Although Verwoerd thought Africans were lower than animals, his death did not yield us any pleasure. Political assassination is not something I or the ANC ever supported. It is a primitive way of contending with an opponent

I cannot overemphasise the value we place on a free, independent and outspoken press

If you sit down and talk to a person, it's easy to convince him that apartheid can never save a country and will lead to the slaughtering of innocent people - including his own people.

I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed.

Our experience has taught us that with goodwill a negotiated solution can be found for even the most profound problems.

What we did was to try and exploit that spirit [the idea of giving], which was there even before I approached individual South Africans [to give to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund]. I think we must start from that angle.

No single person can liberate a country. You can only liberate a country if you act as a collective.