Remarks at the 5th Session of the OAU Ad Hoc Committee of Heads of State

"The issue of sanctions is of course central to the struggle against Apartheid. It is an integral part of the strategy of combining internal and external forces to combat Apartheid. So far, this combination of pressure has been instrumental in compelling the Apartheid authorities to accept the principle of negotiations. It is this pressure which has brought the struggle this far, and it is the same combination of pressure which will keep the Pretoria regime at the negotiating table. It is clear that if sanctions were to be repealed today, the envisaged constitutional talks could flounder on the rocks of Pretoria's penchant for intransigence. If I have returned to the subject of sanctions, it is because recently, there appears to be some worrisome signs of an erosion of the African consensus of the maintenance of sanctions. Such erosion can not only threaten the collective position of the OAU, but also open the flood-gate to others in the international community." - Dr. Salim, September 8, 1990