Dismantling apartheid 1990-1994 Flashcards
what happened in the 1989 election
-PW Botha lost support due to dissatisfaction with apartheid and the economy
-FW de Klerk from the NP replaced Botha as party leader and became president in 1989
what was the state of the SA economy in 1989
severely bad:
-sanctions and lack of investment internationally
-debt crisis of over $20bn
-high inflation
-high unemployment
-low growth
how did de Klerk’s reform tackle the economy
Apartheid laws
-dismantled laws such as Population Registration Act and the Group Areas Act for a more inclusive economy
-this would encourage FDI and reduce economic inefficiencies caused by apartheid policies
-economic sanctions began to be lifted, such as the UN arms embargo in 1977 in 1993
state of violence in South Africa in 1989
Widespread political violence
-clashes between ANC and IFP
-state sponsored violence
-strikes
de Klerk’s response to violence
-engages in negotiations with ANC and other groups
-released political prisoners inc Mandela
-repealed apartheid laws that caused unrest like State of emergency, pop reg act, group areas act
-violence still continued
de Klerk’s reforms with the ANC
Unbanning
-unbanned the ANC, SACP and other anti-apartheid organisation
Negotiations
-formal negotiations with ANC in CODESA talks in 1991
-aimed to create a new democratic constitution for majority rule SA
Challenges
-relationship between de Klerk and ANC was strained as they had their own interests
-ANC accused gov of complicity in violence, de Klerk made it clear he did not like ‘one man, one vote’ as it would supress minorities
when were the CODESA talks set up
1991
-set up after the National Peace Accord (agreement between political parties to reduce violence for a stable environment for negotiations)
de Klerk whites only referendum
-in 1992 march, de Klerk held a white only referendum, where 69% supported his approach of negotiating with the ANC
CODESA I
-19 political parties including ANC, NP, IFP and SACP (Mandela and de Klerk main negotiators)
-parties agreed on the need for a democratic, non racial SA
What they talks involved:
-creation of a constitutional Assembly
-formation of Transitional Executive Council to oversee the transition
-mechanisms to ensure free and fair elections
Disagreements:
-NP wanted power sharing arrangement, ANC wanted majority rule
-political violence between ANC and IFP (Boipatong Massacre), led to ANC withdraw from CODESA
why did the inkatha dislike the ANC
-Buthulezi made a deal with apartheid government to become Chief of KawZulu natal, and had its own government and police force
-Buthulezi did not want to lose power and the Zulu people did ont want to lose the special status they had under apartheid, as they were not an independent nation
third force and its involvement with de Klerk
-white South African police were accused of acting as a mysterious third force police men in disguise who attacked ANC supporters to stir up violence
-de Klerk denied any involvement with this
why did mandela leave the CODESA talks
-he accused de Klerk of using police force to provoke violence and weaken the ANC to avoid the transition to a democratic South Africa
-because of this he felt they did not want to fully transition to a democratic state and left the talks
Boipatong massacre
-Boipatong Mssacre: 1992, armed Inkatha attacked residents of the Boipatong township and killed 46 people, mostly women and children
-security forces did not do anything during or after
-de Klerk did not mention this and lead to Mandela leaving, using the used police to provoke violence and weaken the black parties
-ANC organised 2 day strike, and Mandela lead 100k people in a march to Union Government buildings
Bisho Massacre
-70k ANC supporters, organised by Chirs Hani marched to Bisho, capital of Ciseki homeland
-protest against leader of Ciseki homeland, which then ordered troops to open fire, killing 28 people
-Mandela condemned de Klerk as the person responsible for this
how were the CODESA talks resumed
-de Klerk and Mandela reached an agreement to resume talks to prevent armed resistance
-they signed a record of understanding, NP agreed to release more political prisoners, restrict carrying of tradition weapons by Inkatha and implement reforms to stop violence
-the broader multi-party negotiating forum (MPNF) was created instead, including more parties, but right wing Afrikaners and Inkatha still resisted change
assassination of Chris Hani
-ANC and MK leader was assassinated by a right-wing extremist at his house
-almost lead to Civil War, but Mandela called for calm in a nationwide TV address
-government accelerated negotiations to prevent further unrest
agreement on an Interim (temporary) Constitution
-negotiations agreed on a democratic, non racial constitution
-government of nationality of 5 years as well, so the NP could share power with the ANC
-first democratic elections set for April 1994
violence before the april 1994 election
-Inkatha murdered people employed in distributing voting instruction leaflets
-AWB shot at taxi drivers on election days and raided police stations to get weapons to try and disrupt voting
-14k people killed between 1990 and 1994
April 1994 election features
-91% of registered voters cast their votes, 19m SA
-Africans votes won with 63% of the vote, Inkatha with 11%, NP 20.4%, so de Klerk became Deputy President in the GNU
-Nelson Mandela became the President
what did Mandela do to dismantle apartheid
-main figure in the anti-apartheid movement
-met regularly with government members before his release and was instrumental in the negotiations to lift the ban on outlawed parties
-influential in preventing violence after CODESA talks broke down, and contacted de Klerk to restart constitutional negotiations, leading o the agreement being signed
what did de Klerk do to dismantle apartheid
-first leader to decided apartheid should end by releasing prisoners and unbanning groups
-signed the record of understanding and did the referendum to reduce white opposition
what did Buthulezi do to dismantle apartheid
-allowed Inkatha to take part in the elections weakened the threat and ended the state of emergency that had been declared
what did Cyril Ramaphosa do to dismantle apartheid
-carried strong support from COSATU and the UDF, and as the negotiator for the ANC had a strong personal relationship with Roelf Meyer who was the negotiator for the nationalists
What did Joe slovo do
-major role in the 1990 peace talks
-drafted the sunset clause to allow for a transitional government that reassured white South Africans
