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FW DE KLERK HAS named 2 February 1990 as the day he ended apartheid.
The former South African president had been working on the speech for weeks – as we’re sure heads of state before him did. The opening address of parliament was generally used for big announcements and songs and dances were made of them.
Nobody quite expected what De Klerk actually delivered.
Not only did he set up a pathway for Nelson Mandela’s freedom (something that was widely predicted), he also set out the framework to end apartheid.
“The prohibition of the African National Congress, the Pan Africanist Congress, the South African Communist Party and a number of subsidiary organisations is being rescinded,” he announced, to audible gasps from the audience.
It is time for us to break out of the cycle of violence and break through to peace and reconciliation. The silent majority is yearning for this. The youth deserve it.
He asked all parties to “walk through the open door and take your place at the negotiating table”.
In the 30-minute address, he had promised South Africa a full democracy.
Listen to the speech – and the murmur of surprise here.
On the issue of Mandela’s 27-year imprisonment, De Klerk said:
“In this connection Mr Nelson Mandela could play an important part. The Government has noted that he has declared himself to be willing to make a constructive contribution to the peaceful political process in South Africa.
I wish to put it plainly that the Government has taken a firm decision to release Mr Mandela unconditionally. I am serious about bringing this matter to finality without delay. The Government will take a decision soon on the date of his release. Unfortunately, a further short passage of time is unavoidable.
“Normally there is a certain passage of time between the decision to release and the actual release because of logistical and administrative requirements. In the case of Mr Mandela there are factors in the way of his immediate release, of which his personal circumstances and safety are not the least.
He has not been an ordinary prisoner for quite some rime. Because of that, his case requires particular circumspection.
Just over a week later, De Klerk announced the release of Nelson Mandela at a press conference.
On 11 February, Mandela walked free hand in hand with his wife Winnie.
Four years later, and after the country’s first free and open elections since the ending of apartheid, Mandela became the country’s first black President.
That speech on 2 February set that train in motion. Archbishop Desmond Tutu said on the day that De Klerk deserved “considerable credit”, adding that we “may be seeing history in the making”.
According to a profile piece about De Klerk written five years ago, apartheid ended in those 30 minutes.
Speaking to journalist Ivan Fallon, De Klerk revealed he began writing the speech over the Christmas break – and that he had always intended to play down Mandela’s freedom to make sure the importance of the major policy shifts wasn’t lost in the media scrum.
“But I wanted them to focus on the fundamental decisions we had taken and to judge them on their merits, and not have the whole package overshadowed.”
Despite working on the measures announced on 2 February for about a year, very few people were aware of his plans until two days before the speech. He swore his whole cabinet to secrecy and only told his own wife that morning.
He wanted maximum impact – and he’d get that with the surprise package.
According to Fallon’s piece, he awoke with a “sense of destiny – I knew South Africa would never be the same again but I also believed I was doing the right thing at the right time.”
And what would have happened if that speech had not been made? In a thoughtful interview with the Guardian, De Klerk said:
“To those people I say it is a false comparison to look at what was good in the old South Africa against what is bad today.
If we had not changed in the manner we did, South Africa would be completely isolated.
“The majority of people in the world would be intent on overthrowing the government. Our economy would be non-existent – we would not be exporting a single case of wine and South African planes would not be allowed to land anywhere. Internally, we would have the equivalent of civil war.”
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Apparteid was wrong for South Africa so it should be wrong for Israel yet the West cheerleads the Apparteid nation of Israel.
# Double Standards and Hypocrisy.
F W deKlerk – he who was responsible for dismantling apartheid in SA – would disagree with you. Certainly, if a one state solution was created and in this binational entity Arabs were discriminated against you’d have a point. This isn’t the case and shows you’ve a weak grasp of both the reality of situation in the middle east and indeed apartheid.
There’s a lot of hope for SA but mostly for the wealthy blacks and whites. State programs of discrimination etc may have ended but most socio-economic metrics paint a depressing picture for many millions of ordinary people.
