0:00:37 > 0:00:41BBC NEWS THEME PLAYS
0:00:41 > 0:00:43From prisoner to president.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47Nelson Mandela is elected by South Africa's new parliament.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51CHEERING
0:00:51 > 0:00:55The people of South Africa have spoken in these elections.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58They want change.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01And change is what they will get.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03CHEERING
0:01:11 > 0:01:14THEY PLAY AN UPBEAT TUNE
0:01:26 > 0:01:29They don't seem worried about the future in South Africa.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32But how it goes depends on what they think.
0:01:32 > 0:01:39Maybe they'll be content to accept the government's idea that they're inferior to the white man.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43And they'll be happy to grow up as second class citizens in their own country.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45Or perhaps things will go the other way.
0:01:45 > 0:01:50In a few years' time, there could be a great African revolt and
0:01:50 > 0:01:53those children might be taking part in it. I wonder.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03This is Alexandra township, Johannesburg.
0:02:03 > 0:02:08Even in dingy surroundings like these, I felt the vitality of the Africans.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12And their overwhelming numbers made a tremendous impact on me.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15South Africa may be a white dominion, but it's a black country.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19There are just on 10 million Africans, over 1.25 million people of
0:02:19 > 0:02:25partly African descent, nearly half a million Asiatics, mainly Indian.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29These three groups of non-Europeans outnumber the whites by four to one.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33In some areas in and near the towns, you hardly see a white person at all.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37The whites are very conscious of their numerical inferiority.
0:02:42 > 0:02:43The Europeans made South Africa.
0:02:43 > 0:02:48They feel they ought to have the best place in it. They built towns like Johannesburg.
0:02:48 > 0:02:53Parts of Johannesburg are so modern that they're almost like an American skyscraper town.
0:02:53 > 0:02:5680 years ago, before the gold, there was nothing here at all.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01Now, there is a rich town - sunlit, wide and spacious.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04But at the back of their minds, the Europeans have a fear
0:03:04 > 0:03:07that non-Europeans will somehow crowd them out of it.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11This was explained by the editor of the leading Afrikaner newspaper.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15If we give freedom
0:03:15 > 0:03:18to our colonial peoples,
0:03:18 > 0:03:22inside our own country, and they are a majority,
0:03:22 > 0:03:24we would be swamped.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30And that is our basic dilemma.
0:03:30 > 0:03:35Prime Minister, what is the government trying to do with its policy of apartheid?
0:03:35 > 0:03:38Apartheid, or separation, to use the English equivalent,
0:03:38 > 0:03:42between black and white, has been the policy of both the English
0:03:42 > 0:03:46and Afrikaans speaking people in South Africa for centuries.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49Its object is to regulate life between black and white,
0:03:49 > 0:03:56to eliminate friction between the two groups and to ensure the safety of the white minority.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58Whilst providing scope
0:03:58 > 0:04:02for the development of the Africans in their own territories
0:04:02 > 0:04:05and in separate townships in the white man's area.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08There has always been segregation.
0:04:08 > 0:04:13Africans have to stand and wait for their buses. An empty seat may be a few yards away.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17They cannot sit on it. It's reserved for Europeans at their bus stop.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23Signs of separation are everywhere on public and private buildings.
0:04:23 > 0:04:28Africans must go to their own cinemas and not to Europeans'.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32At this place, Africans must queue to get their passes.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34They must carry them everywhere.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38If the police stop an African and he has forgotten his book of passes, they put him into jail.
0:04:38 > 0:04:43Every African needs passes to work or live near a white town.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46He must have another one if he wants to travel.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49There are many types of permits and some have to be renewed monthly.
0:04:49 > 0:04:54Once out of a reserve, the African lives in a sea of papers.
0:04:54 > 0:05:00Those papers make sure that the African stays in his place - the locations.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13Our policy is one,
0:05:13 > 0:05:17which is called by an Afrikaans word, apartheid.
0:05:17 > 0:05:22And I'm afraid that has been misunderstood so often.
0:05:22 > 0:05:29It could just as easily, and perhaps much better, be described as a policy of good neighbourliness.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33Accepting that there are differences between people.
