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Defeat of apartheid in South AfricaThe state of South Africa had almost entirely smashed all black resistance by the beginning of the 60s. Rather than making the necessary changes to redress the causes and to eliminate breeding ground for the resistance movement, the government decided instead to push ahead with the apartheid program into its final stage. Economic crisis, influence from the Black Consciousness movement, dark prospects for the future and worsening living conditions all conspired to recreate an explosive situation in the mid 70s. A new law requiring all school children to be taught in Afrikaans, the language of the Boers, proved to be the trigger for the school uprisings in Soweto, which were violently dealt with by the police. The uprisings spread across the country. As in the 60s, South Africa's state police and the secret services had the situation under control. Yet something changed. Instead of pressing ahead with the introduction of more apartheid laws, the government made a series of alterations. The government's self-confidence and certainty about victory had been shaken. The black resistance movement was no longer made up of small groups which could be eliminated, but had developed into a growing movement that could only be kept under control by making concessions. Tracy Chapman captured the spirit of the revolt in her famous song at the end of the 80s, "Talking ´bout Revolution":
Laws restricting the formation of black trade unions were relaxed, education spending on non-whites was increased and even the health system was improved. The most visible move from the outside was the abolishing of "petty apartheid" during the 70s and 80s. Nonetheless, no movement was made to change the central pillars of apartheid. This slow retreat, however, represents the decline of apartheid's ideological foundations. Changes were extremely slow in coming in the political sphere. A new constitution was introduced in 1984, which represented an attempt by South Africa's president, Botha, to reach an alliance with other races. The county's parliamentary system was replaced by a stronger president, and whites, half-castes and Indians were given their own individual parliamentary chamber. These chambers could reach decisions independently on their own issues, but joint decisions had to be reached for issues concerning all South Africa. The complete exclusion of blacks is clearly recognizable. The reasoning behind this was that the blacks had their own areas (homelands) in which they were free to be politically active. Looking at it from another angle, however, it was clear that the half-castes and Indians represented minority groups and that the real reason for excluding the majority of South Africa's population (the blacks) was less to do with a change of heart and more to do with whites wanting to cling onto political power. The Indians and half-castes, however, were not easily fooled: Eighty percent of those entitled to vote decided to stay at home. Instead of calming the situation, new protests flared up. A very real culture of violence was born: Black councilors regarded as puppets to the system were murdered, their offices burnt down; collaborators were hunted, tortured and burnt alive after having a burning car tire placed round their necks. Car bombs exploded in shopping centers and hand grenades were thrown into restaurants. A state of national emergency was declared in 1986. Activists were traced to Paris and London, and imprisoned in South Africa. 20,000 activists were imprisoned within three months. Against all expectations president Botha, instead of speeding up reforms, sank into inaction. Not only did this create disapproval at home, it also led to international condemnation. Hard-hitting economic sanctions and far-reaching diplomatic measures on behalf of South Africa's international trading partners increasingly threatened the nation's economy and led to its political isolation. South Africa appeared close to the edge. Apartheid had led the country down a dead-end street. Elinor Herrmann, a member of the Black Sash - a white liberally-leaning women's organization - recited the following poem to mark the 80th birthday of the widow of the murdered ANC leader Luthuli. It provides a fitting representation of the situation:
And yet, as Mandela later wrote in his autobiography, "the most seemingly hopeless moments are often just the right time to start an new initiative". And it was not long before the first discussions took place with working groups and interest groups, and even with Botha himself. Blacks were given an insight into the fear with which whites regarded change, and into their deep-rooted misgivings about handing over power to a giant and greatly feared black majority. And this is how things stood as, in 1989, after Botha had suffered a stroke, Frederik Wilhelm de Klerk came to power. De Klerk had never made a secret of his will to implement far-reaching reforms. In his now-famous speech on 2 February 1990 to mark the opening of parliament, he announced that apartheid had failed. He announced the following measures:
South Africa suddenly found itself before the most far-reaching reform in its history. Apartheid laws had been abolished one-by-one, apartheid defeated. It was now time to find lasting solutions for a democratic South Africa. [Additional materials: Portrait of Nelson Mandela, South Africa today, resistance; an excellent insight into the suppression and resistance movement is provided by the Mandela's defence speech in the Rivonia process, which is regarded as one of the most important documents from the apartheid period]
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