Dakar Conference

Last updated

The Dakar Conference (also known as the Dakar Dialogue and the Dakar Initiative) was a historic conference between members of the Institute for Democratic Alternatives in South Africa (IDASA) and the African National Congress (ANC). It was held in Dakar, Senegal between 9 and 12 July 1987. The conference discussed topics such as strategies for bringing fundamental change in South Africa, national unity, structures of the government and the future of the economy in a free South Africa. The IDASA delegation from South Africa, participated in the conference in their private capacity and would later be condemned by the South African government for meeting a banned organization. The future indirect result of the conference was South African government talks with Nelson Mandela and his eventual meeting with P. W. Botha in 1989.

Contents

Background

Frederik van Zyl Slabbert, a member of the opposition resigned from the Progressive Federal Party and the South African parliament in January 1986, describing it as irrelevant and that he would explore other avenues of negotiations between white and black South African's. [1] Dr. Alex Boraine would also leave with him. Van Zyl Slabbert and Boraine would the establish The Institute for Democratic Alternatives in South Africa (IDASA), a non-partisan organization that aimed to promote inclusive democracy in South Africa by talking to people of all races within and outside the country. [2] Slabbert, in communication with Thabo Mbeki, member of the ANC National Executive, discussed the change in attitude amongst some of the Afrikaner elite towards Afrikaner Nationalism and Apartheid. [2] Out of these discussions and meetings, an idea was generated for a possible meeting between them and the ANC. [2] This would be a change from the opposition White liberals attempting to force political change from within the parliamentary system, to the Afrikaner elite taking direct action in shaping the future direction of South Africa.

Later in 1986, Slabbert and Breyten Breytenbach met on Gorée Island of Dakar in Senegal and decided that the city should be the location of the conference. [3] One third of the conference's cost was financed by the German Friedrich Naumann Foundation [4] and further support was provided by George Soros, who however he was skeptical that the conference would achieve anything for South Africa. [3] Breytenbach then approached Danielle Mitterrand, the French president's wife who headed the France-Libertés Foundation and who was well acquainted with Abdou Diouf, the Senegalese President, and asked her to intercede with him to allow the South African delegates to enter Senegal and ensure the security of the conference. [3] The African Jurists' Association would also play a role in the conference's organisation. [5] By 3 June 1987, more than a month before the start date, the South African press had caught wind of the proposed conference and published stories about a group of South Africans who were going to have a meeting with the ANC. [3]

The IDASA delegation personally invited by Slabbert consisted of 61 delegates with at least half consisting of Afrikaner academics, teachers, journalists, artists, directors, writers and professionals and the group had Afrikaans speaking Coloureds, ten English-speaking businessmen and academics and three German academics working on South Africa. [3] The South African delegation attended in their private capacity and did not represent the organisations they worked for. The seventeen ANC delegates would be led by Thabo Mbeki in his capacity of ANC Director of Information and four other members of the ANCs National Executive Committee while the other twelve were made up of ANC members based in Zambia, Scandinavia, UK, Ireland, United States and West Africa. [6] : 4 

The IDASA delegation flew into Dakar from London and were met at the airport by the Senegalese Head of Protocol in the VIP lounge and then escorted by motorcycle riders to their hotel where the conference would take place and were met there by the ANC delegation. [6] : 4  During the conference, the delegates would attend receptions at Presidential Palace and the Minister of Educations residence. The conference began on 9 July and would end on 12 July. [6] : 4 

Conference

The conference was opened by President Abdou Diouf and attended by his cabinet and members of the diplomatic community and then an address was given by Danielle Mitterrand. [6] : 5  The delegates would then return to their hotel and the conference venue. [6] : 5  Four major topics had been agreed upon and the delegates had submitted the papers prior to conference and had been viewed by the ANC and they would respond to them after their presentation. [6] : 5  The four major topics included, strategies for bringing fundamental change in South Africa, national unity, structures of the government and the future of the economy in a free South Africa. [6] : 4  Informal topics were also discussed and included the armed struggle, violence, negotiations, political pluralism, a Bill of Rights, future of Afrikaans and its culture, a future economy, distributive justice and other topics. [6] : 5 