0:05:33 > 0:05:38And that while these differences exist, and you have to acknowledge them,
0:05:38 > 0:05:45at the same time, you can live together, aid one another,
0:05:45 > 0:05:47but that it can best be done
0:05:47 > 0:05:50when you act as good neighbours always do.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Do you like apartheid?
0:05:53 > 0:05:56I don't like apartheid. In apartheid Europeans go up and
0:05:56 > 0:05:58Africans go down.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00I can't say I agree with everything,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03but I think it's the only policy that's working in Africa.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08I feel everyone's entitled to their own sort of life and their own
0:06:08 > 0:06:10sort of freedom, more or less.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Everyone shouldn't be told what to do and what not to do.
0:06:13 > 0:06:19Do you mean that you would give the non-white majority political rights, votes?
0:06:19 > 0:06:22Well, I feel everyone is equal and entitled to it.
0:06:22 > 0:06:23They are a lower class.
0:06:23 > 0:06:28They work under us, so it is just right that they must be there.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30They've got their hospitals,
0:06:30 > 0:06:33they've got schools, which the government has given.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36Apartheid, to me, means separate development of people with
0:06:36 > 0:06:39different aspirations, with different backgrounds.
0:06:39 > 0:06:44I must reject it absolutely and completely as I try to do in my
0:06:44 > 0:06:47own life and many of my friends and family try to do.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52I honestly feel the that the native would rather live on his own.
0:06:52 > 0:06:58They make very good servants and you get very good natives.
0:06:58 > 0:07:04It's a terribly insulting concept to my personal dignity.
0:07:04 > 0:07:09Stultifying, stagnating and it's restrictive of my development.
0:07:18 > 0:07:23TRANSLATION: They wouldn't let me use their plates and cups.
0:07:23 > 0:07:28I had my own enamel plate and an empty tin can as a cup.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34There was a dog's kennel out at the back and my dishes were put
0:07:36 > 0:07:39next to the dog.
0:07:39 > 0:07:40It was as though I was a dog myself.
0:07:40 > 0:07:47They treated the dog better than a black person.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50As a black, you were the scum of the earth.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53You worked for these people.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56They ate your food. But they despised you.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11Under apartheid, it's intended that shanty towns
0:08:11 > 0:08:14should be demolished and no-one would quarrel with that.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17Thousands of Africans are living in these conditions.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21But removing these fearful slums costs millions. Progress is very slow.
0:08:21 > 0:08:28Extreme nationalist party supporters of the government are against spending too much money on Africans.
0:08:28 > 0:08:311,000 people use those lavatories.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35This is Sophiatown. It doesn't look much, but when Africans are forced
0:08:35 > 0:08:38to leave homes like this, there is often anguish.
0:08:38 > 0:08:44Even though there are greater restrictions and more supervision by whites in the new African areas,
0:08:44 > 0:08:48the new houses for Africans are better and many like it when they have moved.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Do you like it better here than in Sophiatown?
0:08:51 > 0:08:55- Yes, it's better than Sophiatown. - Why is
0:08:55 > 0:08:59- it better here?- It's a nice place. The house was too small.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03As well as Africans, the Group Areas Act will move tens of thousands of coloured people and
0:09:03 > 0:09:08Indians from their present homes, where many of them have lived for generations.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10How many of you have got to move, do you think?
0:09:10 > 0:09:12All of us.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15How long have you lived in your house?
0:09:15 > 0:09:18- 22 years.- Where will you move to?
0:09:18 > 0:09:22- Undecided.- Have any of you got businesses that you have to move?
0:09:22 > 0:09:26- Yes.- I'm in the centre of the city at the present moment and
0:09:26 > 0:09:29my tailoring and outfitting business will have to move.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31Where to, I don't know.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34What do you think is the object of this legislation?
0:09:34 > 0:09:41To dispossess all non-whites and reduce them to the position of non-citizens.
0:09:41 > 0:09:46To divide and to keep the non-Europeans divided.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50You mean even divided among themselves into separate groups?
0:09:50 > 0:09:53- Definitely. - Africans, coloured, Indians.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57- All divided out?- Yes. And the Africans in their various tribes.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01Not all Europeans agree that African and coloured workers can be kept rigorously apart.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05For instance, here's a Labour member of parliament, Mr Leo Lovell.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09Why do you think that the long-term policy of apartheid,
0:10:09 > 0:10:13the complete territorial separation of the races can't work?
