Individuals Bringing an End to Apartheid Flashcards
Who were the most important figures in achieving a peaceful solution and what is the nature of their relationship?
- Time: 1991-1994
- Mandela & de Klerk
- Hated each other
- 1993 Nobel Peace Prize awarded jointly, mutual loathing was evident
Why was de Klerk determined to achieve a solution?
- Had political insight
- Knew that the Afrikaners were doomed without one
What consequences were there when de Klerk was trying to achieve a favourable solution for white interests?
- He played a double game with Mandela and the ANC
- Negotiated in public with opposition
- Did his best to defeat white extremist opponents by condemning acts of violence publicly
- Used his ‘third force’ to promote violence in the homelands and to support the Zulu Inkatha Party in its struggle against the ANC
What was important for de Klerk/Mandela to be the legal successor to the regime?
- Both lawyers
- Understood that the new government had to win acceptance at home and abroad
What did de Klerk do about the Declaration of Intent?
- Drawn up by CODESA I (Convention for a Democratic South Africa)
- Proposals for transitioning to a multi-party, non-racial, gender-inclusive democracy
- Followed it up in 1992 with political skill and courage
- Held a whites-only referendum, won with 69% of the vote, showing his validity within the white community
What did CODESA II talks aim to achieve and what was the result?
- Attempted to build on the Declaration of Intent achieved by CODESA I
- Tried to draw up a constitution for a post-Apartheid South Africa that was acceptable to all sides
- Broke down in an atmosphere of mutual mistrust because of events such as the Boipatong Massacre in 1992
Why was Mandela seen as politically mature between 1991 and 1994?
- There were moments where it seemed like the negotiations would fail
- Under pressure from disillusioned blacks to resume the armed struggle after the Boipatong Massacre, and he was tempted to do so
- But he knew that ‘third force’ was real and that de Klerk was playing a double game
- Famous quote: ‘I need him; whether I like him or not is irrelevant’
What traits of Mandela made him an important figure in bringing about an end to Apartheid?
- Had political maturity and wisdom
- Very effective when toughness was what was needed in dealing with the regime
What happened in 1993 and how did Mandela’s traits contribute to the situation and how was it useful to him?
- Murder of Christ Hani (leader of the Communist Party) by a white right-winger, threatening to initiate civil war
- Mandela’s prestige and political maturity was key to him literally single-handedly preventing a civil war
- After crisis was averted, he used his increased moral authority to press for an election date (April 1994) and he got it
Who was Joe Slovo?
- Long term hate figure for the security forces
- Leading roles in MK and the SACP
- Able, broad-minded and creative negotiator
How did Slovo help the ANC?
- Publicly supported the ANC”s renunciation (formal rejection) of violence in 1990
- Highlight significant as he had more credibility and influence among militant ANC activists than Mandela
What was arguably Slovo’s greatest contribution?
- Proposal of ‘sunset clauses’ in 1992
- Guaranteed government employees job security and pension rights for the following ten years after the transfer of power
- Persuaded the ANC leadership to agree to the concessions in which the National Party accepted them at once
Why were ‘sunset clauses’ important?
- Crucial breakthrough
- 40% of Afrikaners worked for the government so they could have done a lot to obstruct a settlement
Who was Cyril Rampahosa?
- Secretary General of the ANC
- Head of South Africa’s largest trade union, the National Union of Mineworkers
How did Ramaphosa contribute to the dismantling of Apartheid?
- Negotiated for the ANC in secret with the government after CODESA talks broke down for the second time
- Participated in over 40 meetings
- Used the skills he had honed as a trade union leader to negotiate a settlement acceptable to both the leadership and the rank-and-file on both sides
What vital agreement did Ramaphosa broker?
- There should be a government of national unity for five years after the transfer of power
- Assembly should have legislative power
Who was Chief Buthelezi?
- Zulu chief of the Inkatha Party
- Had separatist aims
To what extent was Buthelezi useful between 1990-1994?
- Actively unhelpful
- Militant section of the party was constantly involved against MK
- Carried out the Boipatong Massacre and other similar ones which compromised his integrity
- Only one significant positive contribution
- Last minute agreement to participate in the elections in the 1994, abandoning his separatist aims
To what extent was it difficult to achieve the peaceful dismantling of apartheid between 1990-1994?
- Hard to bring about a peaceful transition from a racial state to a non-racial state without South Africa erupting into civil war
- 14,000 people were killed in political violence in this time period (though some historians argue that the true figure is a lot more)
- Far more deaths in any four-year period from 1948 onwards
When was election date and what was the nature of it?
- April 1994
- 19 million people
- South Africa’s first free elections
- Blacks and whites waited in peaceful queues to cast their votes
What was the result of the multiracial election of 1994?
- South Africa = Fully democratic, non-racial state
- ANC 62.5% = ruling party
- Mandela = president in a government of national unity
- NP 20.5% = de Klerk was one of Mandela’s two deputies
- Inkatha 10.5% = Zulu Chief Buthelezi became a government minister
- PAC only 1.25% = rejected as they argued for continued struggle
Why was the multiracial election of 1994 historically significant?
- First fully democratic vote in the history of South Africa
- Looked like it would never happen
- Symbolic and emotional significance for both blacks and whites (queueing together)
- Whites: burden and curse of apartheid lifted
- Blacks: act of liberation
