F.W. de Klerk at Truman State University

Truman Hosts Politics for Peace:
F.W. de Klerk
and the Transformation of South America

On Saturday, April 4, thanks to the support of the Bank of Kirksville, the Truman State University Foundation and the University speakers' budget, a full auditorium in Baldwin Hall heard the poignant words of Nobel laureate, F.W. de Klerk.

Born in Johannesburg on March 18, 1936 to a prominent Afrikaner political family with a history of public service in South Africa, Mr. de Klerk served as leader of the National Party in the Transvaal, the most populous of South Africa's four provinces, from 1982 - 1989. In February 1989, he was elected as his party's national leader. Seven months later, after President P.W. Botha resigned, de Klerk was unanimously elected president of South Africa.

As his country's first "television president," de Klerk developed a friendlier, more open and accessible relationship with the media than any of his predecessors. He was widely praised for his efforts to keep South Africa on the negotiations path during its transition into a nonracial democracy.

President de Klerk focused on this transition as he spoke to the Truman State University community and the public in Baldwin Auditorium. "The catastrophe that everyone expected did not take place," de Klerk said.

He spoke of the transition not as some kind of miracle, but rather as an arduous process that involved planning every step well in advance. The initial solution was to embark upon the classic policy of ethnic partition that would allow the ten black racial groups to move into independent nation-states similar to a little Europe. Despite their best efforts to develop viable separate nations based on the policy of separate development, it did not work. The answer to the failure lies in human nature and the resistance to change that is deeply ingrained in all of us. "We often fear the unknown and dread the prospect of moving into uncharted waters. We are reluctant to acknowledge that we are on the wrong course and often prefer to steer even perversely towards disaster rather than to admit that we are mistaken," de Klerk said.

However, seeing the folly of resisting change and not wanting to "collide with the unforgiving rocks of history," de Klerk and his party realized that they were becoming involved in a downward spiral of resistance and repression that would erupt into full-scale conflict. In an effort to bring all of South Africa to a better life, de Klerk and his colleagues spent a great deal of time identifying the nation's problems. As Christians, they also struggled with the question of what was right and what was wrong. But they recognized that they were "riding the angry tide of black nationalism." "No amount of social engineering, no elaborate constitutional maneuvering, no manipulation of the economy could alter the central fact that South Africa was a single country, with a single economy and a single constitutional destiny," de Klerk said. The conclusion was that white South Africa would have to accept its future not as a nation with its own sovereign territory, but as a part of a nonracial South Africa; to accept the necessity to give up the ideal on which they had been nurtured.

In his address, de Klerk stated, "No country or nation can run away from its problems. One way to deal with conflict is to face the facts no matter how painful they may be. Once you have honestly and with integrity analyzed the problem, then you must find solutions which bring justice for all." Thus the challenge of the transformation began to take shape as de Klerk carefully watched the political tides and currents and positioned himself accordingly. Timing was everything and he needed to be right at the right time.

On February 2, 1990 he announced the diametric change of course that would fundamentally change his country and accelerate the elimination of apartheid. He announced that Nelson Mandela would be released from prison and that many organizations would be unbanned, including the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party. At the heart of the transformation was the negotiation process which followed that included the negotiation of a constitution with revolutionary movements, the assurance that the future of South Africa would be built upon foundations that would be universally acceptable, and the creation of a bill of rights that would protect the very basic of human rights. "When real meaningful solutions are negotiated, the product becomes the joint property of all those who worked on it.... If you broaden the involvement and ownership, then all will embrace it and make it their own...because it is the product of our making, not devised by those who say 'we know what is best for you,'" de Klerk said to a crowd of attentive listeners.

De Klerk hopes that others will learn from their experiences and by their example. "The world needs to find effective answers to what must be done to make cultural, linguistic and religious minorities feel protected...to make them feel at ease - that their very identity is not threatened because they are a minority."

Following his lecture and a standing ovation, de Klerk engaged in a half-hour question and answer session with the audience.

In 1993, de Klerk was a co-recipient with Nelson Mandela of the Nobel Peace Prize for the leading role he played in the democratization of South Africa and was named Time magazine's "Man of the Year." He now devotes the majority of his time lecturing throughout the world encouraging others to transform.

"All human relations require constant and careful attention. When we stop changing, we stop growing. When we stop growing, we start to die."

--F.W. de Klerk

Truman State University
thanks the Bank of Kirksville
for its support of this event.

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