final madiba

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UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM AND ENERGY STUDIES

COLLEGE OF LEGAL STUDIES

DEHRADUN

Project on:

Transformation of democracy in South Africa.

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Sam Babu K.C Ashwani Aman

Faculty, Political Science SAP ID-500012368

COLS, UPES Sec: A (BA.LLB) 1st

Year


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INDEX

y IntroductionyHistory of South Africay Formation and Role of African National Congressy The Democratic Process Beginsy The CODESA Negotiationsy The Final Electiony Conclusion


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INTRODUCTION

During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African

people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black

domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in whichall persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal

which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I

am prepared to die.

-NELSON MANDELA

About a three month back on 18th

July, the world celebrated the birthday of the

most lovable grand old man Madiba or the Mandela. Whenever he raised his

closed fist to say Amandla he got overwhelming response from the millions

colonized Africans with Ngawethu.1This man of sacrifices spent more than three

decade behind the bars in an isolated island for the liberation of South Africa.

The auspicious land of South Arica was first colonized by the Dutch and then by

the mighty Britishers. A series of harsh laws were passed during 1948 to 1994 bythe then ruling National Party promoting apartheid, mass discrimination and sense

of fear among Blacks, colored and other non white residents of South Arica. By

virtue ofThe Natives' Land Act of 1913 the ownership of land by 'blacks' was

restricted to mere 7% of the country. The government through various apartheid

legislations like Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act of 1949, Immorality Act of

1950, Population Registration Act of 1950, Riotous Assemblies Act of 1956,

Unlawful Organizations Act of 1960, Group Areas Act of 1950, Bantu Authorities

Act of 1951, Prevention of Illegal Squatting Act of 1951, Reservation of Separate

Amenities Act of 1953, Bantu Education Act of 1953, Mines and Work Act of

1 Amandla Ngawethu' means 'Mayibuye i Afrika' - we are determined to seize power or power to the people.

http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/speeches/1980s/sp800626.html


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1956 etc prohibited marital union between persons of different races, created

separate black homelands, prohibited blacks from entering into the white reserved

areas, segregated education, medical care, and other public services. The black

people ended up with services greatly inferior to those of whites, and, to a lesser

extent, to those of Indians and colored. The black education system was designed

to prepare blacks for lives as a labour class. These all repressing measures led to

mass resentment among various non white population of South Africa leading to

the formation of Africa National Congress (ANC), Pan Africanist Congress

(PAC), South African Indian Congress and other political organizations. The

organizations mainly followed the methods of strikes, boycotts and civil

disobedience actions for showing their disenchantment. The ANC also launched an

armed struggle through a newly formed military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK),

which performed acts of sabotage on tactical state structures.

The South African apartheid policies caught international attention after the

Sharpeville massacre where 69 protestors were brutally killed by the police. The

government after this incident declared a state of emergency and banned both ANCand PAC which was followed by arrests of large number of leaders. Nelson

Mandela was sent to indefinite incarceration on Robbins Island where he was

subjected to various tortures. The international fora criticized the chain of events

happening in South Africa and build pressure on the national government there to

negotiate with the people of Africa. The United Nation passed various resolutions

condemning apartheid policies of South Africa.2

After a lot of fanfare and

international debate & pressure and consistent disobedience by the protestors, the

then south Africans ruling President De Klerk decided to end the incarceration of

nelson Mandela to negotiate peace talks and future course of action for South

2Resolutions 1761, 181, 418 were passed by the UN Security Council to put pressure on the south African

government to end apartheid movement to and restore peace. http://www.un.org/documents/scres.htm


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HistoryofSouth Africa

Being situated at the southernmost tip of the second largest continent, South Africa

is the dream land of many. The oldest evidence in the world documenting the

emergence of humankind has been found in South Africa which date back at least

2.5 million years.3The pious land of South Africa is culturally rich and within

itself encapsulates numerous histories, a lifeblood of many historians and

anthropologists who are working day in and day out on South Africa. The present

South African population consists of 79 percent black Africans, 9.6%, white, 8.9%,

colored and 2.5% Indian/Asian.4 The black Africans are said to be the original

inhabitants of South Africa who are the descendants of the present day Kalahari

bushmen and Khoikhoi.5The African majority is composed of many different

ethnic groups, the largest of which are Zulu, Xhosa, Tswana, and Bapedi.6

Era of Colonialism

Colonialism is the extension of a nation's sovereignty over territory beyond its

borders by the establishment of either settler or exploitation colonies in which

indigenous populations are directly ruled, displaced or exterminated. Colonizing

nations generally dominate the resources, labor, and markets of the colonial

territory, and may also impose socio-cultural, religious and linguistic structures on

the indigenous population. It is essentially a system of direct political, economic

and cultural intervention and hegemony by a powerful country in a weaker one.

