Secret Negotiations with the ANC and Mandela

Secret Negotiations with the ANC and Mandela

• Nelson Mandela was imprisoned in 1964 for planning to overthrow the Apartheid government
• Mandela served 18 years on Robben Island before being moved to Pollsmoor Prison
• From 1985, Mandela sought to open negotiations with the government for a peaceful resolution
• Mandela requested a meeting with President P.W. Botha through Minister of Prisons, Kobie Coetsee
• Botha offered Mandela conditional release in early 1985 if relinquished armed struggle, Mandela refused.
• Mandela was admitted to the Volks Hospital for surgery where Coetsee built a relationship with Mandela
• A government committee held 47 meetings with Mandela in 1988
• Mandela was moved to Victor Verster Prison in December 1988 and was allowed visitors
• Mandela pushed for a meeting between the ANC and the NP government
• In July 1989, Botha and Mandela had a polite but insignificant secret meeting
• Various groups contacted the ANC-in-exile by 1989, to discuss South Africa's future post-negotiations
• The meetings reduced fears between both parties and set up ground work for negotiations
• The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) adopted the Harare Declaration in August 1989
• The Declaration stated that Apartheid could end if there was a unified, democratic and non-racial state
• Kobie Coetsee recalls Mandela acting as if he had known him for years, taking full command of the conversation
• Mandela established a good relationship with Coetsee and Willemse
• First meeting between Mandela and Kobie Coetsee was in November 1985
• Botha and Coetsee feared Botha's temper would affect the meeting
• Mandela described Botha as charming and that Botha was very warm towards him as well
• First meeting between Nelson Mandela and P.W. Botha was in July 1989
• Initial meeting was a courtesy, with no substance, but it was a turning point

Unbanning of Organisations and Release of Political Prisoners

• In January 1989, President PW Botha had a stroke and resigned as leader of the National Party (NP)
• F.W. de Klerk replaced Botha as leader of the NP and acted as president in August 1989
• De Klerk was sworn as State President on September 20, 1989
• The Gorbachev reforms in the Soviet Union, led to the collapse of the Eastern Bloc
• SWAPO Agreement on Namibian independence was achieved in March 1990
• Economic sanctions targeting South Africa led to a financial crisis
• F.W. de Klerk and his advisers decided on policy shift
• On February 2, 1990, F.W. de Klerk announced the government would unban all opposition political organizations: ANC, PAC & SACP
• The government would release all political prisoners, not guilty of violent crimes and suspend executions
• Nelson Mandela would be released unconditionally
• The government would negotiate with all political groups toward the creation of a new and democratic constitution
• Mandela's release from Victor Verster Prison occurred on February 11
• Mandela declared himself a disciplined member of the ANC and committed to the armed struggle
• Mandela said negotiations could not begin right away because the people needed to be consulted

Debates around Negotiations

• Police shot dead 11 demonstrators in Sebokeng in March 1990, to protest negotiations
• Mandela postponed the first round of talks between ANC leaders and the government.
• Chris Hani, opposed stopping the armed struggle, believing the ability to fight must be kept in case talks failed
• Mac Maharaj was top leader of Operation Vula
• In May 1990, the NP government and the ANC met and created the 'Groote Schuur Minute'
• The ANC was to consider stop armed struggle & the government agreed to allow exiles to return, release political prisoners, remove repressive laws, & lift the state of emergency.
• The ANC continued Operation Vula, and claimed the government planned to seize it
• Government set up Goldstone Commission to investigate
• The Groote Schuur Minute and the Pretoria Minute were considered as 'talks about talks'
• Various groups threatened the process through violent means
• A build of violence followed in KwaZulu-Natal and the Vaal Triangle, and on trains
• There was suspect a ‘Third Force' was against the Minutes

CODESA, Labour Movement and the end of Armed Conflict

• The Civil Co-operation Bureau was sponsored by Military Intelligence
• The group violated rights and supported the Zulu-based Inkatha-against the ANC
• Nineteen political parties gathered at the World Trade Centre for the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) in December 1991
• CODESA I ended in a clash between De Klerk and Mandela
• Frustration grew among black workers outside conference halls
• The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) called for 'mass action'
• The ANC stopped armed conflict during the period of negotiations
• The ANC continued strikes, marches, and demonstrations, which culminated in the Record of Understanding of September 1992

Breakdown of Negotiations

• De Klerk called a referendum for white South Africans for March 1992, to continue political negotiations
• Mandela urged white voters to support negotiations - De Klerk won with two-thirds of the vote
• The NP slogan during the referendum said to vote yes if they were scared of majority rule
• In June 1992, Inkatha supporters invaded Boipatong and killed more than 40 people
• ANC launched "rolling mass action" after police colluded with attackers
• In September 1992, Ciskei soldiers killed 28 marchers from an ANC procession
• Violence and a growing economic crisis continued in South Africa
• Evidence suggested existing "Third Force" consisting of security force encouraged violence among black groupings
• CODESA negotiations had broken down

CODESA Breaks Down

• CODESA II, the passing of the final constitution became disputed in May 1992
• De Klerk and NP wanted 75% majority, but the ANC would only allow 70%
• Late in September 1992, Mandela and De Klerk agreed on a Record of Understanding which included important terms
• Government would fully release all political prisoners
• Zulu hostels were fenced off
• Carrying traditional weapons was banned

Record of Understanding

• The ANC alliance and the Communist Party suggested a 'Sunset Clause'
• A Government of National Unity (GNU) was established after the elections
• The jobs of white, civil servants, soldiers, and police officers would be guaranteed for five years
• The GNU would consist of all parties that won more than five percent of the vote
• The idea of the Sunset Clause made it easy for white people and officials to accept majority rule
• A group of armed Zulus murdered thirty-eight people in Boipatong with evidence that police were involved
• Weapons in the hostel were not checked and residents didn't give statements because the police were involved
• British experts were critical of South Africa's poor investigation
• Most of the black community was convinced that the police were involved with Inkatha
• Mandela announced the ANC's withdrawal from negotiations and listed requirements to resume them Boipatong massacre victims implicated the police during a session of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission August 7 1996