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UNCLAS PRETORIA 000230 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV SF
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICANS COMMEMORATE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF 
FAMOUS DE KLERK SPEECH 
 
¶1. (SBU)  F. W. de Klerk, the last presidential leader under 
the apartheid state, stunned the world on February 2, 1990 by 
announcing his plans for the unconditional release of Nelson 
Mandela and the unbanning of liberation movements such as the 
African National Congress (ANC), Pan-African Congress, and 
South African Communist Party.  De Klerk's speech, now 20 
years old, gave the world joy, fear, and -- most importantly 
-- hope for change.  South Africans remembered the 20th 
anniversary of the speech on February 2 and de Klerk used the 
anniversary for a rare public reflection on his legacy. 
 
¶2. (SBU)  The hundreds of history books on South Africa's 
transition to democracy cover the reasons for de Klerk's 
decision and the reactions both from the apartheid regime and 
the various liberation movements fighting for democracy. 
What is clear from these records is that de Klerk told few 
individuals outside of his inner circle that he planned to 
release Mandela and unban the groups formerly labeled as 
"terrorists."  When he made the announcement, most of the 
domestic and international world was surprised.  One 
political commentator remarked in the Sunday Times recently 
that he had been assigned to cover the speech for a newspaper 
and almost chose not to attend because "those speeches were 
all the same."  He laughed about what would have happened he 
had missed the speech.  Nine days after de Klerk's famous 
address, Mandela walked out of prison a free man, and six 
months later the ANC "suspended" the armed struggle against 
the state. 
 
¶3. (SBU)  Numerous ordinary South Africans in recent days 
have reflected on weblogs and in telephone interviews about 
the day of the speech and their lives after de Klerk's famous 
address.  Some South Africans, both white and black, talked 
about the world that was lost.  Others talked about how 
quickly South Africa has become a non-racial, non-sexist 
state.  Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who was married to Nelson 
Mandela at the time of his release and is now the ANC Women's 
League President, relived the day on a radio interview on 
February 2.  She recalled how the police informed her about 
de Klerk's speech while she was attending the funeral of her 
grandson's father.  She said the family was told to make 
arrangements to "fetch Mandela from prison on February 11, 
1990."  She famously met Mandela at the prison and walked 
with him as he greeted thousands of South African citizens. 
De Klerk, in a separate radio interview, recalled how the 
news was received in Parliament.  He said, "The news 
literally shook the room and the nation.  Opposition parties 
in Parliament were stunned."  He explained that only Foreign 
Minister Pik Botha and Minister of Law and Order Adriaan Volk 
had advance copies of what de Klerk would announce.  He said, 
"We informed the whole Cabinet only right before the speech." 
 When the interview asked de Klerk how he felt about he 
decision, the former President said he was convinced he was 
doing what was best for the country and added that his 
decision was reaffirmed by the success of the 1992 
whites-only referendum, in which he was given a mandate to 
negotiate with the ANC. 
 
¶4. (SBU)  De Klerk does not often speak publicly about his 
legacy, but the 20th anniversary of the speech gave him an 
opportunity to reflect.  His foundation, the F. W. de Klerk 
Foundation, released a statement written by the former leader 
QFoundation, released a statement written by the former leader 
that said, "For white South Africans, the announcements of 
February 2, 1990 signaled their willingness to end centuries 
of alienation and division by abandoning the dominant 
position they held for more than 300 years.  For black South 
Africans, it heralded the dawn of a new age of dignity, 
equality, and full political rights for which they had 
struggled for so long."  De Klerk added, "For the world, 
these historic events showed that even the most intractable 
disputes could be resolved peacefully by negotiations and 
good will." 
 
¶5. (SBU)  Comment:  Regardless of how South Africans living 
in 1990 viewed the world then, their views since that time 
have been shaped by what de Klerk announced 20 years ago. 
Even though de Klerk has not spoken frequently in recent 
years about the impact of his speech, his actions that day 
changed the course of South African history and marked the 
beginning of the end of the long struggle against apartheid, 
and opened the door to a very different future.  End Comment. 
GIPS