3http://countrystudies.us/south-africa/2.htm

4http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107983.html

5 http://www.southafrica.info/about/history/history.htm6 http://www.geographia.com/south-africa/


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The land of South Africa will be a preferred choice for every willing colonizer

because of its vast unexploited mineral resources and strategic location favoring

international trade, is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west and the Indian

Ocean on the south and east. Various scholars have given different views on South

African early colonial history, the most widely circulated sources has been referred

to for this part of the project. The Cape ofGood Hope renamed by Jon II of

Portugal was previously known as Cape ofStorms was the most strategic site

discovered as it facilitated sea trade routes from Europe to Aisa and Africa. The

arrival of Europeans in southern Africa was by far the most traumatic experience

the resident communities had ever encountered.

Advent of Dutch

Portuguese seafarers, who pioneered the sea route to India in the late 15th century,

were regular visitors to the South African coast during the early 1500s. Other

Europeans followed from the late 16th century.7However, the Dutch sailors were

the first in race to have arrived at Cape of Good Hope with an intention to inhabit.

Shortly thereafter, the Dutch East India Company in 1652 established a permanent

settlement with no intention of colonizing the area, instead wanting only to

establish a secure base camp where passing company ships could shelter, and

where hungry sailors could stock up on fresh supplies of meat, fruit, and vegetables

while on a long journey from Europe to Asia. Slowly the Dutch settlers stated

establishing their own farms to cater the growing need of fruits, vegetable, wheat

and wine of the companys settlement.8

7 http://www.info.gov.za/aboutsa/history.htm8 http://www.southafrica-travel.net/history/eh_cala1.htm


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Advent of British

The British had by then taken possession of the Cape during the French

revolutionary wars, and held it as a colony from 1795, save for a brief return to

Dutch rule from 1803 to 1806. The British adopted contradictory policies in ruling

their newly acquired Cape Colony in the first three decades of the nineteenth

century. Having seized the Cape from the VOC in 1795, the British returned the

colony to the Dutch government in 1803 when peace had been concluded with the

French. In 1806, however, with the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars, the British

again took the Cape in order to protect the sea route to their Asian empire. Like the

VOC before them, the British tried to keep the costs low and the settlement small.

Local officials continued the policy of relying on imported slave labor rather than

encouraging European immigration with the latter's implication of permanent and

expanding settlement. They also introduced racially discriminatory legislation to

force Khoikhoi and other so-called "free" blacks to work for as little as possible.

The Hottentot Code of 1809 required that all Khoikhoi and other free blacks carry

passes stating where they lived and who their employers were. Persons withoutsuch passes could be forced into employment by white masters.

9British

sovereignty of the area was recognized at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. The

British founded a strong colony with 25,000 slaves, 20,000 white colonists, 15,000

Khoisan, and 1,000 freed black slaves. Power resided solely with a white lite in

Cape Town, and differentiation on the basis of race was deeply entrenched.10

9http://countrystudies.us/south-africa/11.htm

10 http://www.zuidafrika.nl/introduction/colonisation.html


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EraofApartheidin South Africa

Apartheid is an Afrikaans word meaning "seperateness" - it was a legal system

whereby people were classified into racial groups - White, Black, Indian and

Coloured; and separate geographic areas were demarcated for each racial group.

Apartheid laws were part of South Africa's legal framework from 1948 to 1994.11

Theapartheid policy wasdesigned tooppress,dominateandcontrol blacks,

and in thesame breath toenrich white South Africansat theexpenseof the

oppressed people. The seeds of Apartheid were sowed as early as 1910. Apartheid

officially became law after the Reunited National Party won the white minority

elections on the 28th May 1948. The reason for such a victory was that only whites

were allowed to vote and participate in the Government and the Blacks were

forbidden.12

It is interesting t13

o note that the all white Dutch reformed church

embraced the Reunited National Party Apartheid policy and solemnly declared in a

speech made by a prominent church leader "South Africa belongs to us once

more. For the first time since Union, South Africa is our own. May god grant

that it will always remain so"

A quote from Albert Luthuli best sums up the sentiment of black South Africans,

"the Nationalist win did not surprise or interest us, though we realized that there

would probably be an intensification of the hardships and indignities which had

always come our way. Nevertheless I think it is true that very few if any of us,

understood how swift the deterioration was to be".14

11 http://www.southafrica.to/history/Apartheid/apartheid.htm12 http://www.rebirth.co.za/apartheid_history1.htm13

14 Ibid


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The newly elected Nationalist party portrayed a western kind of democracy and

passed a series of discriminatory laws promoting apartheid measures. Starting in

1948, the Nationalist Government in South Africa enacted laws to define and

enforce segregation. What makes South Africa's apartheid era different to

segregation and racial hatred that have occurred in other countries is the systematic

way in which the National Party, which came into power in 1948, formalized it

through the law.15

Politicians in the Nationalist Party created apartheid as a way to

extend racial separation while maintaining white domination. Apartheid became

the system of government through the ratifying of317 apartheid-related laws. The

union of South Africa was designed with a government acknowledging the rights

of white people while denying those same rights to blacks. The 1950 Population

Registration Act required the populace of South Africa to be divided into three

racial categories: white, black (African), and coloured (of mixed descent). The

organization in charge of this racial classification was the Department ofHome

Affairs.16

Those who did not abide by the classification laws were dealt with

harshly. Various segregation laws were passes before the Nationalist Party took

complete power in 1948. Probably the most significant were The Natives Land

Act, No 27 of 1913 and The Natives (Urban Areas) Act of 1923. The former

made it illegal for blacks to purchase or lease land from whites except in reserves;

this restricted black occupancy to less than eight per cent of South Africa's land.

