Negotiated settlement and Government of
National Unity
Events leading up to the negotiations
By 1980s: SA was The insurrection had made large parts of SA
sinking into a spiral ungovernable, with many negative outcomes, incl.
of political violence disruption of black schools, civil conflict, detentions,
+ economic crisis. police violence, and economic instability.
There were also tensions between the two sides of the struggle:
Whites had been indoctrinated to believe that democracy would
mean a communist black government that would take everything
they owned + destroy their culture and way of life, and that
military power was the only thing that protected them from this.
Blacks did not trust the regime + feared that any talks would lead
to a sham settlement and little real change to apartheid system.
In 1985, PW Botha offered to release Nelson Mandela on condition the
ANC withdrew violence as a form of struggle
Mandela responded by saying that no talks could take place until government
policies (considered as ‘obstacles’) had been cleared and there was trust that
a genuine solution could be found.
The beginning of the solution:
In Pollsmoor prison, the Emergency of 1986 prompted Nelson Mandela
to request a meeting with the government.
Mandela made the sole decision to enter into negotiations didn’t involve
his prison colleagues or those in Lusaka (ANC leaders in exile). He said:
“There are times when a leader must move out ahead of the flock, go off in a new direction,
confident that he is leading his people the right way.” (Long Walk to Freedom, pg. 627)
, Secret talks with the ANC in exile and with
Mandela
Sequence of events
July 1987: group of 60 There were about 20 These were not negotiations
liberal Afrikaner such meetings after and no deals were struck.
businessmen and cultural 1987 - mostly held Instead, the different sides
leaders met the exiled secretly in hotel rooms in were getting to know and
ANC leadership for a foreign cities. understand each other and
week in Dakar, Senegal build a climate of mutual trust.
MANDELA’S ROLE
1987: In Pollsmoor, talks between Nelson Mandela and the government
proceeded slowly during this year, starting with first meetings with Kobie
Coetsee, Minister of Justice.
Among some of the critical issues discussed were:
Armed struggle
ANC’s alliance with the Communist Party
Goal of majority rule
Idea of racial conciliation
May 1988:
Mandela met Botha’s chief strategist Niels Barnard 47 times between 1988-
1990
1989:
Mandela was given open telephone line to consult with OR Tambo (ANC
president in exile) in Lusaka. Plus was later allowed to meet United Democratic
Front (UDF) leaders at Victor Verster prison outside Paarl.
July 1989:
Nelson Mandela finally met with PW Botha himself.
Between 1988 and Feb 1990 large delegations of up to 20 influential leaders on
both sides met at a country estate in UK (Mells Park House), to discuss conditions
that would have to be in place for proper negotiations:
But many leaders on both sides were still opposed to the idea of talks
Militant ANC leaders like Mac Maharaj and Chris Hani were preparing new
series of MK attacks against whites
White political leaders and police continued to hold on to exclusive power
with even more brutal repression.
National Unity
Events leading up to the negotiations
By 1980s: SA was The insurrection had made large parts of SA
sinking into a spiral ungovernable, with many negative outcomes, incl.
of political violence disruption of black schools, civil conflict, detentions,
+ economic crisis. police violence, and economic instability.
There were also tensions between the two sides of the struggle:
Whites had been indoctrinated to believe that democracy would
mean a communist black government that would take everything
they owned + destroy their culture and way of life, and that
military power was the only thing that protected them from this.
Blacks did not trust the regime + feared that any talks would lead
to a sham settlement and little real change to apartheid system.
In 1985, PW Botha offered to release Nelson Mandela on condition the
ANC withdrew violence as a form of struggle
Mandela responded by saying that no talks could take place until government
policies (considered as ‘obstacles’) had been cleared and there was trust that
a genuine solution could be found.
The beginning of the solution:
In Pollsmoor prison, the Emergency of 1986 prompted Nelson Mandela
to request a meeting with the government.
Mandela made the sole decision to enter into negotiations didn’t involve
his prison colleagues or those in Lusaka (ANC leaders in exile). He said:
“There are times when a leader must move out ahead of the flock, go off in a new direction,
confident that he is leading his people the right way.” (Long Walk to Freedom, pg. 627)
, Secret talks with the ANC in exile and with
Mandela
Sequence of events
July 1987: group of 60 There were about 20 These were not negotiations
liberal Afrikaner such meetings after and no deals were struck.
businessmen and cultural 1987 - mostly held Instead, the different sides
leaders met the exiled secretly in hotel rooms in were getting to know and
ANC leadership for a foreign cities. understand each other and
week in Dakar, Senegal build a climate of mutual trust.
MANDELA’S ROLE
1987: In Pollsmoor, talks between Nelson Mandela and the government
proceeded slowly during this year, starting with first meetings with Kobie
Coetsee, Minister of Justice.
Among some of the critical issues discussed were:
Armed struggle
ANC’s alliance with the Communist Party
Goal of majority rule
Idea of racial conciliation
May 1988:
Mandela met Botha’s chief strategist Niels Barnard 47 times between 1988-
1990
1989:
Mandela was given open telephone line to consult with OR Tambo (ANC
president in exile) in Lusaka. Plus was later allowed to meet United Democratic
Front (UDF) leaders at Victor Verster prison outside Paarl.
July 1989:
Nelson Mandela finally met with PW Botha himself.
Between 1988 and Feb 1990 large delegations of up to 20 influential leaders on
both sides met at a country estate in UK (Mells Park House), to discuss conditions
that would have to be in place for proper negotiations:
But many leaders on both sides were still opposed to the idea of talks
Militant ANC leaders like Mac Maharaj and Chris Hani were preparing new
series of MK attacks against whites
White political leaders and police continued to hold on to exclusive power
with even more brutal repression.
