I pay tribute — I pay tribute to the many religious communities who carried the campaign for justice forward when the organizations of our people were silenced. I greet the traditional leaders of our country — many among you continue to walk in the footsteps of great heroes like Hintsa and , you, the young lions. You, the young lions, have energized our entire struggle. I pay tribute to the mothers and wives and sisters of our nation. You are the rockhard foundation of our struggle. Apartheid has inflicted more pain on you than on anyone , we thank the world — we thank the world community for their great contribution to the antiapartheid struggle. Without your support our struggle would not have reached this advanced stage. The sacrifice of the frontline states will be remembered by South Africans , black and white, recognize that apartheid has no future. It has to be ended by our own decisive mass action in order to build peace and security.
我向众多宗教团体致敬,在我们的组织被压制得鸦雀无声时,他们挺身而出,展开争取正义的运动。我向我国过去的领导者们致敬,你们中的很多人继续沿着亨萨、瑟库库内等伟大英雄们的足迹前进。我向年轻的英雄主义者们致敬,你们是年轻的雄狮。你们——年轻的雄狮们,给我们整个斗争中注入了活力。我向我们国家里的母亲们、妻子们、姐妹们致敬。你们是我们进行斗争的坚强基石。种族隔离烙在你们身心上的伤痕比任何人的都多。在这个时刻,我们感谢世界——我们感谢世界这个大团体在反对种族隔离的斗争中所作出的伟大贡献。没有你们的支持,我们的斗争不会到达这个新阶段。那些走在斗争前列的国家所付出的牺牲将会被南非人民永远铭记。如果不向我深爱的妻子和家人表示深深的感激,那么我的致敬将是残缺不全的。在我漫长而孤独的铁窗生涯中,他们给了我力量。我相信你们经受的痛苦和苦难远远超过了我自己。在我进一步演讲之前,我愿意阐明我的观点,就是在当前阶段,我只打算对一些问题做初步的评论。等到我有机会和我的同志们深入切磋之后,我将发表一个更加全面的声明。今天,无论是黑人还是白人,大多数南非人都已认识到种族隔离制度已经走到尽头。我们必须果敢地采取我们自己的群众运动来确保国家的和平与安全。