(......) An interesting historical perspective now arises.
In 1992, de Klerk held a referendum on "negotiation" over the future of SA. Interesting aspects were:
- He, via NP election brochures, promised whites their "own communities" and "own schools", to name just 2 promises.
- He also promised "protection of minorities".
- Big business colluded with the NP to "persuade" whites to support the referendum.
- Big business actually, in some cases, threatened employees who didnt vote "yes" with dismissal.
I, personally, did not believe de Klerk and I had no confidence in Roelf Meyer, his lieutenant. I saw the 1992 referendum as a request for a blank cheque, and I was convinced that whites would never again have a say over their own future.
So I voted "no", not because I liked apartheid, but because I wanted de Klerk to put a proposed solution, post negotiation, on the table for voting so that whites would know what they were being asked to approve.
Well. we all know what happened:
- The dumb whites voted yes, thereby sacrificing their own future.
- All the NP promises went by the board
- A secret "memorandum of understanding" was agreed between de Klerk and the ANC, after which further negotiation was basically smoke and mirrors.
- On the last day of negotiation, Meyer gave way on every issue that had been debated for so long, and the ANC got its way. It inherited the country in every respect.
What followed was a false honeymoon under Mandela, where whites were largely left alone to get on with their business.
It seemed as though big business and the ANC had reached an accommodation whereby a new black middle class would be created, but this would not unduly upset the applecart in SA. De Klerk however, left the GNU and it effectively became defunct. Of course he and his NP boeties all ended up with huge pensions and gratuities.
In 1999, Mandela retired and Mbeki came to power, and immediately there was a sea change.
- AA and BEE quickly became the order of the day, enforced by acts of parliament
- Most whites were totally phased out of all aspects of government
- In sport, white leadership was largely ejected and replaced by non-whites (except in rugby)
- Via numerous other acts, some through parliament, Mbeki made it clear that his attitude to whites was different from Mandela's.
- The ANC began to take over every aspect of life in this country, as mentioned in the article.
http://www.africancrisis.co.za/Article.php?ID=17422&
No comments:
Post a Comment