Johannesburg – The death on Thursday of South Africa’s last white president FW de Klerk drew mixed reactions, with some hailing his role in ending apartheid while others criticised a failure to atone for the horrors endured by majority blacks for decades.
Here’s a roundup of reactions.
British PM Boris Johnson
“I am saddened by the death of FW de Klerk, a leader who changed the course of history by freeing Nelson Mandela and working alongside him to end apartheid and bring democracy to South Africa,” Johnson said in a statement.
“De Klerk will be remembered for his steely courage and realism in doing what was manifestly right and leaving South Africa a better country,” he added.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
“The former president occupied an historic but difficult space in South Africa,” Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s office said.
Tutu, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his resistance to apartheid, led the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) charged with uncovering the horrors of the white-minority regime.
After de Klerk’s appearance at the TRC, Tutu “addressed the media to express disappointment that the former president had not made a more wholesome apology… for the evils of apartheid,” the archbishop’s office said.
However, it added: “The late FW de Klerk played an important role in South Africa’s history… He recognised the moment for change and demonstrated the will to act on it.”
Nelson Mandela Foundation
“De Klerk’s legacy is a big one,” the Nelson Mandela Foundation said. “It is also an uneven one, something South Africans are called to reckon with in this moment.”
The two leaders sparred frequently, but the Mandela foundation recalled his remarks at De Klerk’s 70th birthday celebrations.
“If we two old, or ageing, men have any lessons for our country and for the world, it is that solutions to conflicts can only be found if adversaries are fundamentally prepared to accept the integrity of one other,” Mandela said at the time.
President Cyril Ramaphosa
“De Klerk played a vital role in our transition to democracy in the 1990s,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said, adding that despite “severe pressure… from many in his political constituency… he placed the long-term future of the country ahead of narrow political interests.”
De Klerk’s death, “weeks before the 25th anniversary of our democratic constitution, should inspire all of us to reflect on the birth of our democracy and on our shared duty to remain true to the values of our constitution”.
South African political figures
Julius Malema, leader of the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters, did not hide his feelings, tweeting: “Thank you God”, followed by five dancing emojis.
But former opposition Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon tweeted: “Farewell FW de Klerk. Like Mikhail Gorbachev, he reformed the system he inherited in 1990. And if he had not relinquished power in 1994, likely SA would be Syria or Venezuela today.”
For his part, Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who served in the Government of National Unity with then deputy president de Klerk, said: “We have lost a champion of democratic principles and constitutionalism.”
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: Getty Images
Source: AFP
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
