Speech at the Opening of the Parliament of South Africa, 1990

On 2 February 1990, the State President of South Africa F. W. de Klerk delivered a speech at the opening of the 1990 session of the Parliament of South Africa in Cape Town in which he announced sweeping reforms that marked the beginning of the negotiated transition from apartheid to constitutional democracy.[1] The reforms promised in the speech included the unbanning of the African National Congress (ANC) and other anti-apartheid organisations, the release of political prisoners including Nelson Mandela, the end of the state of emergency, and a moratorium on the death penalty.[2][3][4][5]

Speech at the Opening of the Parliament of South Africa, 1990
State President F. W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela
Date2 February 1990 (1990-02-02)
VenueSouth African Houses of Parliament
LocationCape Town, South Africa
ParticipantsF. W. de Klerk

Background

South Africa's ruling National Party had instituted a policy of apartheid in 1948, separating the different ethnic groups into set areas and only giving white South Africans the right to vote. This was opposed by several groups including the African National Congress (ANC) which often resorted to violent means to oppose it. This resulted in most African nationalist groups being banned by the apartheid government. Accordingly, the South African government made it a criminal offence to be a member of any banned organisation.[6] As a result, Nelson Mandela, the leader of the ANC, was arrested by the South African Police and had been in prison for 27 years at the time of the speech.[7] In 1984, South Africa introduced a new constitution establishing a Tricameral Parliament with representation for Coloureds and Indians as well as whites and making the role of State President an executive post. P. W. Botha of the National Party was the first to hold it but he resigned in 1989 following a stroke and ministers acting without his authorisation in the face of the National Party losing members to the far-right Conservative Party.[8] F. W. de Klerk was elected as the new State President by National Party members (though Botha retained party leadership) beating Pik Botha and Barend du Plessis.[2]

Upon winning the 1989 South African general election, de Klerk started to loosen restrictions on peaceful protest marches and released a few prisoners such as Thabo Mbeki. He then secretly met with Mandela and discussed the end of apartheid. Two days before giving the speech, he swore his cabinet to secrecy after telling them what he was going to do.[2]

Speech

When de Klerk gave the speech on 2 February 1990, he had not planned to release Mandela and only told his wife in the car on the way to Parliament that he would.[2] He had previously been urged to by the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who told him it would have the biggest impact over any other action he could take.[9] De Klerk started his speech by commenting on foreign relations and human rights before announcing the suspension of the death penalty. After discussing economic issues, de Klerk announced the unbanning of the ANC, the Pan Africanist Congress, the South African Communist Party and a number of their associated ancillary groups.[6] The audience audibly gasped at hearing this being announced.[10] He then announced an end to some of the restrictions implemented in the state of emergency.

De Klerk then announced he would begin negotiations to end the apartheid system and would negotiate for an equal country with equal rights and protections and voting rights for all.[2][6] Following this, he announced he was releasing Mandela unconditionally but the release would be delayed slightly due to concerns over right-wing extremists and due to administrative issues.[2][10] He ended by inviting all political leaders to join in the negotiations.[6]

Reaction

During the speech, Conservative Party MPs walked out shouting "traitor" at him. The Conservative MP Koos van der Merwe said "de Klerk is a traitor to his own people, he's trying to kill the Afrikaner nation."[11] The Conservatives then led a strike in Pretoria on the day and 5,000 white farmers blocked the roads.[11]

Domestically, Archbishop Desmond Tutu said that de Klerk "...has taken my breath away". However Mandela's wife Winnie doubted the sincerity citing that it was dangerous to unban all the African nationalist organisations, saying "we're not going to accept a bone without meat".[7] Internationally, Thatcher wrote to congratulate de Klerk for making the move. The President of the United States George H. W. Bush responded positively to the news but needed to hear more before he would lift American sanctions on South Africa.[7]

De Klerk would later announce Mandela's release on 11 February 1990.[12] South Africa held a whites only referendum in March 1992 asking if they approved the end of apartheid, which the result was 68% for yes over Conservative opposition.[13] An interim constitution was set up in 1993 in preparations for the 1994 South African general election.[14]

See also

References
  1. Nicolas Rossier (16 February 2015). ""THE QUANTUM LEAP" F.W. de Klerk's Speech to Parliament – February 2, 1990" – via YouTube.
  2. Fallon, Ivan (2 February 2010). "FW de Klerk: The day I ended apartheid". The Independent. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  3. "De Klerk to commemorate Mandela speech". Sydney Morning Herald. AFP. 2 February 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  4. Burns, John F. (4 February 1990). "Hope in South Africa; Tide of Relief Follows Decades of Unrest, But Can Change Come From Negotiations". New York Times. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  5. "'The prohibition of the African National Congress, the Pan-Africanist Congress, the South African Communist Party and a number of subsidiary organizations is being rescinded'". www.cvet.org.za. CVET – Community Video Education Trust. 2 February 1990.
  6. "F. W. de Klerk's speech at the opening of Parliament". O'Malley Mandela archives. 2 February 1990. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  7. "1990: De Klerk dismantles apartheid in South Africa". BBC News. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  8. Clairbourne, William (15 August 1989). "Botha Quits, Criticizes Successor". Washington Post. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  9. "How Margaret Thatcher helped end apartheid – despite herself". The Guardian. 10 April 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  10. O'Carroll, Sinead (2 February 2015). "On this day 25 years ago, the speech that changed South Africa forever". The Journal. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  11. "Conservatives Call De Klerk A Traitor". Deseret News. 2 February 1991. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  12. "Nelson Mandela released from jail 30 years ago". Associated Press. 10 February 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  13. "1992: South Africa votes for change". BBC News. 18 March 1967. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  14. "TRANSITION IN AFRICA; South African Parties Endorse Constitution Granting Rights to All – The New York Times". New York Times. 18 November 1993. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
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