The latter laid the foundations for residential segregation in urban areas. Some of

the main apartheid laws have been discussed below:

(a)Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, Act No 55 of 1949- This ActProhibited marriages between white people and people of other races.

Between 1946 and the enactment of this law, only 75 mixed marriages had

15 http://africanhistory.about.com/library/bl/blsalaws.htm16 http://home.snu.edu/~dwilliam/f97projects/apartheid/history.htm


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been recorded, compared with some 28,000 white marriages. This Act was

the first major piece of apartheid legislation.

(b)Immorality Amendment Act, Act No 21 of 1950- It prohibited adultery,attempted adultery or related immoral acts (extra-marital sex) between white

and black people.

(c)Population Registration Act, Act No 30 of1950 It led to the creation ofa national register in which every person's race was recorded. A Race

Classification Board took the final decision on what a person's race was in

disputed cases.

(d)Group Areas Act, Act No 41 of 1950- It forced physical separationbetween races by creating different residential areas for different races. It led

to forced removals of people living in "wrong" areas, for example Coloureds

living in District Six in Cape Town.

(e) SuppressionofCommunism Act, Act No 44 of1950- This Act Outlawedcommunism and the Community Party in South Africa. Communism was

definedso broadlythat itcoveredany callforradical change.Communists

couldbe bannedfromparticipating inapoliticalorganisationandrestricted

toaparticulararea.

(f) BantuBuilding Workers Act, Act No 27 of1951- It Allowed black peopleto be trained as artisans in the building trade, something previously reserved

for whites only, but they had to work within an area designated for blacks.

Made it a criminal offence for a black person to perform any skilled work in

urban areas except in those sections designated for black occupation.

(g)Separate RepresentationofVoters Act, Act No 46 of1951 - This act ledto the removal of Coloureds from the common voters' roll.


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(h)Prevention of Illegal Squatting Act, Act No 52 of 1951- It gave theMinister of Native Affairs the power to remove blacks from public or

privately owned land and to establishment resettlement camps to house these

displaced people.

(i)Bantu Authorities Act, Act No 68 of 1951- It provided for theestablishment of black homelands and regional authorities and, with the aim

of creating greater self-government in the homelands.

(j) Natives Laws Amendment Actof 1952- It narrowed the definition of thecategory of blacks who had the right of permanent residence in towns.

Section 10 limited this to those who'd been born in a town and had lived

there continuously for not less than 15 years, or who had been employed

there continuously for at least 15 years, or who had worked continuously for

the same employer for at least 10 years.

(k)Natives (AbolitionofPassesand Co-ordinationofDocuments) Act, ActNo 67 of 1952- Commonly known as the Pass Laws, this ironically named

act forced black people to carry identification with them at alltimes. A pass

included a photograph, details of place of origin, employment record, tax

payments, and encounters with the police. It was a criminal offence to be

unable to produce a pass when required to do so by the police. No black

person could leave a rural area for an urban one without a permit from the

local authorities. On arrival in an urban area a permit to seek work had to be

obtained within 72 hours.


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(l) Native Labour (SettlementofDisputes) Actof1953 It prohibited strikeaction by blacks.

(m) Bantu Education Act, Act No 47 of 1953- It established a BlackEducation Department in the Department of Native Affairs which would

compile a curriculum that suited the "nature and requirements of the black

people". The author of the legislation, DrHendrik Verwoerd (then Minister of

Native Affairs, later Prime Minister), stated that its aim was to prevent Africans

receiving an education that would lead them to aspire to positions they wouldn't

be allowed to hold in society. Instead Africans were to receive an education

designed to provide them with skills to serve their own people in the homelands

or to work in labouring jobs under whites.

(n)Reservation of Separate Amenities Act, Act No 49 of 1953 It forcedsegregation in all public amenities, public buildings, and public transport

with the aim of eliminating contact between whites and other races.

"Europeans Only" and "Non-Europeans Only" signs were put up. The act

stated that facilities provided for different races need not be equal.

(o)Natives (Prohibition of Interdicts) Act, Act No 64 of 1956 It deniedblack people the option of appealing to the courts against forced removals.

(p)Bantu Investment Corporation Act, Act No 34 of 1959- It provided forthe creation of financial, commercial, and industrial schemes in areas

designated for black people.

