• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
AFRIPOL

AFRIPOL

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Mission Statement
  • Articles
  • Book Review
  • Archive
  • Contact Us

De Klerk retracts apartheid “not a crime against humanity” remarks

February 17, 2020 by Admin Leave a Comment

Written by AFP

South Africa last apartheid-era president, F.W. De Klerk

South Africa’s last apartheid-era president, F.W. De Klerk, on Monday apologised and withdrew a controversial statement that apartheid was not a crime against humanity, following an outcry. De Klerk, 83, shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela in 1993 for dismantling white-minority rule and ushering in democracy. But he sparked fury among many South Africans when he publicly denied that apartheid was a crime against humanity, despite the UN declaring it such.

“The idea that apartheid was a crime against humanity was and remains an agitprop project initiated by the Soviets and their ANC/SACP allies to stigmatise white South Africans by associating them with genuine crimes against humanity,” he said.

The ANC is the African National Congress, which under Mandela fought an underground battle against apartheid before coming to power in South Africa’s first democratic elections, in 1994. The remarks were made on February 2 in an interview with the national broadcaster SABC, and reiterated in a statement by De Klerk’s foundation.

Anger reached a crescendo on Thursday when President Cyril Ramaphosa was forced to delay his annual State of the Union address after lawmakers from the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) staged a rowdy protest in parliament, demanding De Klerk be ejected from the legislature.

“It is an insult to those who died and (who were) tortured… under the instructions of De Klerk to have De Klerk sitting in a democratic parliament,” it said. Other critics were the SA Council of Churches, other opposition parties and civil society groups, while the ruling ANC slammed De Klerk’s remarks as “blatant whitewash”.

A foundation set up by the revered anti-apartheid fighter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, said it was “irresponsible” to debate the “degree of awfulness of apartheid” and called for him to retract his statement. On Monday De Klerk retracted his statement and apologised for the “confusion, anger and hurt that it has caused”.

“I agree with the Desmond and Leah Tutu Foundation that this is not the time to quibble about the degrees of unacceptability of apartheid. It was totally unacceptable,” he said in a statement issued by his foundation. Despite the end of apartheid a generation ago, racial tensions in South Africa remain high and economic inequality and poverty run deep.

Afripol observed that , “Despite the official end of apartheid, the ramification of the racial injustice has not been tamed. The income gap between the whites and Blacks is still wide. Unemployment among Blacks is increasing and standard of living ebbing. The Black empowernment has aided the middle class and urban dwellers, but there is still a long way to go before the effects of apartheid will cease.”

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: South Africa

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

More to See

African Identity: Drop your foreign names (video)

April 12, 2025 By AFRIPOL

Spotify royalties for Nigerian, South African artists surged in 2024

April 6, 2025 By AFRIPOL

RSS AllAfrica News: Latest

  • Rwanda: Lenacapavir Offers Hope Against HIV, Now the World Must Act
    [New Times] A new injectable drug known as lenacapavir could change how millions of people across the world and Africa in particular access HIV protective drugs, which historically have hard to come by.
  • South Africa: Operation Dudula Faces Off Against Human Rights Organisations in 'Misguided' Protest
    [GroundUp] Anti-immigration group wants to close down "unpatriotic" organisations
  • Ghana: IMF Disburses $367m to Ghana As Economy Outperforms
    [Daba Finance] TLDR
  • Tanzania: Tanzania Decorates Samia for Outstanding Leadership
    [Daily News] Dodoma -- THE President's Office - Planning and Investment has presented an award of appreciation and commendation to the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, H.E. Samia Suluhu Hassan, in recognition of her outstanding leadership in overseeing the drafting process of the National Development Vision for the period 2025 to 2050.
  • Kenya: Kazi Bila Break! President Ruto to Opponents Over 'Wantam' Remarks
    [Capital FM] Nairobi -- President William Ruto has challenged his competitors to outline their alternative agenda for job creation.
  • Sudan: UN Rights Chief Condemns the Killing of Scores of Civilians in Sudan
    [UN News] The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk has deplored deadly attacks in Sudan's Kordofan region this week, his office said in a statement on Thursday.

Tags

Achebe Africa Anambra Boko Haram Buhari CBN Corona Virus Egypt Igbo IMF Inflation Jonathan Kenya Nigeria Okonjo Iweala Peter Obi Sanusi Senate Soludo South Africa Soyinka United States
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Archives

Footer

Africa Political and Economic Strategic Center, AFRIPOL is foremost a public policy center whose fundamental objective is to broaden the parameters of public policy debates in Africa. To advocate, promote and encourage free enterprise, democracy, sustainable green environment, human rights, conflict resolutions, transparency and probity in Africa.

Recent

  • Chinedu Okeke from Anambra scored 375 the highest in JAMB History is now being accused of being a mercenary
  • Ubo instrument of Igbo land. Listen!
  • IMF: Nigeria needs to recalibrate its budget for lower oil prices
  • Fear is as strong as death: Bishop Dunia on violence in Nigeria
  • Ode to Umuoji ! (nnukwu Obodo) by Emeka Chiakwelu

Search

Tags

Achebe Africa Anambra Boko Haram Buhari CBN Corona Virus Egypt Igbo IMF Inflation Jonathan Kenya Nigeria Okonjo Iweala Peter Obi Sanusi Senate Soludo South Africa Soyinka United States

Copyright © 2025 · AFRIPOL