Letters

We received with great shock and anger the news of the brazen and outrageous invasion of the Kingdom of Lesotho by the racist South African army on December 9th. The multiple murders of Lesotho nationals and South African refugees, members of the African National Congress, committed by this squad of assassins must surely fill every person of conscience with a deep sense of revulsion.

At this hour of grief for both our peoples, who are further united by the blood we have both shed, we extend our deep-felt condolences to Your Excellency, the Government and people of Lesotho and request that Your Excellency convey these condolences to the relatives of the deceased Lesotho nationals.

We hereby wish to express our profound appreciation of the reaffirmation by the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho of its continued determination to receive South African refugees who flee to Lesotho. We further wish to convey to Your Excellency our complete and unequivocal support for your initiative in requesting an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council to consider this latest act of aggression by the apartheid regime.

We pledge our continued commitment to support the Kingdom of Lesotho with all means in our power in her struggle to consolidate her independence and defend her sovereignty and territorial integrity.

This coldly calculated act of terrorism will only serve to spur the ANC and the people of South Africa to redouble their efforts to remove once and for all the criminal Pretoria regime, the common enemy of the peoples of Africa.

Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of the highest fraternal esteem of our National Executive Committee as well as my own.

Oliver Tambo