(q)ExtensionofUniversity Education Act, Act 45 of 1959- It Put an end toblack students attending white universities (mainly the universities of Cape

Town and Witwatersrand). Created separate tertiary institutions for whites,

Coloured, blacks, and Asians.

(r) Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act, Act No 46 of 1959- ItClassified black people into eight ethnic groups. Each group had a


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Commissioner-General who was tasked to develop a homeland for each,

which would be allowed to govern itself independently without white

intervention.

(s) UrbanBantu Councils Act, Act No 79 of1961- It created black councilsin urban areas that were suppoed to be tied to the authorities running the

related ethnic homeland.

(t)Terrorism Actof1967- It allowed for indefinite detention without trial andestablished BOSS, the Bureau of State Security, which was responsible for

the internal security of South Africa.

(u)BantuHomelands Citizens Actof1970- It Compelled all black people tobecome a citizen of the homeland that responded to their ethnic group,

regardless of whether they'd ever lived there or not, and removed their South

African citizenship.

The above mentioned laws are some amongst the 317 apartheid laws passed by the

Nationalist Government.


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Formationand RoleofAfrican National Congress

The African National Congress is not jut about a party but it is about assimilation

of thoughts which felt the wrath of distressness, haplessness and The White Rule.

It started as a voice, though to become the largest democratic party in South

Africa. This part of the project shall discuss some of the major inactions taken by

the ANC against the apartheid government. January 8, 1912, was a red letter day

in the history of South Africa when chiefs, representatives of people's and church

organisations, and other prominent individuals gathered in Bloemfontein andformed the African National Congress with its aim to bring all Africans together as

one people to defend their rights and freedoms.17

The formation of the ANC was

not an accident of history, it was a logical development of history, a continuation

of the anti-colonial struggle of African people which began with colonialism

itself.18

The ANC in the beginning adopted measures like persuasions to British

government to appeal against the unjust laws like Land Act of 1913 but were

ignored. The ANC In 1919 led a massive campaign in Transvaal to oppose against

the system the passes which mandated the blacks in South Africa to carry it all

time and supported the militant strike by African mineworkers in 1920. ANC

received a new life and energy in the 1940s, which changed it from the careful

organization it was in the 1930s to the mass movement it was to become in the

1950s. Harsher racism brought greater co-operation between the organizations of

Africans, Coloureds and Indians.19

17http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?doc=ancdocs/history/gendocs.html

18 http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?doc=/ancdocs/history/unity.html19 In 1947, the ANC and the Indian Congresses signed a pact stating full support for one another's campaigns.


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The South Africa was going to witness a windfall change in its history with the

formation ofYouth League in 1949 which had the potential to shape the face of

South Africa. The prominent leaders of youth league were Nelson Mandela,

Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo believed that Africans would be free only by

their own efforts and aimed to involve the masses of people in militant struggles.20

The Youth League drew up a Programme of Action calling for strikes, boycotts

and defiance was adopted by the ANC in 1949. As a result of mass movement,

"Non-Europeans" walked through "Europeans Only" entrances and demanded

service at "White's Only" counters of post offices. Africans broke the pass laws

and Indian, Coloured and White "volunteers" entered African townships without

permission. The success of the Defiance Campaign encouraged further campaigns

against apartheid laws, like the Group Areas Act and the Bantu Education Act.

The government tried to stop the Defiance Campaign by banning it's leaders and

passing new laws to prevent public disobedience but the campaign had already

made huge gains. It brought closer co-operation between the ANC and the SA

Indian Congress, swelled their membership and also led to the formation of new

organisations; the SA Coloured people's Organisation (SACPO) and the Congress

of Democrats (COD), an organisation of white democrats. These organizations

together with the SA Congress ofTrade Unions (SACTU) formed the Congress

Alliance to represent the interest of South African people.21

The ANC together with its allied parties drafted Freedom Charter indicating that

South Africa belongs to all who live in it irrespective of race, color and sex and

demanded equal rights and opportunities for blacks, colored and Indians. The then

ruling Nationalist Government treated the freedom charter as reflection of

20 Supra note 121 Ibid


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communist movement and brought the leaders to trial in the infamous Treason

Case.22

Towards Umkhonto We Sizwe

A section of the ANC who called themselves Africanists, opposed the Freedom

Charter. They objected to the ANC's growing co-operation with whites and

Indians, who they described as foreigners. The differences between the Africanists

and those in the ANC who supported non-racialism, could not be overcome. In

1959 the Africanists broke away and formed the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC).

