
four years.Through it all, Mandela's resolve remained unbroken, and he led a
movement of civil disobedience at the prison that coerced South African
officials into drastically improving conditions on Robben Island. In 1982, he
was moved to Pollsmoor Prison on the mainland, and in 1988 to a cottage, where
he lived under house arrest.In 1989, F.W. de Klerk became South African
president and set about dismantling apartheid. De Klerk lifted the ban on the
ANC, suspended executions, and on February 11, 1990, ordered the release of
Nelson Mandela after 27 years as a political prisoner. Mandela subsequently led
the ANC in its negotiations with the minority government for an end to apartheid
and the establishment of a multiracial government. In 1993, Mandela and de Klerk
were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. On April 26, 1994, more than 22
million South Africans turned out to cast ballots in the country's first-ever
multiracial parliamentary elections. An overwhelming majority chose Mandela and
the ANC to lead the country, and a "national unity" coalition was formed with de
Klerk's National Party and the Zulus' Inkatha Freedom Party. On May 10, Mandela
was sworn in as the first black president of South Africa.As president, Mandela
established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate human rights
violations under apartheid and introduced numerous initiatives designed to
improve the living standards of South Africa's black population. In 1996, he
presided over the enactment of a new South African constitution. Mandela retired
from politics in June 1999 at the age of 80. He was succeeded as president by
Thabo Mbeki of the ANC. Mandela, admired by people around the world, continues
to advocate for human rights and peace.