Yes, # Double Standards and Hypocrisy.
Very interesting how people loathed Apartheid, yet cheerleads black nationalism and Marxism, and now ignore the same injustices because white people are being murdered.
Political correctness has turned men, into hypocritical bigoted mice.
At least be consistent in your fight against injustice….
WAR OF THE FLEA….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXc9_2TC43g
@ Frank. ..2+3+3+2 = 10 = the number of your active brain cells!!
Bill Madden_ Remove the first four and last three letters of your name and then look into a mirror.
Apartheid in Israel? You’ve lost it Francis.
Frank, remove the FR, add a w
Exit Stage Left 58.73% would agree with me.
Notice all the shills like Bill Madden and Exit come out of the woodwork with their pathetic name calling when the truth is spoken about political Zi0nism.
Exposing Israel’s war crimes and injustice certainly NOT ANTISEMITIC.
Gaza and West bank ongoing troubles are anything but over.
# BDS.
http://s18.postimg.org/wbf2wg3t5/boycott_of_israel_bds_4.gif
Where is the accusation of anti semitism Frank?
@Exit Stage Left Your either ignorant or a hasbara liar. Israel is an Apartheid state ” The Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa (HSRC) has released a report confirming that Israel is practicing both colonialism and apartheid in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT)”http://electronicintifada.net/content/south-african-study-israel-practicing-apartheid-and-colonialism/3432
Jason_Posters like Exit and Stage would consider me Antisemetic going by the tone of their comments.
But you haven’t been accused of it. You’re very defensive and jump to conclusions.
It’s not uncommon to be labeled anti semitic or a Jew hater if you criticize Israel no matter what. I’ve been called worse for condemning Israel’s recent genocide in Gaza where they murdered over 2000 civilians inc 530 children. I
Apartheid countries deny people the vote. Both Israelis and Palestinians voted in their current leaders. That’s not apartheid behaviour. Hamas could do with calling an election again though. You accuse people of using the anti semitism cars easily, you throw accusations around very easily yourself. You don’t see the leftish irony? The Arabs of Saudi and Jordan could do so much to help their Palestinian brethren but it suits them to keep them suppressed and oppressed. Now go and accuse someone else of bring something they’re not.
You’re getting personal there Exit Stage Left. No need for that carry on. A real sing Frank is pushing your buttons with some truths??
You seem to have a big problem accepting facts Exit Stage Left. Even the Israeli newspaper printed this story…..Desmond Tutu: U.S. Christians must recognize Israel, http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.599422
Correction on previous post. Desmond Tutu: U.S. Christians must recognize Israel as apartheid statehttp://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.599422
Theres a lot of tension in South Africa at the moment as some people want a street named after FW DeKlerk & many appose the move including the ANC. It takes a long time for some wounds to heal.
I once saw the top of FW DeKlerk’s head as Dick Spring accompanied him on walkabout along the banks of the Dodder past my schood yard
Nelson Mandela ,Hes up there with the greats .
And the worst….
Oh, no you di’n't
And look how South Africa is getting on today! No apartheid but apart from that it’s pretty awful in comparison.
Nelson Mandela truly is a hero,was interesting looking at the reconciliation commission the atrocities the police carried out,a blood soaked piece of history,proof though that if all parties are willing barriers can be broken, who is going to be the middle eastern Mandela?
A very apt question. Do they have such a person in their midst with the credibility to make the seismic changes needed?
I do hope so
yes it now a highly integrated lawful society… oh wait!