However, though having different ideologies, both ANC and PAC togethersupported the cause of nation. A major incident occurred in 1960 when both the

ANC and PAC participated in an anti pass campaign, gathered in large numbers

at Sharpville in the Vaal and at Nyanga and Langa near Cape Town without their

passes. At Sharpville the police opened fire on the unarmed and peaceful crowd,

killing 69 and wounding 186.The massacre of peaceful protestors at Sharpville

brought a decade of peaceful protest to an end. The government banned the ANC

and the PAC. A state of emergency was declared and thousands of Congress and

PAC activists were arrested and detained.23

The ANC realized after massacre of the peaceful protestors and subsequent

banning of the ANC that peaceful protest is not sufficient enough to change the

mind of the apartheid Nationalist party. The ANC went underground and continued

22

The Government had banned communism in 1950. The Treason Trial was the main attack on the FreedomCharter. Throughout 1955 and 1956 the police conducted a series of raids on offices and private homes of hundreds

of opponents of apartheid to seize documents, letters, pamphlets, even pieces of clothing in preparation for trial.

Finally, early on the morning of 5 December 1956, hundreds of policemen throughout the country descended on the

homes of leaders of the Congress Alliance and arrested them. One hundred and fifty-six people - 104 Africans, 23

Whites, 21 Indians and 8 Coloureds - were charged with high treason, a capital offence in South Africa. However,

after the appreciation of evidences, the court acquitted and discharged all the accused.

23 Supra note 1


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to organise secretly. Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) was formed to "hit back by all

means within their power in defence of their people, their future and their

freedom". Umkhonto we Sizwe was a new independent body, formed by Africans

of all races to carry on the struggle for freedom and democracy by new methods,

which were necessary to complement the actions of the established national

liberation organizations.24

In 18 months MK carried out 200 acts of sabotage

destroying government installations, particularly those connected with the policy

of apartheid and race discrimination. In retaliation government passed laws to

make death a penalty for sabotage and to allow police to detain people for 90 days

without trial. In 1963, police raided the secret headquarters of MK and arrested the

leaders leading to the famous Rivonia Trialwhere the leaders of MK were charged

with attempting to cause a violent revolution.25

Nelson Mandela, one of the pioneer

of umkhanto we seize who had returned South Africa after undergoing military

training and was secretly monitoring the acts of sabotage was finally arrested on 5th

August, 1962 and sentenced to five years' imprisonment with hard labour for

leaving the country without a passport. In 1963, when many fellow leaders of the

ANC and the Umkhonto we Sizwe were arrested, Mandela was brought to stand

trial with them for plotting to overthrow the government by violence. On June 12,

1964, eight of the accused, including Mandela, were sentenced to life

imprisonment. From 1964 to 1982, he was incarcerated at Robben Island Prison,

off Cape Town; thereafter, he was at Pollsmoor Prison, nearby on the mainland.26

24 http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/mk/rkmk.html25The Rivonia Trial was a trial that took place in South Africa between 1963 and 1964, in which ten leaders of the

African National Congress were tried for 221 acts of sabotage designed to "ferment violent revolution to overthrow

the apartheid system. All of them were given life sentence after conclusion of trial with acquittal of LionelBernstein.26 http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1993/mandela-bio.html


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The DemocraticProcessBegins

Consistent struggle by the ANC forced the government to reconsider its policies

and as a result, the ANC, its allies and other political organizations were unbanned.

This was the first time when the apartheid government showed a little sign of

peaceful negotiation. A series of negotiations were to commence between the ANC

and the National Party but before that a demand was put forth by the ANC to the

National Party for the release of Nelson Mandela. Similar international pressure in

guise of financial, trade, sport and cultural sanctions were also mounting on the

government for the early release of Nelson Mandela and ending apartheid. In

February 1985 President P.W. Botha offered Mandela conditional release in return

for renouncing armed struggle. Mandela spurned the offer, releasing a statement

via his daughter Zindzi saying "What freedom am I being offered while the

organisation of the people remains banned? Only free men can negotiate. A

prisoner cannot enter into contracts. Mandela was finally released on 11

February, 1990 when F.W. de Klerk took over the National Party as its new

president and felt the need of negotiating with Mandela for restoring peace in

South Africa in the face of growing violence.27

A series of negotiation took place between the governing National Party, the

African National Congress, and a wide variety of other political organizations

during 1990 and 1993. On 4th

May 1990, government and ANC leaders met for a

three day summit at Groote Schuur, the President's House in Cape Town which

resulted in the Groote Schuur Minute, a commitment between the two parties

towards the resolution of the existing climate of violence and intimidation as well

as the removal of practical obstacles to negotiation including indemnity from

27 http://www.capetown.at/heritage/history/newSA_mandela.htm


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prosecution for returning exiles and the release of political prisoners.28

On 6 August

1990 the South African government and the African National Congress extended

the consensus to include several new points in a meeting held in Pretoria which

came to be known as Pretoria Minutes.29

Another critical step taken towards

formal negotiations was The NationalPeace Accordof 14 September 1991 signed

by representatives of twenty-seven political organisations and national and

homeland governments, and prepared the way for the Conventionfora Democratic

South Africa(CODESA) negotiations.30

28Some of the important commitment agreed upon between the two parties which came to me known as Groote

Schuur Minute are:

1. To discuss and advise on norms and mechanisms for dealing with the release of political prisoners and thegranting of immunity in respect of political offences to those inside and outside South Africa.

