The end of apartheid

While the end of apartheid was not inevitable, it is difficult to see how the apartheid regime could survive against the international and economic onslaught in the 1980s, particularly as South Africa was becoming ungovernable in the late 1980s

• The government’s ‘total national strategy’ attempted to strengthen and maintain the apartheid system with a combination of repression and reform, as security forces engaged in external covert action and assassinations

• In November 1938, the white electorate accepted the introduction of a new constitution, under which there would be three houses of parliament - white, coloured and Indians

  • Critics attacked the new system as another way of excluding the black majority in the country from a meaningful political role and owning land

    • Appeals were made to coloureds and Indians to not get involved

    • Mass protests occurred in townships against rent and living costs

      • Symbols of white power were attacked, workers stayed home and school attendance plummeted

  • In 1985 the ANC issued the call to “Make apartheid unworkable! Make the country ungovernable!”

Development of opposition to apartheid in the mid-1980s

• Alternative structures of power were appearing, such as street committees as the youth took on an active role, as older blacks were away seeking work

  • Anyone who broke boycotts were punished, and there were attacks on those in the homelands who collaborated with the regime

• Black trade unions were becoming more active such as the National Union of Mineworkers under Cyril Ramaphosa

  • Thirty trade unions, with over 500,000 members combined to create the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU)

• The ANC stuck to the Freedom Charter and COSATU accepted its principles

  • Mandela never wavered from this

• Azanian People’s Organisation (AZAPO), the successor to the Black Consciousness Movement, called for an anti-capitalist, black workers’ revolutionary movement

• Black strike action increased significantly

  • In 1985, 680,000 work days were lost because of strikes

  • South Africa’s biggest strike was called in 1988 to commemorate the 12th anniversary of Soweto

• In 1983, the United Democratic Front (UDF) was formed, aiming to bring together resistance groups

  • Included church figures such as Desmond Tutu, female anti-apartheid campaigners such as Albertina Sisulu and Winnie Mandela

  • Called for a new constitution and a multi-racial future sought by the Freedom Charter

• Chief Buthelezi and the Inkatha Movement sought to end apartheid by strengthening the position of the Zulus in South Africa

  • Buthelezi had been Chief Minister of the Kwazulu homeland, but refused government offer of independence

  • Violence between the Inkatha and other black groups erupted in mid-1980s

In June 1985, an ANC conference of 250 delegates was held at Kabwe in Zambia, discussing the future plans for the ANC and opened membership to all races

• There was also a commitment to a People’s War and an expansion of guerilla operations
  
  How significant was this in ending apartheid

• Attacks against the regime increased, however ANC structures in South Africa were weak and unable to support guerilla operations and intensify the armed struggle

  • The survival of the regime was never threatened by these increased attacks

However, violence in South Africa in the late 1980s and into the 1990s was not only a matter of the regime vs black opponents, but also violence within the black community

• Rivalry between the ANC and Chief Buthelezi’s Inkatha Movement, believing the Chief to be a government stooge, and a target for assassinations by ANC

  • When the UDF targeted local authorities in Kwazulu, many Inkatha members supported security forces, and attacked the ANC and UDF

  • This violence continued until the 1990s, and even occurred between the ANC and AZAPO

    • Whites argued this was the future of South Africa under majority rule

• President P W Botha contacted Mandela and offered him release from prison if her renounced violence, although Mandela refused, as ANC violence was a response to government actions

  • The situation in the country continued to deteriorate as violence increased and necklacing became more frequent

Government response to violent opposition was mixed, as while the opposition was not strong enough to bring down the government, it was unable to stem the violence and bring the country under control

• Botha’s government tried to gain control by compromising

  • Botha’s offer to release Mandela in 1985

  • Acceptance of trade unions with the Wiehahn reforms

  • Easing of the pass laws

  • Agreeing to meet the Commonwealth Eminent Persons’ Group, and allowing them to talk to Mandela

  • Minister of Justice Kobie Coetsee talks with Mandela

• At the same time, it tried to rule with an iron fist, although this was impacted by international pressure and economic deterioration

  • A State of Emergency was announced in July 1985 (first since Sharpeville)

  • June 1986 it was extended to cover the whole country

  • Police were given extra powers, leads to mass arrests, torture

  • Use of kitkonstabels

  • Continuing raids by the SADF in neighbouring countries

Government actions could not stem the breakdown occurring inside and outside the country

• The People’s War campaign continued with 281 strikes in 1988 with strikes movements

• The UDF expanded its local organisations by establishing people’s courts, youth groups and organising rent strikes

  • The PAC’s African People’s Liberation Army (APLA), the successor to the Poqo, initiated a new program of attacks

• Funerals became a form of mass protest with violent responses from security forces

• In 1987 and 1988, security forces bombed the headquarters of COSATU and the South African Council of Churches

• In 1987, there was a coup in the homeland of Transkei, as Bantu Holomisa, an ANC supporter, took power

• In early 1988, the SADF suffered a major military setback at Cuito Cuanavale in Angola, and Botha ordered the SADF out of the country, followed by independence talks for Namibia

