The Road to Democracy
FW De Klerk Parliamentary Address
FW De Klerk announced that he would introduce reforms (2 Feb 1990)
- Unban political parties/organisations
- Remove the Separate Amenities Act
- Lift emergency regulations
- Remove censorship and the death penalty
- Release political prisoners unconditionally
Why did they unban political parties and organisations?
- National Party wanted to control the process of change
- NP did not consider the ANC to be a threat
o they were fighting internally
- Security forces could not suppress protestors forever
- The military had already suffered heavy losses in Angola
o Wanted to avoid the death of more white conscripts
- Total Onslaught, Total Strategy was no longer a valid policy
o Communism had collapsed in 1989
- Increasing Economic pressure from sanctions
- Lack of skilled labour due to school boycotts which put pressure on industry
Why did they release political prisoners?
- Secret meetings had been held since 1985
o They had already decided against conditional release
- By 1989 most Rivonia trialists had already been released
o Except for Mandela
- Mandela was released after the announcement of the reforms (11 Feb 1990)
o He travelled to spread hope and ensure sanctions continued
Negotiations
, The Road to Democracy
Negotiations Begin
Obstacles to negotiations
The NP had lost their traditional base of support
- The security forces opposed negotiation
- Some NP members wanted to negotiate with the IFP instead of the ANC
- Their more conservative members move to the CP or the AWB
Internal fractures within the ANC
- Some wanted to continue the armed struggle
- Some wanted nationalisation
Civilians were impatient for change
There was an increase of black-on-black violence
- Rogue security forces (3rd Force) incited violence between the ANC and IFP supporters
First Negotiation Attempt
This attempt failed because the ANC didn’t trust the NP
- The police had just killed protestors in Sebokeng (26 March 1990)
- This incident made the ANC wary
- The ANC told the NP to make concessions before they could negotiate
o NP set up the Goldstone Commission to investigate police brutality
Groote Schuur Minute (2 May 1990)
Exploratory talks (“Talks about talks”)
- Dealt with obstacles to negotiations
- Created hope and optimism that a solution would be reached
Pretoria Minute (6 August 1990)
ANC agreed to suspend the armed struggle
NP agreed to end the State of Emergency and continue to release political prisoners
National Peace Accord (14 September 1991)
A code of conduct for security forces and political parties to help contain the violence in SA
- Prepared the way for CODESA negotiations
- Signed by 23 parties
Negotiations
FW De Klerk Parliamentary Address
FW De Klerk announced that he would introduce reforms (2 Feb 1990)
- Unban political parties/organisations
- Remove the Separate Amenities Act
- Lift emergency regulations
- Remove censorship and the death penalty
- Release political prisoners unconditionally
Why did they unban political parties and organisations?
- National Party wanted to control the process of change
- NP did not consider the ANC to be a threat
o they were fighting internally
- Security forces could not suppress protestors forever
- The military had already suffered heavy losses in Angola
o Wanted to avoid the death of more white conscripts
- Total Onslaught, Total Strategy was no longer a valid policy
o Communism had collapsed in 1989
- Increasing Economic pressure from sanctions
- Lack of skilled labour due to school boycotts which put pressure on industry
Why did they release political prisoners?
- Secret meetings had been held since 1985
o They had already decided against conditional release
- By 1989 most Rivonia trialists had already been released
o Except for Mandela
- Mandela was released after the announcement of the reforms (11 Feb 1990)
o He travelled to spread hope and ensure sanctions continued
Negotiations
, The Road to Democracy
Negotiations Begin
Obstacles to negotiations
The NP had lost their traditional base of support
- The security forces opposed negotiation
- Some NP members wanted to negotiate with the IFP instead of the ANC
- Their more conservative members move to the CP or the AWB
Internal fractures within the ANC
- Some wanted to continue the armed struggle
- Some wanted nationalisation
Civilians were impatient for change
There was an increase of black-on-black violence
- Rogue security forces (3rd Force) incited violence between the ANC and IFP supporters
First Negotiation Attempt
This attempt failed because the ANC didn’t trust the NP
- The police had just killed protestors in Sebokeng (26 March 1990)
- This incident made the ANC wary
- The ANC told the NP to make concessions before they could negotiate
o NP set up the Goldstone Commission to investigate police brutality
Groote Schuur Minute (2 May 1990)
Exploratory talks (“Talks about talks”)
- Dealt with obstacles to negotiations
- Created hope and optimism that a solution would be reached
Pretoria Minute (6 August 1990)
ANC agreed to suspend the armed struggle
NP agreed to end the State of Emergency and continue to release political prisoners
National Peace Accord (14 September 1991)
A code of conduct for security forces and political parties to help contain the violence in SA
- Prepared the way for CODESA negotiations
- Signed by 23 parties
Negotiations