2. Granting of temporary immunity from prosecution of political offences committed before today, will beconsidered on an urgent basis for members of the National Executive Committee and selected othermembers of the ANC from outside the country, to enable them to return and help with the establishmentand management of political activities, to assist in bringing violence to an end and to take part in peaceful

political negotiations.

3. The government undertakes to review existing security legislation to bring it into line with the newdynamic situation developing in South Africa in order to ensure normal and free political activities.

4. The government reiterates its commitment to work towards the lifting of the state of emergency. In thiscontext, the ANC will exert itself to fulfill the objectives contained in the preamble.

5. Efficient channels of communication between the government and the ANC will be established in order tocurb violence and intimidation from whatever quarter effectively at

http://africanhistory.about.com/od/apartheiddocuments/l/bl-GrooteSchuurMinute.htm.

29Important texts of the Pretoria minutes have been reproduced below:

1. The final report of the Working Group on political offences dated 21 May 1990, as amended, was accepted byboth parties for the release of ANC-related prisoners and the granting of indemnity to people in a phased manner and

to report before the end of August.2. ANC announced suspension of all armed actions by the ANC and its military wing Umkhonto we Sizwe with

immediate effect.3. The Government has undertaken to consider the lifting of the State of Emergency in Natal as early as possible in

the light of positive consequences that should result from this accord.

4. In view of the new circumstances now emerging there will be an ongoing review of security legislation at

http://africanhistory.about.com/od/apartheiddocuments/l/bl-PretoriaMinute.htm30http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/governence-projects/constitution/codesa.htm


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The CODESA Negotiations

On October 25 1991, ninety-two organisations that were united in their opposition

to apartheid gathered in Durban to form the Patriotic Front. The Front deliberated

over the negotiation process. During the two days of discussion the mechanism and

technicalities of transition and a changeover of political leadership were clarified.

At the end of the conference, all organisations agreed that an interim government

was required to manage the transition. Because the National Party government had

a vested interest, it was not deemed suitable to manage and monitor the transfer of

power. Clear guidelines were put forward on the responsibilities of the interim

government. That is, to take non-partisan control of the security forces, the

electoral process, state media, and define areas of budget and finance, to allow

international participation of South Africa in global affairs and to elect a

constituent assembly based on a one-person-one-vote basis in a united South

Africa, which would draft and adopt a democratic constitution.

CODESA I

The first plenary session of the Convention for a Democratic South Africa

(CODESA) began on December 21 1991, at the World Trade Centre in

Johannesburg presided over by Chief Justice Michael Corbett, Petrus Shabort and

Ismail Mohamed as presidi. About 228 delegates from nineteen political parties

attended and pledged their commitment to negotiations by signing the Declarationof Intent. The negotiating parties elected five working groups to deal with under

mentioned issues:

a) The new constitution


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b)The setting up of the interim governmentc) The future of the homelandsd)Time period for the implementation of the changese) The electoral system

CODESA 1 played a significant role in laying the foundation for multi-racial

discussions.

CODESA II

CODESA II began on the May 15, 1992 to discuss two major areas viz. the issue

of disbanding the ANC's military wing, MK, and the role of the public broadcaster,

the South African Broadcasting Corporation. The ANC agreed to put a stop on

military activities performed by its military wing and The NP reluctantly agreed to

the restructuring of the SABC as the ANC felt that a neutral broadcasting body was

required to provide fair coverage of the political developments and negotiation

process leading up to elections.31

However CODESA II was a failure as most of

the important issues like the interim government and the constitutions that could

not be resolved in CODESA I and were carried forward in CODESA II, also could

not eventually be resolved. As a result, the Management Committee declared a

deadlock on these issues. CODESA 2 had thus failed.

The deadlockand thus the failure ofCODESA 2 were received withdismay both

inside andoutside South Africa.The USpleadedwith boththe ANCandthe NPto

31 http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/governence-projects/constitution/codesa.htm


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resolve their differences and resume talks. Mandela and De Klerk once again

made attemptstomeet. A few monthsafterCODESA 2, a Multi-Party Negotiation

Process (MPNP) begantopursue the issuesthatCODESA hadfailedtoresolve.

The formation of the multi-party negotiation process

After the Convention for a Democratic South Africa's ( CODESA) collapse, F. W.

