Death of South Africa’s last apartheid-era president draws mixed reactions

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG (AA) - The death of South Africa’s last apartheid-era President Frederik Willem de Klerk has drawn mixed reactions in the country, with some praising his role in ending apartheid and others accusing him of being responsible for the murders of people during the regime.

De Klerk died early Thursday at his home in Fresnaye in Cape Town following a struggle against mesothelioma cancer, his foundation said in a statement. He was 85.

De Klerk, who served as president from September 1989 to May 1994, is known for playing a key role in dismantling the white oppressive system of apartheid.

In 1990, he announced the release from prison of activist Nelson Mandela, who served 27 years for opposing apartheid.

This led to multiparty elections in 1994 which saw Mandela’s African National Congress (ANC) party win and Mandela become the country’s first Black president.

De Klerk also shared the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize with Mandela.

He also served as deputy president under the new democratic dispensation under Mandela in 1994.

President Cyril Ramaphosa offered his condolences to the De Klerk family Thursday and acknowledged his contribution to South Africa’s democracy.

Ramaphosa said De Klerk played a vital role in the country’s transition to democracy in the 1990s after his first meeting in 1989 with Mandela, who was a political prisoner at the time.

“He took the courageous decision to unban political parties, release political prisoners and entered into negotiations with the liberation movement amid severe pressure to the contrary from many in his political constituency,” he recalled.

Ramaphosa said De Klerk was a committed South African who embraced the democratic constitutional dispensation and placed the long-term future of the country ahead of narrow political interests.

“Serving as deputy president from 1994 to 1996, Mr. De Klerk played an important role in the Government of National Unity, dedicating himself to the constitutional imperative of healing the divisions and conflict of our past,” Ramaphosa said.

South African opposition figure Bantu Holomisa, also a former struggle activist, said De Klerk’s decision to hold talks to end apartheid helped prevent the country from descending into a “bloodbath.” The Nelson Mandela Foundation also acknowledged De Klerk’s contribution to the country’s transition, saying his role was important.

- What De Klerk’s critics say

His critics, however, such as the radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, think otherwise.

“As a president of apartheid, De Klerk holds no legitimate claim to any title of honor of having led this country,” it said in a statement Thursday.

The third largest party in parliament known for championing pro-poor policies said De Klerk was the president of a undemocratic and racist society who presided over a murderous and inhumane regime of terror against African people.

“It is for this very reason that the EFF calls for De Klerk not to be given a state funeral of any category, as he lost the right to be honored the day that the evil regime he led collapsed in 1994,” the party said.

The EFF claims that to honor De Klerk with a state funeral would be to spit in the face of gallant liberation heroes who suffered at his hands and had their children murdered in his quest to stifle the freedom of Black people.

“Racist apartheid criminals such as #FWDeKlerk shouldn’t die peacefully at home. They should die in prison where they belong all along,” suspended outspoken ANC member Carl Niehaus, who served formerly as party spokesman, wrote on his Twitter page.

Niehaus was also a political prisoner convicted of treason against South Africa's former apartheid regime.

Another Twitter user, @Labane_Rakuoane, wrote: “The mass murderer of black people is dead. May he never rest in peace #DeKlerk FW de Klerk.”

Some South Africans had criticized De Klerk for not apologizing for apartheid crimes such as treating millions of Blacks as inferior and sending them to Black homelands.

However, his foundation released a video Thursday shortly after his death showing a frail looking De Klerk addressing the criticism in a video message.

“Let me today, in the last message repeat: I, without qualification, apologize for the pain and the hurt, and the indignity, and the damage, to Black, brown and Indians in South Africa,” he said.

The former president said his views of apartheid had changed since the early 1980s. He said in his heart of hearts, he had realized that apartheid was wrong.​​​​​​​