Throughout the 70’s and leading into the 80’s there was strong resistance against the apartheid system, including many violent protests, not just from within the country but also defiance from outside of South Africa with many nations boycotting on trade and sport. During the 1970’s black resistance gained force, through trade unions and strikes, and then from the Black Consciousness Movement, which underlined the need for psychological liberation, and non-violent opposition to apartheid. President Botha realised he needed the support of the blacks if he wanted to keep the peace, however South Africa was under pressure and spiralling out of control so he made some reforms aimed at the young black Africans who were starting to fill the job in industry. Botha allowed the blacks to join trade unions to help them improve their working and living environments. The government also invested in black education more than before so that the blacks could become more skilled. Botha realised that South Africa had “outgrown” apartheid and brought in some minor reforms; the government allowed some amenities such as theatres, restaurants, and hotels to become multiracial. In 1985 the government eradicated The Mixed Marriages Act. Eventually in 1986, the Pass Laws were abolished. Although the preponderance of the white South Africans were for apartheid roughly 15% of whites who had the vote would opt for the liberal Progressive Party, who were the only parliamentary opposition for years. Many white South Africans were passionate about their sport. Some nations restricted their sporting action with South Africa; this will have put much pressure on the government and apartheid. Internationally bordering African countries had become independent and had black governments who were strongly against apartheid. Hostile anti-apartheid countries bordered South Africa that the government feared could help the people who were trying to stop apartheid; this was obvious when they strengthened border control. South Africa was becoming increasingly isolated, since 1962 the United Nations had been officially condemning South African apartheid policies, and in 1977 the UN passed resolutions condemning South Africa. While opposition to the apartheid system grew, the Scandinavians were particularly supporting both morally and financially towards the ANC. The Prime minister of Sweden Olof Palme declared: “Apartheid cannot be reformed, it has to be eliminated”. This was a key speech influencing hundreds of anti-apartheid sympathizers across the world. Some Western countries adopted a more ambivalent stance. Up until 1986, both the US and the Uk were constructively vetoing the United Nations sanctions on South Africa, claiming South Africa as a stronghold against Marxist forces. However the late 80’s brought change. There was little sign of a political resolution and Western nations were beginning to turn against the apartheid government. In 1989 PW Botha suffered a stroke, which forced him to resign from his presidency. Later that year FW de Klerk was elected as the new president; immediately de Klerk initiated a lift on media restrictions and released political prisoners. He lifted bans on certain political parties but his most efficacious move was negotiating the release of Nelson Mandela.
FW de Klerk was a strong National Party member who had maintained apartheid and many feared worse from him compared to the former president. However this was not the case when he announced the release of Nelson Mandela. Apartheid was falling apart, and the country was on the verge of civil war. There was a “Free Nelson Mandela” campaign from abroad and much support for Mandela and the ANC. The US government said that they would increase trade sanctions on South Africa if Mandela wasn’t released and the United Nations also demanded his release. There was also a lot of violence within South Africa and the state of emergency was failing to deal with the problem. The government was struggling to keep control of the situation and knew the country was under threat from civil war. There was, in a way, no other choice to stop the violence but to release Nelson Mandela. Meanwhile Nelson Mandela, still in prison was despising apartheid but the government appreciated his non-aggressive approach and they believed that he could help to restore peace. President de Klerk argued that in the face of growing violence it was in the interest of all to begin a process of political negotiation to establish a new and just constitutional dispensation. Although de Klerk was in a position of Ascendancy for apartheid and a strong member of the National Party he realised that apartheid system could not carry on and made the bold move of bringing it to an end.
Mandela was finally released on Sunday 11th February 1990. His speech when he first spoke to the people of South Africa for over 20 years was very humbling, down to earth and modest – “I stand before you, not as a prophet, but as a humble servant… the factors which necessitated armed struggle still exist. We hope that a climate conductive to a negotiated settlement will exist soon.” He was very peaceful, and did not want revenge for his many years of imprisonment. Later in 1991 the Convention For A Democratic South Africa (CODESA) was set up.
Even through Mandela was released there were still many problems. In May 1992 a white only referendum showed that two-thirds of the people wanted negotiations. Although this was a good thing, In this same month CODESA collapsed, and the ANC and National Party were in fundamental disagreement. The talks began again in March 1993. In 1993 alone 4,450 were killed in political violence so decisions had to be made. The need for a democratic election was clear, but in the months leading up to the election violence continued to escalate – there were attacks on Johannesburg townships, the killing of blacks on trains, drive-by shootings and other racially motivated attacks. The whites lost power in December 1993 when a Transitional Executive Council was set up to run the country up to the elections.
Some Zulus were demanding running their own affairs and some right-wing whites were Insisting on having their own homeland, and threatening war if they did not get it. Mandela realised he needed to stop the violence, for rich whites might leave South Africa, taking their wealth with them and foreign firms might not invest. Agreeing on a date for the elections became urgent because there did not appear to be any other way to control the escalating violence. There was about 3 million uneducated young adults and the economy had slumped. There was also a high unemployment rate. The date was set for 27th April 1994 but the Zulus and conservative party left talks. They could not unite without the Zulu’s support since they were such a big part of the population. Eventually they agreed after being reassured that the Zulu monarchy would continue.
