In
response to the FW de Klerk Tribute on the Thinc Blog, I asked a question about
the reverence for Mr De Klerk that permeates it. I engaged openly on this
matter. I wrote then, why the reverence. It would be interesting to hear other
views about De Klerk’s contribution to Black people and democratic South Africa
in general. Let’s engage.
THIS
WAS AND IS MY ANSWER: FROM PRESIDENT TO FW TO MENEER
At the onset
of his career, Post-Apartheid South Africa's first Deputy President, under
President Nelson Mandela, Mr FW de Klerk, was not an ordinary bystander, but a
senior operative in the consolidation of Apartheid as an ideology to
institutionalise 'whiteness' or 'white supremacy' in South Africa.
His
National Party royalty background, including going through the ranks of secret
societies and cultural institutions, landed and/or rewarded him with the
highest political office in the country, the President of the Republic of South
Africa. A position no ordinary person ascends to.
He
was a convergence point through which the executive authority of the state,
which vested in him, and all other authorities, including that of private
capital, were used to establish the economic duality we are in. A duality of an
economy of poor people, mainly black in general and BaNtu in particular, and well-resourced
people, mainly non-black.
In
the context of his being President of Apartheid South Africa, there is very
little. In the eyes of black people, what he contributed to Black People could
be recorded, although it is still arguable when compared to times apartheid was
formally off the statutes. In fact, more about what he contributed to entrench
a system that was declared a crime against humanity could, and still, depending
on the choices of the historian and truth, be attached to his name.
However,
it is what he did, after what he refers to as his conversion, later in his
career, that has started a series, if not a domino of events, that led to
present-day Democratic South Africa, which defines him differently or better
than he was in the history of South Africa.
Indeed,
his famous and historic February 2, 1990, speech was also occasioned by the
pressure from the ANC-led Mass Democratic Movement and the Global pressure to
change apartheid in South Africa. This argument cannot be faulted, but it
cannot stand as the only thesis for or about why the speech was made. If
diversity of opinion is a condition of politics, then our politics must accept
that some might interpret the speech as a 'strategic move'. Only history will
attest to who was ready for war at the negotiating table. Emerging evidence is
revealing interesting trends.
It
is however also true that amongst Apartheid South Africa's leaders, he stands
out as the one that had the appropriate courage and timing to act on; the
truthfulness of his conversion; the pressure that the MDM put on his
government; the global pressure for him to change; and most importantly, the
pressure that South Africa's posterity convicted him and a coterie of NP
leaders that included 'comrades Roelf Meyer, Gert Oosthuizen and many other
NP-to-ANC converted comrades that secures him the space history has
unapologetically abrogated to him.
In
his response to all of the above, he set in motion a historical process that
required a rare breed of leadership, given the stakes and odds at play in South
Africa and around the world. Together with Mandela, the represented
constituencies were at different temperature levels regarding their
expectations of the process. To others, it was a victory march within a process
that might have hollowed out the essence of the very victory. To others, it was
a process of despair that might have had victories beyond their purview, and
yet it was a victory for posterity rather than incumbents. This defines him and
Mandela to a degree that the Nobel Committee confirmed with a Peace Prize.
The
contribution of Mr de Klerk to South Africa, as he has always wanted it to be
known, is enshrined in the Constitution that Presidents Nelson Mandela, Thabo
Mbeki, Kgalema Motlanthe, Jacob Zuma and Cyril Ramaphosa have taken an Oath of
Office to protect and defend. These oaths were taken on behalf of the mandate
South Africans gave them in a national election, after members of the ANC, in
good standing, had selected them as the face of what the ANC represents. This
means that what he considers his contribution is, and still is, cherished by
the liberation movement; in fact, there is a resolution to adopt a Constitution
that contains elements of his February 2, 1990, speech.
His
contribution, as part of the bouquet that many other leaders of his generation
who negotiated our political settlement and accord, includes therefore, the
enablement that the Constitution of South Africa has made for me, and all of
us, to enjoy the inalienable right to determine, as we have given him the
November 1 showstopper, who has the legitimacy to govern based on our will as
South Africans. The people shall govern has found expression in what he
contributed to founding, as he lawfully ended what inhibited it.
Out
of that enablement emerged other good and bad actions, interactions, and
transactions between and amongst us as South Africans to advance what the
Constitution has in store for us. Some amongst us, including in this group,
find the Constitution a constraint on the trajectory of development their
expectations have defined, whilst others, like me, believe that the 'dream has
been delivered' by the Constitution; some amongst us might have 'deferred' it.
On
the strength of the above, and many other benefits that came of his decisions,
and out of the February 2, 1990, speech, former Deputy President of the
Republic of South Africa, Mr de Klerk, has earned a place in our nation's
history that no amount of denialism will remove. Yes, in earning that place,
like many historical figures, he has trampled on many, and for that, he
apologised.
Thank
you, Bohani, for the opportunity to engage without the clichés often thrown
onto what should be enriching for all of us. I hope I have not disappointed.
By
the way, the question was asked by Bohani Shivambu, who also wrote for the
Thinc Blog.
Ndzi
hlamurhile
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