The delegates in their presentation expressed their concern about violence in South Africa and its impact on civilians while the ANC members outlined why they had begun an armed struggle when all other peaceful strategies to bring about racial policy change in South Africa had failed and that attacks on soft targets was not a policy and that control over its armed cadres in the country was not always possible. [6] : 5  It was clear to the delegates during the discussions that the ANC was prepared to negotiate with the government but that certain preconditions would have to be met which included the release of political prisoners and the unbanning of banned organisation's in the country. [6] : 5 

With regards to pluralism, the ANC expressed a commitment of political pluralism in a new South African political system and that racism and fascism would be outlawed in the political system. [6] : 5  It expressed a belief that the groups committed to the ending of Apartheid would in a new South Africa political system would split into its own organizations expressing their own ideas and beliefs. [6] : 6 

The ANC in the discussion concerning a Bill of Rights said it did not have a problem with it but would not guarantee privileges in such a bill. It expressed a reassurance that the Afrikaans language would be safeguarded as well as its cultural identity and that all people's cultural heritages should be protected. [6] : 6 

Concerning the future South African economy the ANC's policies were still governed by the Freedom Charter and that some form of nationalization would be required to redress the economic and wealth imbalances and that any nationalization would not occur instantly and consultation would take place between business and the future government. [6] : 6  Health housing and education were key areas that the ANC would be readdressing. [6] : 6 

At the conclusion of the conference, a declaration was released by the participants stating that a negotiated settlement in South Africa was preferred and that main obstacle was the South African government's unwillingness to negotiate, and the delegates concern about the level of uncontrolled violence in the country. [2] A ferry trip was then organized to the Gorée Island and they visited the Maison des Esclaves and its museum in remembrance to the Dutch slave trade in West Africa. [7]

Known participants

[8]

ANC

IDASA

Others

Conclusion

At the end of the conference, the two groups left Senegal on a visit to Burkina Faso and Ghana. [12] Forty South African delegates would return on 21 July 1987 and were met at the airport by a hundred demonstrators from the Afrikaner Resistance Movement (Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging) led by Eugene Terre Blanche. [13] Posters would accuse the delegates of being traitors, communists and terrorists. [7] No news conference was held by the delegates, having been banned by the police and they were escorted via a back entrance from Jan Smuts International Airport. [13] Frederick Van Zyl Slabbert and Dr. Alex Boraine would return to South Africa on 31 July. [13]

The ruling National Party condemned the talk, worried about the legitimacy the conference gave to the ANC and the government controlled South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and Afrikaner newspapers were critical. [13] English newspapers were said to be critical and lukewarm to the conference. [7] Government officials would express their opinion privately that they thought the conference would hinder the government's own initiates. [13]

In the end, the conference had broken the ice and would make it acceptable for an Afrikaner government to negotiate in the future with the ANC as well as the ANC to understand the Afrikaner. [7] Further meetings were held when South African businessmen met with the ANC, Stellenbosch University students would meet in Lusaka and IDASA would organize further meetings in Germany, United States, France, Zambia and Zimbabwe. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Tambo</span> South African anti-apartheid activist and politician (1917–1993)

Oliver Reginald Kaizana Tambo was a South African anti-apartheid politician and activist who served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1967 to 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mangosuthu Buthelezi</span> South African politician (1928–2023)

Prince Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi was a South African politician and Zulu prince who served as the traditional prime minister to the Zulu royal family from 1954 until his death in 2023. He was appointed to this post by King Bhekuzulu, the son of King Solomon kaDinuzulu, a brother to Buthelezi's mother Princess Magogo kaDinuzulu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afrikaner Broederbond</span> 1918–1994 Afrikaner Calvinist male organisation in South Africa

