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PART B

THE CRACKS APPEAR 1988-1990

Introduction

From its inception in 1948 and right up to the mid-1980s the apartheid fortress seemed impregnable. But during the 1980s cracks began to appear, almost imperceptibly at first, then widening towards the end of the decade until the disintegration of apartheid power was clear for all to see.

The seeds of its own destruction were sown by the apartheid government when in 1984 it rammed through the tricameral system of government, excluding the black African majority, coupled with the puppet structures of Black Local Councils. This, in effect, triggered a national uprising of such proportions that the government was obliged to resort to the declaration of a State of Emergency in 1985.

This declaration, in turn, was to result in a major flight of capital from South Africa, the depletion of the country's foreign reserves and in due course a strangulation of the economy to the point of imminent collapse.

Even with the awesome tools of the State of Emergency, the government was unable to win its war against the liberation struggle waged by the majority population and by early 1989 the Emergency measures were failing in the face of a national detainee hunger strike, followed by a national defiance campaign to which the authorities had no effective answer.

On another front, namely the military intervention if Angola and the military occupation of Namibia, the escalating costs were contributing heavily to the looming economic crisis and withdrawal from 1988 onwards became inevitable.

In the meantime, international initiatives were taking place to hasten the capitulation of apartheid power. Apart from almost total isolation of apartheid South Africa at all levels, proposals began to emerge urging the government to begin negotiations with the liberation movements for a peaceful settlement and transfer of power to a democratic government. These proposals found expression in the Harare Declaration of August 1989 and the UN Declaration of December 1989.

Driven by these inexorable pressures, both internal and external, the regime responded tentatively at first by holding secret talks with liberation movement leaders in prison and in exile; then by releasing a few high profile political prisoners; and finally by agreeing to unban all liberation movements and commence talks about a process for terminating apartheid power.

In Part B of this book, an analysis is given of the factors and events leading up to the demise of apartheid power with particular reference to the role of repression even at a time when a negotiated settlement was becoming a possibility.

Calendar of major events on the road to the disintegration of apartheid power

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