0:10:13 > 0:10:16To answer that question, you must understand that
0:10:16 > 0:10:18the economy of South Africa
0:10:18 > 0:10:21is based upon African labour.
0:10:21 > 0:10:26In 1910, there were only half a million Africans in the
0:10:26 > 0:10:30towns of South Africa, which are popularly called the white areas.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32Today there are nearly 3 million,
0:10:32 > 0:10:37constituting about a third of the total African population.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40If you were to separate the races out,
0:10:40 > 0:10:45into separate areas, you would destroy the economy of South Africa.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47What about the short-term policy?
0:10:47 > 0:10:51The short-term policy is really a policy of white supremacy.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54And a policy of white supremacy means that the denial of
0:10:54 > 0:10:58all civil and human rights to the Africans in the white areas.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00I don't need to answer that question.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02Everybody knows it can't work.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14AFRICANS SING
0:11:21 > 0:11:25In the heart of Johannesburg, places like Sophiatown, which for years
0:11:25 > 0:11:30have been a threat to the the public health and safety, were tackled with a vigour and energy.
0:11:30 > 0:11:35It was alleged that Bantu were dissatisfied and would refuse to move.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37In fact, they were happy to get away from
0:11:37 > 0:11:42these plague spots, where they had been obliged to live in thousands.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49AFRICANS SING
0:11:56 > 0:11:59TRANSLATION: We sang this song to let them know we didn't want to move.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03We all stood together before we got into the trucks.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09The Boers surrounded us. They were armed.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16We said, "We don't want to go to Meadowlands.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19"We want to stay here in Sophiatown."
0:12:19 > 0:12:22But they forced us into the trucks at gunpoint.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24There was no choice.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31Lorries transport the rejoicing Bantu, whose hearts are filled with happy expectations.
0:12:31 > 0:12:37They're on their way to a new home, Meadowlands, where one can breathe freely.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42I was shocked because there was nothing.
0:12:42 > 0:12:47There were no cinemas, no proper shops, no cafes,
0:12:47 > 0:12:49no playgrounds for children.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52No recreational opportunities.
0:12:52 > 0:12:58And I just, every night I saw these thousands of black people streaming
0:12:58 > 0:13:03into the township and in the morning they streamed out again.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06So it was actually only a slave camp, you can call it.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18In Johannesburg, premier city of South Africa, there was staged
0:13:18 > 0:13:23last weekend the first move in a campaign that may lead to civil disobedience.
0:13:23 > 0:13:29Thousands of coloured people went to attend a protest meeting called by the African National Congress.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32This is the most important African organisation in the union.
0:13:32 > 0:13:37And it called on all coloured people to protest against the racial segregation laws.
0:13:37 > 0:13:42What some of these laws involve is illustrated by our cameraman, Charles de Jaeger.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46He reports that a coloured man must always carry these passes.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48One pass permits him to reside in Johannesburg.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52Another, renewable monthly, permits him to seek work.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56If he is found without either, he is fined £1.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59All those who wanted to attend the Johannesburg meeting
0:13:59 > 0:14:06had to carry a special pass, calling on the police to admit people like Native Johnson.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10Despite these restrictions, which have been in existence for some time,
0:14:10 > 0:14:13a crowd of some thousands made their way to the meeting.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17According to the organisers, they numbered between 10 and 15,000.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20According to the police, there were only 4,000,
0:14:20 > 0:14:24but whatever their number, they made up a very orderly crowd.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28Several speakers addressed them and each speech was translated from Bantu into English.
0:14:28 > 0:14:33In the chair was Dr Dadu, the president of the South African Indian Congress.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41Each speaker urged his audience to take a solemn oath that they would muster all
0:14:41 > 0:14:45their forces to end the crushing conditions under which they lived.
0:14:45 > 0:14:52In conclusion, each speaker appealed to all coloured people to keep calm in this hour of crisis.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Since then, the Congress leaders have announced that
0:14:58 > 0:15:03they will decide later this month whether to launch a civil disobedience campaign.
0:15:03 > 0:15:08This would urge all coloured people to break the unjust laws and to court arrest.