Against this backdrop, the National Party was splitting

• In 1968, some members of the party broke away to create the Herstigte (Reformed) National Party, and its supporters, known as verkramptes (narrow ones) wanted a pure apartheid

• In 1962, Anders Treurnicht created the new Conservative Party that opposed the concessions made for coloureds and Indians

• The Afrikaner Resistance Movement formed in 1979 was a far right-wing movement that sought white separateness, with many similarities to Nazis

  • While the National Party was not in danger of losing electoral power, it was suffering

By the early 1980s, South Africa had achieved a pariah status in the international community

• However, the government was able to ignore such things as long as its economy was doing well, which was the case in the 1960s and 1970s

  • Foreign companies were willing to take advantage of low wages, and gold and diamond prices were high

By the mid-1980s, South Africa was facing an economic meltdown, directly linked to the international response to apartheid

• Gold prices had dropped while oil prices were increasing

• However, it was the behaviour of international bankers, investors and sanctions that would devastate the economy

  • By 1985, South Africa’s inflation, unemployment, exchange rate, foreign reserves and exports were indicative of economic collapse

The international economic situation in the late 1980s

• From the mid-1980s, South Africa appeared to be a country on the verge of a civil war, as many parts of the country were ungovernable

  • The regime used great violence and brutality to maintain control as pictures of necklacing and intra-black violence were spread globally

• These scenes caused international backlash against South Africa so foreign investors, banks and firms were pressured to withdraw their support

  • These same companies also feared losing money as South Africa was becoming a risky investment

    • In 1984, 40 US firms withdrew from South Africa; in 1950, another 50

    • Citibank, Chase-Manhattan Bank and Barclays Bank no longer offered loans in South Africa, causing a financial crisis by 1986

• In October 1986, US Congress overrode President Reagan’s veto and mandatory sanctions were imposed on South Africa

  • New loans and investments from the US were banned, direct airlinks were cut, and South African exports to the US were banned

  • This caused the value of the South African Rand to collapse, the price of gold to fall 50% and the economy to suffer severe inflation

• By mid-1989, South Africa’s external debt reached over $21 billion and there was a desperate need to reschedule payments

  • This was a major encouragement to consider negotiating with the regime’s opponents

• The SADF had been interfering in neighbouring countries, which had brought on the threat of more sanctions

  • As international sanctions were so effective, the regional economy increased significantly, particularly trade with neighbouring countries

  • Thus, the disruption of neighbouring countries economies by the SADF made no sense

    • In this context the influence of the army began to diminish, particularly after serious talks began with the ANC

While long-term developments lead to the end of apartheid, it required the…

actions of individuals across the political and radical divide to make it possible

International factors contributing to the end of apartheid

Gail Nattrass

 “The effect of apartheid policies on the economy was perhaps the most decisive influence: it was becoming clear to the powers that be in the South African regime that something had to change”

South Africa in the late 1980s appeared extremely likely to have a bloody civil war

• Actions of the South African National Party government

  • Calling a State of Emergency in 1985

  • Police given wide powers/a free hand against opponents, e.g. the case of the Craddock Four

    • On 27 June 1985, four UDF activists were abducted, shot, stabbed, burnt and mutilated to appear as if they were necklaced

    • Police denied responsibility until 1998

  • Extreme measures such as the use of kitkonstabels

  • Assistance given to opponents of the ANC

  • SADF actions outside of South Africa

• The growth of extreme right-wing groups like the AWB seeking to maintain white supremacy

• Intra-black violence especially between the ANC and Inkatha in Kwazulu

• The ANC’s commitment to the People’s War and its stepping up of guerilla operations

However dire the situation was in the country, there was behind the scenes negotiations

• In 1985, there was secret meetings between the ANC, church figures, white businesses and community people

  • Occurred outside the country since the ANC was banned

• In 1987, the Progressive Party leader Frederik van Zyl Slabbert met an ANC group led by Thabo Mbeki, and pioneered the way for a negotiated settlement

• In 1989, more meetings between ANC and South African leaders were held in Switzerland and Lusaka (Zambia)

National Party leader Botha was the last committed apartheid leader, and although he did introduce some reforms, such as abolishing mixed marriages act and contacting Mandela, he never gave up the desire to maintain separateness

What were his real motivations behind contacting Mandela

• The National Party only attempted to isolate Mandela from exiled leadership and diminish the strength of the ANC

  • Mandela attempted to educate NP leaders, comparing the Afrikaner rebellion against the British in 1914 with ANC actions

In 1989, Botha had a stroke and F W De Klerk rose to power, who was Botha’s Minister of Internal Affairs

Why was this significant?

• De Klerk was little different to other apartheid leaders, and at the introduction of the new constitution, De Klerk said the aim of his government was to preserve every groups’ right to self-determination

• However, on 2 February 1990, De Klerk gave a speech that stated it was time for a negotiated understanding between all of South Africa’s leading figures

  • Negotiations should be opened for a democratic constitution and there should be equality before the law

  • There should be protection for minority and individual rights

  • ANC, PAC and SACP were unbanned and exiled leaders could return

  • Those in prison, including Nelson Mandela, were to be released

11 February 1990, Nelson Mandela walked free from prison

Why was this significant

• At 71 years old, Mandela declared that his aim was not to end apartheid, but to transform South

  • He went to Lusaka to meet ANC leaders, and assured them that he remained firmly committed to ANC goals

  • He became Deputy President of the ANC and the effective leader as Oliver Tambo suffered a stroke

Talks began between the ANC and the government to share power

How did these initial proceedings go?

