Sequel to Long Walk to Freedom - Revision 1 - Chapter 2 Page 8

facing the country. I was shaken, but pretended that I was supremely confident of the victory of the liberation movement. I told them that they would give us a hard time since they were better trained militarily than us, commanded more devastating weaponry and because of their resources, they knew the country better than us. But I warned that at the end of that reckless gamble, they would be crushed. We were then on the verge of a historic victory after we inflicted a mortal blow to white supremacy. This was not due to their consent. I added that we had a just cause, numbers and the support of the international community. They had none of these. I appealed to them to stop their plans and to join the negotiations at the World Trade Centre. I spent some time persuading them, but they were adamant and I could not move them at all. Finally, when I was about to give up, the General softened a bit and said he could not approach his people with empty hands, at such an advanced stage of their preparations. Up to that moment I had insisted that as long as I was President of the ANC, there would never be a Volkstaat in this country. A Volkstaat was a separate autonomous area for the Afrikaner. But now, faced with such a formidable challenge, I decided to retreat 21