0:15:26 > 0:15:32It now became necessary to open a new chapter
0:15:32 > 0:15:38and that new chapter was for us to go to the highways,
0:15:38 > 0:15:41to mobilise more support.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45That support would not be mobilised simple
0:15:45 > 0:15:51by going into the townships and to the locations and calling meetings.
0:15:51 > 0:15:57It had to be mobilised through some form of political action.
0:15:57 > 0:16:03And we therefore advocated the idea of
0:16:03 > 0:16:07industrial strikes, boycotts and so on.
0:16:08 > 0:16:13And later, after we felt we had now
0:16:13 > 0:16:16quite a solid support amongst the masses,
0:16:16 > 0:16:23we then decided to select six laws which we felt were most oppressive.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25We would defy these laws and
0:16:25 > 0:16:29deliberately court jail
0:16:29 > 0:16:32and not pay fines,
0:16:32 > 0:16:39in order to focus attention on the repressive policies of the government.
0:16:39 > 0:16:46So we then got our chaps, got volunteers, trained them,
0:16:46 > 0:16:53pointed out that we want only people who believe in non-violence.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57We don't want anything to be done, which would
0:16:57 > 0:17:03give an excuse to the police to drown the muscles of people in blood.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15This book was the only book,
0:17:15 > 0:17:21which involved the life of a black person in South Africa.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25If you haven't got this book, you are nothing.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27It controlled the life of everybody.
0:17:27 > 0:17:34It controlled your work, it controlled your movement,
0:17:34 > 0:17:38it controlled your life as a whole. Without this book, you were nothing.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44It was a re-enactment of Nazi Germany.
0:17:44 > 0:17:49Except that the Nazis gave their Jews
0:17:49 > 0:17:54yellow stars to wear, so that they could be identifiable.
0:17:54 > 0:17:59In South Africa, you did not have to wear a yellow star but your skin,
0:17:59 > 0:18:02that was your yellow star.
0:18:02 > 0:18:07The skin, because you were black, it meant you had no right to be anywhere.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09So the pass laws reinforced that.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13They were a form of enslavement.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17You could not get a house unless you had a pass.
0:18:17 > 0:18:22You could not register your children for school unless you had a pass.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26You could not get a job unless you had a pass.
0:18:26 > 0:18:32You could not travel from one area to another unless you had a pass.
0:18:32 > 0:18:37It was the most humiliating type of document.
0:18:37 > 0:18:42You're walking in the street nicely, with your girlfriend, with your wife.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45Police comes.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47"Kaffir. Pass your pass."
0:18:47 > 0:18:50You were humiliated at once.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54TRANSLATION: There was a meeting to which we were all called
0:18:54 > 0:18:58to discuss these pass books.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02Chief Luthuli said they must be burned because we don't want these pass books.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06"The whites don't carry them so why should we always have to?
0:19:06 > 0:19:10"We should be like the Boers, white people, and not carry passes."
0:19:25 > 0:19:30The plan in general was that in all of the big cities of the country,
0:19:30 > 0:19:36people would then leave their passes at home and march to the local
0:19:36 > 0:19:40police stations, police stations where they were living at the time.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42Hand themselves over
0:19:44 > 0:19:50to be arrested by the police in the police stations, with the words, "We haven't got passes.
0:19:50 > 0:19:56"We've left them at home. Arrest us, because we have broken one of your laws.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59"What we are going to do, we are not going to have any bail.
0:19:59 > 0:20:04"We are not going to have any legal representation, and we are not going to pay any fine."
0:20:04 > 0:20:07We went down to the pass office.
0:20:07 > 0:20:12As we stood there, everybody was pouring in from the township, children, women, kids, you know.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16We were singing a song of Africa. Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
0:20:16 > 0:20:21Singing, singing, waiting for the reply, people dancing, enjoying.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23They were all happy, these people.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27THEY SING
0:20:39 > 0:20:41- TRANSLATION:- The police were outside
0:20:41 > 0:20:44when Captain Pienaar raised his baton.
0:20:46 > 0:20:52Some men were standing next to their armoured cars, then they got in and closed the hatches.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55There was another line of police in front of the armoured cars.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57They had their rifles at the ready.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59He dropped his baton and they shot us.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21After quite a while, everything was quiet.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23I pick up my hat
0:21:23 > 0:21:28and I look around, I look around and find everything is quiet.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31I find everybody, the bodies are laying down dead.