The Afrikaner Broederbond (AB) or simply the Broederbond was an exclusively Afrikaner Calvinist and male secret society in South Africa dedicated to the advancement of the Afrikaner people. It was founded by H. J. Klopper, H. W. van der Merwe, D. H. C. du Plessis and the Rev. Jozua Naudé in 1918 as Jong Zuid Afrika until 1920, when it was renamed the Broederbond. Its influence within South African political and social life came to a climax with the 1948-1994 rule of the white supremacist National Party and its policy of apartheid, which was largely developed and implemented by Broederbond members. Between 1948 and 1994, many prominent figures of Afrikaner political, cultural, and religious life, including every leader of the South African government, were members of the Afrikaner Broederbond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pik Botha</span> South African politician (1932–2018)

Roelof Frederik "Pik" Botha, was a South African politician who served as the country's foreign minister in the last years of the apartheid era, the longest-serving in South African history. Known as a liberal within the party, Botha served to present a friendly, conciliatory face on the regime, while criticised internally. He was a leading contender for the leadership of the National Party upon John Vorster's resignation in 1978, but was ultimately not chosen. Staying in the government after the first non-racial general election in 1994, he served under Mandela as Minister of Mineral and Energy Affairs from 1994 to 1996.

Frederik van Zyl Slabbert GCOB was a South African political analyst, businessman and politician. He is best known for having been the leader of the official opposition – the Progressive Federal Party (PFP) – in the House of Assembly from 1979 to 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thoko Didiza</span> South African politician (born 1965)

Angela Thokozile Didiza is a South African politician serving as Speaker of the National Assembly since 14 June 2024. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), she was formerly the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development between May 2019 and June 2024. She served an earlier stint in the cabinet between 1999 and 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa</span> 1990–93 summits to end formal segregation and racial discrimination policies

The apartheid system in South Africa was ended through a series of bilateral and multi-party negotiations between 1990 and 1993. The negotiations culminated in the passage of a new interim Constitution in 1993, a precursor to the Constitution of 1996; and in South Africa's first non-racial elections in 1994, won by the African National Congress (ANC) liberation movement.

The National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) was an important force for liberalism and later radicalism in South African student anti-apartheid politics. Its mottos included non-racialism and non-sexism.

The Goree Institute, formally The Goree Institute, Centre for Democracy, Development and Culture in Africa, is a Pan African organization located on Gorée Island in Dakar, Senegal. Its mission is "to contribute to the establishment of peaceful societies, fair and self-sufficient in Africa, to strengthen the political dialogue for the peaceful resolution of conflicts, contribute to the consolidation of democratic processes and institutions, and to encourage artistic creativity, social and economic" throughout Africa.

Dirk Coetzee was co-founder and commander of the covert South African Security Police unit based at Vlakplaas. He and his colleagues were involved in a number of extrajudicial killings including that of Griffiths Mxenge. Coetzee publicly revealed the existence of the Vlakplaas death squads in 1989, making himself a target of a failed assassination attempt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeugkrag</span> South African political youth group

Jeugkrag was a short-lived South African youth group, surreptitiously funded by the apartheid government's department of Military Intelligence in an operation known as Project Essay. Led by Marthinus van Schalkwyk it operated exclusively on Afrikaans university campuses and sought to influence the political views of Afrikaans-speaking students.

Tony Trew is a South African politician and discourse analyst. He was one of the editors of the seminal book Language and control (1979), which helped establish critical linguistics as an academic field.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) was an intelligence agency of the Republic of South Africa that replaced the older Bureau of State Security (BOSS) in 1980. Associated with the Apartheid era in South Africa, it was replaced on 1 January 1995 by the South African Secret Service and the National Intelligence Agency with the passage of the Intelligence Act (1994).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congress of the People (South African political party)</span> Political party in South Africa

The Congress of the People (COPE) is a South African political party formed in 2008 by former members of the African National Congress (ANC). The party was founded by former ANC members Mosiuoa Lekota, Mbhazima Shilowa and Mluleki George to contest the 2009 general election. The party was announced following a national convention held in Sandton on 1 November 2008, and was founded at a congress held in Bloemfontein on 16 December 2008. The name echoes the 1955 Congress of the People at which the Freedom Charter was adopted by the ANC and other parties, a name strongly contested by the ANC in a legal move dismissed by the Pretoria High Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leon Louw</span> South African writer (born 1948)