Despite many fears of violence, the election went peacefully. This was the first time that 16 million black people could vote. This election meant so much to so many of the people and many ended up walking up to 60 miles and queuing for hours just to vote. As predicted the ANC won with 62.25% of the vote and only 20% voting for the National Party. Mandela then made possibly his most famous and most respected speech: “I stand before you humbled by your courage, with a heart full of love for all of you. It is the highest honour to lead the ANC at this moment in our history. I am your servant. This is a time to heal old wounds and build a new South Africa.” And “We must begin to build a better life for all South Africans. This means creating jobs, building houses, providing education and bringing peace and security for all.” This shows how Mandela believed that he would be able to make a difference.
South Africa now vast natural resources, a skilled middle class and a developed infrastructure. This all looks very positive but the years of apartheid have caused strict import controls and high tariff barriers, which have made trade harder. There are problems with wages, which in turn lead to widespread strikes. The average white wage is 9 time s that of the average black, and double even when the level of work done is the same. There are now training programmes in place but the poorly educated blacks are still a problem, and will remain that way for a long time. There have been attempts of starting trade unions, but wage gaps remain wide between managers and workers.
Education continued to fall, with unemployment causing widespread poverty. The townships were updated with clean water, telephone and power lines but the se changes couldn’t happen very quickly. With the high rate of unemployment crime is common, particularly in Johannesburg and in townships, which is hard to control, even though political violence has fallen. There are also feelings by some people that the black people are being favoured for jobs. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has also been set up to investigate crimes committed by all races of people under the apartheid system. This is an enormous task but must be done in order for people to come to terms with the past. It was accused of being bias by whites because almost all of its members were considered to be ANC supporters, but overall it has made people face up to the truth and helped to bring people to justice.
In spite of these problems there has been no civil war and the apartheid system has ended. The government has put training programmes in place to help with unemployment, which in turn will cut crime. There has been no return of capital punishment, in spite of the waves of crime. Drug abuse costs the economy between 2.4 and 6.4 billion Rand annually and AIDS is widespread. There is expected to be 1 million AIDS deaths in 2008. These problems really failed to be recognised as a big problem, which is a reason why they are still a growing problem. There has also been renaming of some streets and place names to commemorate heroes like Mandela. There is a new constitution, national anthem and flag designed for the new South Africa.
Mandela told the nation that he would try and get justice for the people, everyone. He has definitely influences the political situation in South Africa. Mandela helped to get rid of the harsh apartheid system and worked in talks with De Klerk for the democratic elections in 1994.As president he has helped to cut unemployment, stop segregation and tried to stop the racial differences in order for equality and peace. By making South Africa more peaceful and equal he has bought in trade and foreign investors. When Mandela gained power the boycotts ended and there was no more pressure from Great Britain and America. He removed the state of emergency and there was no risk of civil war. Nelson Mandela has become a household name and is highly respected by almost all of the black South Africans and many of the whites. Mandela was one of the key figures in the struggle against apartheid and has changed the life of all South Africa’s social, economic and political situation forever.
When Mandela was president the society was definitely changed for apartheid has gone. The wealth still remains mainly in the hands of the whites that make it harder for black people to get highly paid jobs. There are even some stories of reverse discrimination with blacks being favoured over whites for jobs, which shows equality is not properly in practise at the current time, but has improved. Human rights are also better – there are fewer political prisoners in jails and the death penalty has not been reintroduced. There is also a fairer legal system with fair courts and blacks are no longer discriminated against.
Crime is still a major issue with some areas seeing high levels of murders, muggings and rape. White areas often have security guards, which does give a feeling of separation in the community. On the positive side political violence has decreased, although criminal violence is up. AIDS and drugs are a problem and there has been a failure to recognise the severity of the problem, and not enough done to stop the cause. There is not enough funding to research the problem properly. Education has made some progress but large numbers of the black population are unable to read or write. More schools and teachers are needed, and it also needs more funding. This is a problem that requires time to improve for new schools need to be built and teachers need to be trained. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission are looking after the past of South Africa. This organisation has been set up to examine the impact of apartheid and to identify those who were guilty of abuses. The system has worked quite well, particularly for it’s on a fairly small budget. It is found to be controversial because there is a feeling that whites are taking blame and black violence is not considered to the same extent or degree. The economy has improved slightly because unemployment is down. South Africa has recently hit a bit landmark, securing the 2010 World Cup. This shows that they are now accepted within society. The world cup will also help economically bringing in many new jobs and improving their unemployment rates.
I think since the end of apartheid South Africa as a nation Socially has come along way even there still is much left to improve. Economically the country is becoming more stable, getting a flowing economy up and running and Politically the country is doing well, the parties are at agreement and are now social democrats.