De Klerk and Nelson Mandela exchanged memoranda and the NP considerably

softened its demands. By August 1992, the ANC had agreed to establish a 'channel

bilateral' for maintaining quiet dialogue, nominating Cyril Ramaphosa to hold talks

with the NP's Roelf Meyer . They made considerable progress and on 26

September Mandela and De Klerk held a summit to sign the Record of

Understanding . They agreed on the principles of an interim government at the

national and regional levels empowered by an interim constitution. They also

agreed on a formula for an elected assembly that would serve as an interim

parliament and draft a constitution based on principles agreed in prior multi-party

negotiations. They agreed that to improve efficacy, in future negotiations, the ANC

and NP would first reach agreement on a bilateral basis before going to other

parties for multilateral negotiation in sum, others could either agree to be a part of

the process or be left behind. This put considerable pressure on the other parties to

agree with the consensus or be left behind. This forced most of the parties to

cooperate with the ANC and National Party negotiating processes. Multi-partyNegotiating Process (MPNP) opened at the World Trade Centre. It convened 26

participating parties comprising political groupings, national and homeland

government representatives and traditional leaders. For the first time the PAC, CP


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and Volksunie participated; only the far-left AZAPO and several extreme

Afrikaner parties refused to join.32

Shortly after the MPNP began, an extremist group assassinated the popular militant

leader Chris Hani . Amidst the outpourings of grief, anger and frustration that

threatened to engulf the country in protest and violence, Mandela appealed for

calm; the leadership recognized the killing as an attempt to derail the negotiations.

The ANC, NP and other moderate parties realized that they needed to move

quickly to reach agreements that could begin to bring home the fruits of the

transition, most visible of which would be the country's first non-racial democratic

elections. To expedite the process, the Negotiating Council agreed a new

Declaration of Intent, noting the urgent need to reduce violence and inspire broad

public confidence in the process and a clear vision of the milestones marking the

transition process.

At the beginning of June 1993, the Negotiating Council agreed to set the election

date for 27 April 1994. Amidst much debate and fanfare the Plenary minus most of

the COSAG group finally ratified the election date.

From July to August, the MPNP engaged in intense negotiations over various draft

interim constitutions and the structure of the Transitional Executive Council that

would be the central governing authority. On 18th

November 1993, the Negotiating

Council adopted a comprehensive package agreement including an electoral act

and the interim constitution giving legal basis for the transitional institutions andspecifying non-negotiable constitutional principles - that became the basis for

South Africa's democratization pact.33

32 http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/governence-projects/constitution/mpnp.htm33 http://www.c-r.org/accord/peace/accord13/samul.shtml


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TheFinal Elections

In the April 1994 national and provincial elections, nineteen political parties,

representing the country's diverse constituencies, participated in the electoral

process. Each voter received two ballots and cast two votes (enabling each voter to

choose different parties at the national and the provincial levels). Voters selected a

political party, not an individual candidate, to represent them in the National

Assembly and in the provincial legislature.34

Eachpartyhadpreparedrankedlists

of delegates for the national and the provincial legislatures. Political parties

gainedseats in each bodyproportionally, according to the numberofvotes each

partyreceived, andpartydelegates became legislators basedon theirrankingon

the appropriate list.

The elections were finally held on 27 th April 1994 and the ANC won an

overwhelming majority of the votes (62%), followed by the National Party with

20%.Nelson Mandela was sworn in as the new president of the independent South

Africa with De Klerk and Thabo Mbeki as deputies.

International Opposition to apartheid & Role of United Nation in South

Africa

In addition to the constant struggle by the ANC and its allies, International

opposition and United Nation played a considerable role in bringing an era of

apartheid to an end. Until the occurrence of Sharpeville massacre in 1960 most of

the countries in United Nation believed that South Africa's racial policies were itsinternal matter and United Nation had no jurisdiction to look into that matter.

However the Sharpeville incident changed their outlook and for the first time

Security Council agreed on concerted action against the apartheid regime,

34 http://countrystudies.us/south-africa/77.htm


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26

demanding an end to racial separation and discrimination. On 6 November 1962,

the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 1761, condemning South

African apartheid policies.35

In 1966, the UN held the first of many colloquiums on

apartheid. The General Assembly announced 21 March as the International Day for

the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in memory of the Sharpeville massacre.

In 1971, the General Assembly formally denounced the institution of homelands,

and a motion was passed in 1974 to expel South Africa from the UN, but this was

vetoed by France, Britain and the United States of America, all key trade associates

of South Africa.

On 7 August 1963 the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 181

calling for a voluntary arms embargo against South Africa, and in the same year, a

Special Committee Against Apartheid was established to encourage and oversee

plans of action against the regime. From 1964, the US and Britain discontinued

their arms trade with South Africa.36

In 1977, the voluntary UN arms embargo

became mandatory with the passing of United Nations Security Council

Resolution 41837

Economic sanctions against South Africa were also frequently

debated as an effective way of putting pressure on the apartheid government. In

1962, the UN General Assembly requested that its members sever political, fiscal

and transportation ties with South Africa. In 1968, it proposed ending all cultural,

educational and sporting connections as well. Economic sanctions, however, were

not made mandatory, because of opposition from South Africa's main trading

partners. In 1978 and 1983 the United Nations condemned South Africa at the

35 In November 1962, the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 1761, a non-binding resolution

establishing the United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid and called for imposing economic and othersanctions on South Africa. All Western nations were unhappy with the call for sanctions and as a result boycotted

the committee.

