David Smith (Apartheid era overshadows De Klerk’s peaceful legacy, 11 February) argues that, 25 years after Nelson Mandela’s release, FW de Klerk’s legacy has “never been more fiercely contested”. He refers to “atrocities” supposedly committed on De Klerk’s watch, and alleges that many South Africans have been angered by the recent decision to name a highway after him; he supports all of these contentions with hostile quotes from minor ANC and Cosatu spokesmen.
The truth and reconciliation commission found no evidence implicating De Klerk in atrocities. More than 80% of the people consulted by the city of Cape Town and in a wider online survey favoured the decision to honour him. Some elements in the ANC dislike him, because he and his foundation vigorously oppose the unconstitutional and corrupt behaviour of some ANC leaders. But support for De Klerk that was expressed by such ANC stalwarts as Ahmed Kathrada and former president Kgalema Motlanthe is far more significant – as is Mandela’s 2006 acknowledgment: “Without the courageous foresight of FW de Klerk, we might well have descended into the destructive racial conflagration that all were predicting.”
The new documentary The Other Man, which is positive about De Klerk, Cape Town’s decision to honour him and Lord Renwick’s favourable assessment in his recently published book, Mission to South Africa, all show that there is indeed a reappraisal of De Klerk’s role, but that it is a broadly positive one.
Dave Steward
Executive director, FW de Klerk Foundation
