Pallo Jordan

Zweledinga Pallo Jordan (born 22 May 1942) is a South African politician. He was a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, and was a cabinet minister from 1994 until 2009. Quotes Freedom is always and exclusively freedom for the one who thinks differently. Not because of any fanatical concept of justice' but because all that is instructive, wholesome and purifying in political freedom depends on this essential characteristic, and its effectiveness vanishes when freedom' becomes a special privilege. I would say that 1976 was very important in that the build-up that we had seen since 1973 of organised opposition to the regime had almost piqued with 1976. All the factors that you mentioned contributed to that growth. I think it was perhaps around that time that tentatively people began talking in terms of the possibilities of insurrection because one had had and seen a combination during 1976 of a number of tactics that are associated with insurrectionary situations: extensive street fighting for one thing and times at which the regime lost control (very brief periods of course) of townships. Whatever its faults [the ANC] was the only instrument to make it as far as we did.” Criticism of the movement, he maintained, must be kept within its ranks. “You only take matters outside when there is a crunch point. We need fresh minds in the house. Whether you prefer to call that compromise candidates is entirely up to you. It is not desirable for one president to lead, especially in a young democracy like ours, for such a long time.” What that means is that the ANC would not prefer Mbeki to continue as president of the ANC. That is the view of the majority. The best guarantor of independence, national sovereignty and the capacity to resist the blandishments ... of the super-power is internal democracy that ensures the widest possible participation in government by the ordinary working people. Chris Hani Memorial lecture by Pallo Jordan, 15th April 2003 in South Africa. The limited, qualified democracy that places power in the hands of a self-selected political elite who presume to have a monopoly on wisdom and an understanding of the national interest, effectively kidnaps politics. Chris Hani Memorial lecture by Pallo Jordan, 15th April 2003 in South Africa. Democracy, civil liberties, human rights and social justice are not privileges to be dispensed or withheld at the discretion of power wielders. Chris Hani Memorial lecture by Pallo Jordan, 15th April 2003 in South Africa. We all agree that a vibrant and vocal opposition is essential to the health of a democracy. What is all too often missed is the quality of that opposition. Acknowledging the unfinished character of our national democratic revolution is not to detract from the significance of the gains our movement has made. It should rather spur us to press even harder. External links