36 E S Reddy, United Nations and Apartheid- A Chronology at http://www.anc.org.za/un/un-chron.html37 http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs/2004/afr911.doc.htm


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27

WorldConference AgainstRacism, and a significant divestment movement started,

pressuring investors to disinvest from South African companies or companies that

did business with South Africa.

After much debate, by the late 1980s the United States, the United Kingdom, and

23 other nations had passed laws placing various trade sanctions on South Africa.

A divestment movement in many countries was similarly widespread, with

individual cities and provinces around the world implementing various laws and

local regulations forbidding registered corporations under their jurisdiction from

doing business with South African firms, factories, or banks.38

However it cannot

be conclusively said that UN was the only force behind South African

Independence but it certainly exerted considerable pressure on the apartheid

government due to mass international condemnation and severing of cultural, trade

and economic ties.

38 Supra note 36


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CONCLUSION

During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people.

I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black

domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which

all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal

which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I

am prepared to die.

Mandela finally achieved what he wanted after fighting for numerous years with

the racist government through ANC and its military wing Umkhanto We Seize.

The man who spent more than three decade behind prison, the man who spend half

of life without his family, made the apartheid National Government negotiate with

him for a prosperous Africa where every person dreams to live in peace and

harmony and look towards equal opportunity in every sphere of life without

discrimination on the ground of sex, color and race. The transition to democracy in

South Africa was full of awful events that many a times hit the international

headlines. The apartheid policies and measures adopted by the ruling National

Party for white dominance were no less. The appalling statutes like Groups Area

Act and Bantu Education Act were a clear reflection of what the National

Government wanted to achieve and establish, not only became a subject of

criticism but violated every iota ofHuman Rights. The whites only restaurants,

schools, recreation centers, beaches, roads etc speak a better story for itself. The

peculiarity of racist government in South Africa was that it tried to institutionalize

every single piece of apartheid policy it adopted with law as the world knows that

apartheid government in South Africa had passed more than 317 apartheid laws

that diluted the concept of humanism, which never existed after the pious land of

South Africa was colonized. The history also witnessed the massacre of


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Sharpeville and Soweto where hundreds of unarmed Africans were brutally

murdered by state police in name of law and order, shattered the confidence of

people of South Africa and ANC which changed its mode of disobedience from

peaceful means to an armed struggle after witnessing such harrowing massacres.

The United Nation which finally heard the call of haplessness of South African

blacks passed resolutions imposing sanctions to make government reconsider its

policies and put an end to the apartheid regime. Meanwhile internal resistance had

increased by manifold and became unbearable on the apartheid government, finally

brought it down to the negotiating table with African political parties. After series

of negotiations with the Klerk government on issues like power sharing, interim

constitution etc election dates were announced where for the first time Blacks were

given the right to vote and choose his man of choice. The elections results were

expectable with ANC winning 62 percent of the total votes. Mr. Mandela was

sworn in as the new president of the free South Africa who promised to take South

Africa to a new zenith of development and happiness.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books:

1. Mandela Nelson, 1995, Long Walk to Freedom, 1st edn, New Bay Back Ltd,London

E- Sources

1. http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/speeches/1980s/sp800626.html2. http://www.un.org/documents/scres.htm3. http://countrystudies.us/south-africa/2.htm4. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107983.html5. http://www.southafrica.info/about/history/history.htm6. http://www.geographia.com/south-africa/7. http://www.info.gov.za/aboutsa/history.htm8. http://www.southafrica-travel.net/history/eh_cala1.htm9. http://countrystudies.us/south-africa/11.htm10.http://www.zuidafrika.nl/introduction/colonisation.html11.http://www.southafrica.to/history/Apartheid/apartheid.htm12.http://www.rebirth.co.za/apartheid_history1.htm13.http://africanhistory.about.com/library/bl/blsalaws.htm14.http://home.snu.edu/~dwilliam/f97projects/apartheid/history.htm15.http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?doc=ancdocs/history/gendocs.html16.http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?doc=/ancdocs/history/unity.html17.http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/mk/rkmk.html18.http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1993/mandela-bio.html19.http://www.capetown.at/heritage/history/newSA_mandela.htm


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20.http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/governence-projects/constitution/codesa.htm

21.http://africanhistory.about.com/od/apartheiddocuments/l/bl-GrooteSchuurMinute.htm

22.http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/governence-projects/constitution/codesa.htm

23.http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/governence-projects/constitution/mpnp.htm

24.http://www.c-r.org/accord/peace/accord13/samul.shtml25.http://countrystudies.us/south-africa/77.htm26.http://www.anc.org.za/un/un-chron.html27.http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs/2004/afr911.doc.htm

Documentaries

1. ITN Documentary of Nelson Mandela2. Nelson Mandela Interview on Ending Poverty.