Grade 12C
History – NOTES
THE COMING OF DEMOCRACY IN SOUTH AFRICA
How did South Africa emerge as a democracy from the crisis of the 1990s and come to
terms with the apartheid past ?
Negotiations that followed In the end the TRC was
In FEB 1990 after secret talks were threatened by established to allow the
with the ANC in exile the NP ongoing violence in the country to come to terms
government unbanned the country (IFP) with its past + bring lasting
ANC + PAC and SACP
MANY FEARED CIVIL WAR democracy
NEGOTITATIONS REFERENDUM GROOTE SCUUR + PRETORIA MINUTES
Talks about talks – to prepare for the
A vote by the
negotiation process at the end of apartheid
Discussions to reach electorate on a
the NP was still in power at this point but
an agreement specific question put
had conceded defeat to the resistance
to it by government
movement
SUNSET CLAUSE THRID FORCE
Secretive and official group which was trying
The suggestion by Joe Slovo that the ANC
to destabilise the situation in the country
and NP share power for the first five years
and the negotiation process
CODESA GNU PW BOTHA FW DE KLERK
Convention for a
Government of The president of SA The president of SA
democratic south
national unity 19 - 19 19 - 1994
Africa
The beginning of the solution – Secret negotiations with the ANC in exile and negotiations
with Nelson Mandela
STEPS TAKEN TOWARDS NEGOTITATIONS
1982 – 1988 Mandela moved from Robben Island to Cape Town and secret talks
with what I began Mandela rejected any form of conditional release
1985 – 1987 Secret negotiations between the ANC in exile, businessmen and
liberal Afrikaners
1985 no agreements between Mandela and Botha on how negotiations should
take place creating a stalemate
1989 The clerk became president negotiations with Mandela in December
several political prisoners were released the speech was made that stated that
the ANC would be I’m banned and a new constitution would be written this is
regarded as the turning point in South Africa (1990)
, 1990 Negotiations Begins – debate: government to lift the state of emergency
and the ANC to abandon the armed struggle
Talks About Talks - To discuss the way forward, Groote Schuur Minute – the
definition of political prisoners was decided and granted indemnity to returning
talks called off after Sebokeng shooting, this set the tone for on-going talks that
would be interrupted by violence
Senior members of the ANC arrived home from exile and became impatient with
talks about talks. The chief of staff of MK Chris Hani agreed to call off the arm
struggle but warned that the violence could not be ruled out
1991 – start of CODESA 1
Time line of events in South Africa 1990 - 1994
NEGOTIATIONS + SOLUTIONS YEAR SET BACKS TO PEACE
The unbanning of resistance organisations
+ release of political prisoners + release
Mandela
2 February 1990
De Klerk made a speech to parliament in
Several obstacles had to be dealt with
which he announced reforms and the
before negotiations and agreements
above changes to law releasing Mandela
could be reached
unconditionally on 11 February 1990
11 Feb – Mandela was released but would
not give up the armed struggle until he
believed that the NP would be ready for a
constructive political settlement
Trouble in townships. This continued
Before negotiations could take place the 1990
throughout the period and especially
NP and ANC needed to sort out the
in Natal as Clashes between Inkatha
internal problems that faced the country
and the ANC supporters worsened
1. Life the state of emergency
Black on Black violence
2. The ANC had to agree to end the
armed struggle + disband MK APRIL
ANC ISSUES - differences between the two
parties regarding strategy and ideology
NP ISSUES – right wing AWB and CP
ANC called off talks after many people
(white extremism and factionalism)
were killed in Sebokeng
MAY
GROOTE SCHUUR MINUTE – start the first
round of negotiations