The University of Idaho Argonaut

Nobel Peace Prize winner F.W. de Klerk visited the University of Idaho Tuesday night as keynote speaker of the Borah Symposium.
De Klerk served as president of South Africa from 1989 to 1994, and then as executive deputy president under Nelson Mandela.

“As a leader of great change, a reformer, the father of resolution of one of the major conflicts of the 20th century, we honor the president by his appearance here, and by his appearance here, he honors us,” UI President Tim White said. “He is a man of principle, a man of conviction and a man of strength.”
There was a full house present in the Student Union Building Ballroom. The former president spoke about the challenges of uniting the politically and racially divided nation.

“Fifteen years ago, South Africa was caught in the grip of a seemingly irresolvable conflict,” de Klerk said.
There was nationwide fear of a racial war, he said. Political parties were also trying to gain power.
“All three parties saw each other, not as they really were, but as the stereotypes depicted by their own propaganda,” he said.

The African National Congress had a “radical socialist initiative,” de Klerk said, that advocated a strong central government. It was allied with the Russian communist party and viewed itself as revolutionary.
In contrast, the National Party favored a free enterprise economy with a limited central government, he said.

Finally, the Inkatha Freedom Party were not revolutionary, but worked within the government to achieve their goals. They were federalist, supported free market and had the support of the Zulu, which was the largest ethnic group in South Africa, he said.

There were three very important things that the parties all agreed on: The participation of all three parties was necessary for peace, any attempt by any party to use force would result in disaster, and a constitution was needed that guaranteed rights to all citizens, de Klerk said.

The collapse of communism in 1989 helped with the uniting of South Africa because it eliminated the threat of soviet control of the nation, he said.
“It created a wonderful window of opportunity,” de Klerk said. “For us, Soviet expansionism was not an empty propaganda exercise — it was reality.”

Soviet and Cuban troops were in nearby Angola “in the tens and hundreds of thousands,” he said.
After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the ANC was weakened without support from Russia and the communist party.
“It failed, therefore the ANC lost the sting in its tail,” he said.

U.S. and other international support were very important for the unification of South Africa, de Klerk said.
“I was greatly encouraged by the warm support they gave me,” he said.
The crux of negotiations was the development of a transitional constitution and parliament, de Klerk said.

The final constitution allowed for participation of all parties in government. It included a supreme court, a democratic congress, and a system of checks and balances, de Klerk said.
“We adopted your model of a constitutional state,” he said.
April 27, 1994 national elections were held, and Nelson Mandela was elected president.
“We entered a new and exiting era,” de Klerk said. “We had laid the foundation for a multi-racial and democratic nation.”

However, he said the challenges were far from over.
“One of our greatest tasks was coming to grips with the conflict of our past, and finding true and lasting reconciliation.”
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was founded to help unite the fledgling government. Although it did not succeed in bringing the groups together, it did help to bring closure to old atrocities, de Klerk said.

“In this process, we learned that it was often easier to reach agreement on the challenges of the future … than on the grievances of the past,” he said.
Forgiveness is crucial to the process of peace, both nationally and personally, de Klerk said.

“Until we truly forgive our enemies, we carry within our hearts bitterness that can poison every aspect of our lives,” he said. “By continuing to nurse grievances against those who have done us wrong, we actually give them power over us.

“All human relationships require constant care and constant attention. South Africa has made great and powerful strides … but in some respects, we have still not yet really found one another. We can never sit back and say that we have solved the problem.”