0:21:34 > 0:21:35My uncle died there,
0:21:35 > 0:21:37my younger brother,
0:21:37 > 0:21:39and my sister.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43Those are the people who died there.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46I've lost people that I loved and people that I needed.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50Sometimes, I sit down, I find my things are not going right and safe.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54My mother was here. My uncle was here. Then things would have went right.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58I saw a policeman taking
0:21:58 > 0:22:03his rifle butt to a woman, well, to several women, who were
0:22:03 > 0:22:06trying to retrieve the bodies of their, it would seem,
0:22:06 > 0:22:11friends or daughters or someone close to them.
0:22:11 > 0:22:18They weren't shot down but they were rifle-butted, so to speak, and kicked and booted.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22We may not have seen that the number of people who would be killed and injured and
0:22:22 > 0:22:30the way in which the event occurred, but it was always something in our contemplation,
0:22:30 > 0:22:37because that is how the government has always responded to our demands and
0:22:37 > 0:22:39our grievances,
0:22:39 > 0:22:41by being
0:22:41 > 0:22:43openly brutal,
0:22:43 > 0:22:49and responding purely by brutal suppression of our demands.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53It could have been a number of other places.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55It happened to be Sharpeville.
0:22:55 > 0:23:02The conditions that existed in Sharpeville existed in various parts of the country.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05I felt very, very bitter.
0:23:05 > 0:23:11Because I supposed to wait for myself to make a better living.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13Today I can do nothing.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15I can do nothing for myself.
0:23:15 > 0:23:22TRANSLATION: After I got hurt, I could not walk properly.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26I had to crawl like a baby if I wanted to move around.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30Because I only recently got these crutches.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35It was a peaceful march.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38And we were killed.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40From that day, we said,
0:23:40 > 0:23:48"As from now, we'll never again go marching peacefully to these institutions."
0:23:54 > 0:24:00From time to time in history, the name of an insignificant place
0:24:00 > 0:24:05burns itself into the memory of mankind simply because of something that happened there.
0:24:05 > 0:24:12Places like Guernica and Belsen and Little Rock.
0:24:12 > 0:24:19And today there may well be another - Sharpeville, near Johannesburg in South Africa.
0:24:19 > 0:24:24More than 60 Africans, including women and children, were killed
0:24:24 > 0:24:32and more than 170 were injured a week ago today, when the police opened fire on a crowd estimated at 20,000,
0:24:32 > 0:24:35which had surrounded Sharpeville Police Station.
0:24:35 > 0:24:40The shootings happened during a demonstration against the so-called pass laws.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43The hospitals of Sharpeville are still dealing with the injured.
0:24:43 > 0:24:49Already, the United States government has officially regretted what it called "a tragic loss of life."
0:24:49 > 0:24:53And this week, the Security Council will discuss the shootings.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56Meanwhile, the South African government
0:24:56 > 0:25:01has suspended the pass laws and has banned all political meetings.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03He's Robin Day.
0:25:04 > 0:25:09As the protests about the Sharpeville bloodshed grew,
0:25:09 > 0:25:12I discussed two questions with South Africans in London.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16Has the incident last week, and others like it,
0:25:16 > 0:25:22made you doubt whether the apartheid policies are wise and sensible?
0:25:22 > 0:25:25- Not in the least.- Could I ask...?
0:25:25 > 0:25:29I think it's quite clear from the fact that they're trying to...
0:25:29 > 0:25:32Rather than solve the basic problems, they're trying to
0:25:32 > 0:25:39keep down, by force, the people who have legitimate aspirations and therefore they have these
0:25:39 > 0:25:42ruptures, like the riots.
0:25:42 > 0:25:47We're keeping them down by force at the present stage, as a result...
0:25:47 > 0:25:51If this is an indication of keeping them down by force,
0:25:51 > 0:25:58this was purely an uprising, as a result of one specific thing, which was passes.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01Some people have seemed to think that the police
0:26:01 > 0:26:04shot down innocent demonstrators.
0:26:04 > 0:26:10Well, I mean, everyone who's seen a crowd of natives or Africans in
0:26:10 > 0:26:13South Africa peacefully, will never forget it.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15It's an unforgettable sight, I can assure you.