Leon Louw is a South African intellectual, author, speaker and policy advisor. He is the executive director and cofounder of the Free Market Foundation, a nonprofit organisation ranked at number 123 in a CEOWorld's 2017 list of the most influential think-tanks in the world. He is a regularly featured speaker and writer in South African and international media. He has addressed many prominent organisations, including the US Congress hearings on apartheid, the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, the Hoover Institute, and the United Nations.

Alexander Lionel Boraine was a South African politician, minister, and anti-apartheid activist.

Boerehaat is an Afrikaans word that means "ethnic hatred of Boers" or Afrikaners as they became known after the Second Boer War. The related term Boerehater has been used to describe a person who hates, prejudices or criticises Boers or Afrikaners.

The Institute for Democratic Alternatives in South Africa (IDASA) later known as the Institute for Democracy in South Africa was a South African-based think-tank organisation that was formed in 1986 by Frederik van Zyl Slabbert and Alex Boraine. Its initial focus from 1987 was creating an environment for white South Africans to talk to the banned liberation movement in-exile, the African National Congress (ANC) prior to its unbanning in 1990 by the President F. W. de Klerk. After the South African election in 1994, its focus was on ensuing the establishment of democratic institutions in the country, political transparency and good governance. Caught up in a funding crisis after the Great Recession, it closed in 2013.

The Accord on Afrikaner self-determination is a South African political accord that recognises the right of the Afrikaner people on self-determination. The accord was signed by the Freedom Front, the African National Congress and the National Party-led South African government on 23 April 1994.

The 48th National Conference of the African National Congress (ANC) took place from 2 to 7 July 1991 at the University of Durban–Westville in Durban, Natal. It was the first national conference of the ANC since the organisation was banned by the apartheid government in 1960 and marked the ascension of Nelson Mandela to the ANC presidency, which since 1967 had been held by Oliver Tambo.

References

  1. ↑ Battersby, John D. (21 February 1988). "South Africa's Liberals: Divided and Dropping Out". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Giliomee, Hermann (2013). The Last Afrikaner Leaders: A Supreme Test of Power. Virginia: University of Virginia Press. p. 448. ISBN   9780813934952.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Giliomee, Hermann. "True Confessions, End Papers and the Dakar conference: A review of the political arguments" (PDF). University of Pretoria. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  4. 1 2 Razum, Jordi (June 29, 2021). "Der liberale Beitrag zur Überwindung der Apartheid". Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung. Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  5. ↑ Switzer, Les (2000). South Africa's Resistance Press: Alternative Voices in the Last Generation Under Apartheid. Issue 74 of Research in international studies: Africa series. Ohio University Press. p. 505. ISBN   9780896802131.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Savage, Michael. "Dakar Dialogue" (PDF). University of KwaZulu-Natal. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Hopkins, Pat (2006). Voëlvry: The Movement that Rocked South Africa. Zebra. p. 239. ISBN   9781770071209.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. ↑ Savage, Michael (May 2014). "Trekking Outward. A Chronology of Meetings between South Africans and the ANC in Exile 1983–2000" (PDF). University of Cape Town.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Baron von der Ropp, Klaus (1989-07-01). "Two years after Dakar, the dialogue continues". Democracy in Action (July 1989). Cape Town: Institute for a Democratic Alternative for South Africa: 14–15. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  10. ↑ Webber, Mark (2008-11-11). "Soviet Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa: the Final Phase". cambridge.org. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  11. ↑ "About Dr. Klaus Frhr. von der Ropp, Political Observer and Consultant on Southern African Issues". africanquestions.org. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  12. ↑ Battersby, John D. (16 July 1987). "Dakar Journal; For 60 Afrikaners, a Long Trek Into the Future". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Battersby, John D. (22 July 1987). "South African Delegation Is Met by Protests". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.