• De Klerk repealed remaining apartheid laws, such as Separate Amenities Act, Natives Land Act and Group Areas Act

  • However, the country remained enveloped in ever-increasing violence, and Mandela attacked De Klerk for not being in control of his own people

    • March 1990 came the Sebokeng Massacre, where a large pro-ANC crowd attempted to march from the township of Sebokeng towards a white area of Johannesburg

      • Panicking police and armed white civilians shot the crowd, killing 11 and injuring 400

    • In 1990, an underground network led by Mac Maharaj was discovered for bringing arms into the country to overthrow the government if negotiations did not work

    • Anti-ANC forces persevered, and in 1990 there was 3700 deaths reported

    • Also ongoing clashes between ANC and Inkatha

      • Suspicions that anti-ANC groups were being supported covertly by security forces

    • On the far-right, the AWB threatened violent uprising if power was shared with ANC and franchise was extended to blacks

  • Mandela did not trust De Klerk as the introduced reforms ensured power for Afrikaners rather than giving up power

Formal constitutional talks commenced in December 1991 at the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA), plagued by mistrust, accusations and demands

• De Klerk attacked Mandela for not disbanding MK

• Mandela said he would not get rid of MK until ANC was apart of an interim government and there was multi-racial control of armed forces

• De Klerk faced opposition from his own people, although a whites only referendum voted 69% to continue talks

• Mandela’s supporters were demanding immediate franchisement

• Inkatha demanded a special deal for Kwazulu

While the ANC displayed signs of division, the National Party slowed down peace talks

• Rumours spread of a ‘disrupting third force’, that security forces were helping Inkatha against it

  • Mandela accused De Klerk of prolonging negotiations, seeking a white veto and ignoring security forces assistance to Inkatha

  • The ANC walked out of CODESA mid-1992

• In June 1992, there was another massacre at Boipatong township, where 46 people were killed by a group of Zulu migrant workers

  • Witnesses stated that workers were Inkatha supporters, although police did not investigate

  • De Klerk visited the township but was forced to leave due to an angry reception, leading to more deaths by police hands

The situation continued to deteriorate as there was another massacre after the ANC march on Bisho, where troops opened fire on a crowd

Why was this significant?

• Violence increased in Natal between ANC and Inkatha Zulus

• In 1993, Chris Hani was assassinated, the leader of the MK, and a possible successor to Mandela, by far-right wing group

  • Supporters of the regime realised that white supremacy could not be maintained by fiddling with the negotiation process

    • Government began privatising state assets to prevent them from falling into black hands

    • From 1992, mass destruction of state records began

With civil war a real possibility, De Klerk and Mandela signed a Record of Understanding in late 1992 to restart constitutional talks, and a deal was finalised in November 1993

• One person, one vote elections would be held in 1994

• Parliament would have 400 MPs, based on proportional representation

• Government of national unity for five years

• President would be elected by new MPs

• Nine new provinces would replace the old provinces and Bantustans

However, violence did not subside as various right-wing white groups appeared such as the Freedom Front, led by former armed services chief, Constand Viljoen, planning a white coup

• March 1994, an extreme right-wing group mobilised to assist Lucas Mangope, the leader of the Bophuthatswana Bantustan, refusing to allow his people to vote to hold power

  • AWB members started firing on blacks they believed were ANC supporters

  • The Bophuthatswana army mutinied and ended ANC attack in humiliating defeat

    • After this, various conservative groups and Inkatha announced their intention to participate in the election

The 1994 election lasted for four days, beginning on 26 April, and for the first time, blacks, coloured and Indian people could vote alongside white people

• Votes were conducted peacefully and 91% of registered voters cast a vote

  • The ANC won 62.5% of the vote, NP 20.5% and Inkatha 10.5%

  • 9 May 1994, the National Assembly unanimously elected Nelson Mandela President

    • Mbeki and De Klerk became Deputy Presidents

Tom Lodge argues that there were five key considerations that made the transition to democracy possible

• Perception of the key players regarding dangers and opportunities changed

  • De Klerk felt the ANC was weaker after the collapse of communism in 1989, and knew that gestures would gain western support

  • ANC was encouraged by SWAPO’s actions in Namibia, but also realised they were in a military stalemate, thus negotiations were best option

• Thinking in the 1980s had changed

  • Whites were coming into the view that blacks should be accepted, and the non-racialism of the ANC was appealing

  • The affluent Afrikaner middle-class found the traditional, race-based Afrikaner nationalism less and less appealing

• Both sides were blessed with able leaders, capable of negotiating and developed a clear understanding of both standpoints

• The continuation of violent confrontations after 1990 and the possibility of civil war made compromise a necessity for NP and ANC

• Although both sides had control of their armed forces, the ending of violence in South Africa was easier because neither side was heavily militarised