As President of South Africa, I myself, Frederik W. de Klerk, have incontestably noticed the segregation actions taken upon by our nation in the last several decades, and even more specifically, the last few years. The Apartheid, with initial intentions to seal off the black, or non-white, population from key aspects of government and the economy, as well as putting subtle restrictions on their social lives, has exponentially expanded into a political genocide. In the past ten years, our awareness of the animosity these non-white civilians have felt towards our government has grown increasingly larger every year, as more and more acts of protestation have occurred. Almost a year ago, it appeared to me that our political parties, whom were partially weak, were lacking depth in future positions, and the sole reason was because of one simple thing: our ignorance to allow the rights for political equality to all. By this, I did not say that the Apartheid shall be exterminated, nor shall I enforce our government to yield and destroy all pro-Apartheid groups, as well as the Afrikaner volk, but I did, however, feel the need to bring the black majority of South Africans into the political process, not just with small acknowledgement, but with full freedom in governmental activities.
To initiate these intentions, I decided to hold private discussions with the imprisoned ANC leader Nelson Mandela to begin preparations for this major policy shift. Within these talks, we debated the rights of a non-white man, and his current and future role in both politics, as well as in society. Through these talks, I truly learned what the Apartheid was like for a man such as Mandela, and the impact it had on all aspects of their lives. Behind bars for over three decades, this man had not only taught himself to compose his frustration and look at his imprisonment through a positive eye, but he had established philosophy, building upon his non-violence attitude towards the Apartheid. He explained to me that the cultural diversity would one day create a beauty within our nation, and not hatred, prejudicial fueled war. Ultimately, back in February, I declared Nelson Mandela a free man, leaving his imprisonment of twenty-seven years, as well as unbanning the anti-Apartheid groups the ANC, the PAC, and the SACP. Along with this public release, I ensured that there was to be removals on the restrictions of the UDF, a legal political organization.
Following these announcements, I shocked both supporters and critics in lifting the four-year old media restrictions, which led to multiple discussions on preparing for a new multiracial constitution. One of these discussions I had, in which I invited a former liberation fighter to join me at the negotiating table, encouraged me to pledge that the new government would investigate and target the alleged humans rights abuses that partook in past decades, as well as improving relations with other nations in Africa by requesting other leaders of African nations to increase their trade with South Africa, as well as proposing a joint regional development plan. By introducing these allowances and new forms of political thinking, I received a mixed vibe from the entire nation, as well as different opinions within the same groups. Although praised and thanked by the many liberation fighters, protesters, and anti-Apartheid group members, I was also criticized for only giving freedom towards a limited and selected group of organizations. More severely, I was criticized the most by anti-apartheid members for lacking the ban of the two most despised legislative pillars of apartheid, the Population Registration Act and the Group Areas Act. Consuming this criticism, I believed that banning these laws at the time would have thrown my presidential position into a state of turmoil, as many of my staff amongst me were advocators for these pillars. However, following the release of the beloved leader of the ANC, Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid members, and all non-white civilians of South Africa were given true hope towards full fledged freedom of political, economical, and social aspects, not just the freedom to protest and attempt to rebel against their government.
As I am glad to see where we, as a nation, had come from the last few years, there are still many movements of both pro-Apartheid and anti-Apartheid positions. I will strive to view this situation through a positive outlook, and will pledge to make all appropriate alterations, continuing to discuss frequently with both opposing sides to ultimately, make our nation, one.
-Frederik W. de Klerk, October 17th, 1990
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