Unfortunately the new dispensation failed to protect minority rights. It also failed to recognized the reality how how large our population is compared to the resources we had to address backlogs. Instead of focusing on the good work, elements in the ANC government have focused on self-enrichment. Public sector salary bill can accommodate twice as many people, making a huge dent in unemployment, but too many highly paid office jobs, too few artisans-and-maintenance staff have eroded state finances without addressing the real issues. The result is that the R50 trillion South Africa had for changing the country has largely been wasted, leaving the country with crippling debt and ineffective structures. There was economic growth yes, but far less than population growth, which means PER PERSON ON AVERAGE we are all poorer than in 1994, which is increasingly causing unrest, an unstoppable wave of civil unrest and anger. At PPR conversion rates our education budget-per-child is the largest in the whole world, yet our education is close to the worst. That is a prime example of the fatal extent of waste, and the poor future we are facing. Eskom has 50% more power than South Africa needs but, despite the largest office job salary bill ever, has not done minimum maintenance for the past decade, causing a huge power crisis. Almost half Eskom’s power capacity is broken.
Things were going very well until Mr. Mandela retired but since then corrupt government has killed South Africa. If you really do the maths you will find what hope we had for the future has been squandered. The prognosis is dire.
But our worst failing, as it has been for centuries, is that we focus on hateful lies instead of facing the truth honestly so that we can fix it together.
With democracy came 20 000 murders a year, every year, being the rape and murder capital of the world in terms of population ratio, making Apath-hide (with an English accent) look like small fry. Yes! Viva demo-CCCP-cracy! With Mandela died the last hope of success. The Apartheid government groomed him knowing he will be their only hope. How right they were. South Africa is like an airplane twirling towards the ground with one wing fallen off.
Those of us in the know see Zimbabwe beckoning with the exception, Zimbabwe was small fry with what will happen in SA. More so with the EFF, Pol-Pot wannabees that could very well be the next government in the making. Minorities, any minorities have no chance in South Africa as minority rights are not recognised.
Interestingly, the ANC of Mandela “loved” the Irish so much they didn’t want the Irish monument of the Irish sacrifices during the Boer war. It was moved to the Afrikaner community in Orania. The Irish is a bit too white for black nationalism.
Not many Irish will make it in the “new South Africa”, and for the ignorant traveler, Cape Town is not South Africa. It’s the last bastion of European culture at the tip of Africa, and incidentally the only province still functioning.
WAR OF THE FLEA….
It’s amazing how we all loathed apartheid in South Africa but we condone it every day in Israel where a despicable regime operates apartheid, land stealing, home demolitions and baby slaughter at will.
Yes, very interesting how people loathed Apartheid, and now ignore the same injustices because white people are being murdered.
Political correctness has turned men, into hypocritical bigoted mice.
WAR OF THE FLEA….
Ended? If you watched Ross kemp you’d realise they now have economic apartheid just like our bunch have forced on us. Wake up people don’t be sheep
Watch this
1994 the bloody miracle documentary
Its a very interesting documentary about the run up to the South African 1994 elections.
Our generation must answer the call to end Israeli Apartheid.
Petr Tarasov, unfortunately there are sill people who are unaware that Israel is an Apartheid state and worse, the Israeli government pays people to suppress this fact. “Israeli laws form the basis of systematic racial discrimination against Palestinians.” http://electronicintifada.net/content/not-analogy-israel-and-crime-apartheid/8164
Twenty five years since the “Speech that changed South Africa forever” and we have the most appalling Apartheid situation in Israel funded by by hard earned US tax dollars. ‘Apartheid’ is defined by the UN as “…a system of institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group … over another … and systematically oppressing them…” by creating ghettos, land confiscation, bans on freedom of movement, speech assemblies and mixed marriages, illegal arrest and detention. Here are some examples of apartheid in Israel
* In the West Bank, Palestinians are prohibited from using the extensive network of settler-only highways that connect the illegal Israeli settlements to Israel. Israelis face no road restrictions.
*Palestinians are under military law and face a constant threat of detention without charge. Israelis are under civilian law.
*So Israeli settlements can expand, over 17,000 Palestinian houses have been demolished, creating thousands of homeless families. Israelis face no confiscation of land.
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