0:26:15 > 0:26:20Can I put to you this argument, which is heard so often in this country, that the violence
0:26:20 > 0:26:28which occurs is due to the suppression of the natural rights of the African majority?
0:26:28 > 0:26:34I think that point is completely incorrect, because people that know the history of South Africa
0:26:34 > 0:26:41will realise there was more violence in South Africa amongst the blacks, in which marauding impies
0:26:41 > 0:26:49went and murdered and plundered entire tribes and killed them outright, before the whites arrived.
0:26:49 > 0:26:55That, of course, is perfectly true, but this riot in Sharpville is the first official riot against...
0:26:55 > 0:27:00specifically against government policy, which we have ever had in the union.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04The essential tragedy of South Africa, and it is a tragic situation, is, effectively, you
0:27:04 > 0:27:08have a modern 20th century culture impinging on what is virtually
0:27:08 > 0:27:14a stone-age one, and obviously from that you're going to get bloodshed, misery and a lot of unhappiness.
0:27:19 > 0:27:24It is in this huge industrial centre that
0:27:24 > 0:27:28the most significant developments of the last few days have taken place,
0:27:28 > 0:27:33the open and mounting concern of South Africa's businessmen.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37It's been reported that some of them have been to see Dr Verwoerd
0:27:37 > 0:27:39to demand changes in policy.
0:27:39 > 0:27:44Here is Mr George Palmer of the Johannesburg Financial Mail,
0:27:44 > 0:27:49who is an economist and an adviser to Johannesburg businessmen.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53What is the feeling among South African businessmen about the crisis?
0:27:53 > 0:27:57It is absolutely essential to the future of South African industry for
0:27:57 > 0:28:01there to be a contented, industrial, African labour force.
0:28:01 > 0:28:06Without that, industry cannot develop at the pace which it must if
0:28:06 > 0:28:12sufficient employment opportunities are to be given to the country's growing labour force.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16Without that, there can be no fundamental attack
0:28:16 > 0:28:24on the poverty of the African in the towns, which is one of the main causes of the present discontent.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27What pressure can be put upon the government?
0:28:27 > 0:28:33Well, the government has, in the past, taken great heed of the views of commerce
0:28:33 > 0:28:38and industry because it realises that commerce and industry provide
0:28:38 > 0:28:43the wealth and the prosperity to the country without which no government can continue long in power.
0:28:43 > 0:28:48And here is one of Johannesburg's leading businessmen, Mr Colin Corbett,
0:28:48 > 0:28:53who's a former president of the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56What would be the most important change businessmen want to see?
0:28:56 > 0:29:03I would say that this question of consultation is absolutely pre-eminent.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07- With the African? - With the African directly.
0:29:07 > 0:29:15And out of that must come the various things that they most want to see redressed.
0:29:15 > 0:29:20I feel particularly that the very strict control of the pass laws
0:29:20 > 0:29:28is unfortunate and it has lead, in my view, to a steadily deteriorating relationship in the past two years.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31Would you like to see some of the more responsible
0:29:31 > 0:29:36African political leaders allowed to be free and to consult with the government?
0:29:36 > 0:29:41That is undoubted, because although our knowledge of them
0:29:41 > 0:29:49is not as precise as it might be, we have the feeling that a man, for instance, like Luthuli,
0:29:49 > 0:29:54is a man of sterling character and undoubted moral integrity.
0:29:54 > 0:30:01But if you are going to consult more with the Africans, and if you want to release men like Luthuli,
0:30:01 > 0:30:03the African leader, doesn't that mean that
0:30:03 > 0:30:08you are moving inevitably towards some sort of multi-racial state?
0:30:08 > 0:30:14That's a natural question and must have a natural answer, and the answer is yes,
0:30:14 > 0:30:17that there must be, and nobody is going to stop it.
0:30:17 > 0:30:23Nobody, that is, at present or in the future, can stop the development
0:30:23 > 0:30:29of these people who are with us in a closely knit multi-racial society.
0:30:35 > 0:30:41On May 31st, the government of Dr Verwoerd will celebrate Republic Day,
0:30:41 > 0:30:49a day that will be marked for ever as the day on which South Africa left the Commonwealth after 51 years.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53Now, what do the people of South Africa think about Dr Verwoerd's
0:30:53 > 0:30:56decision to make their future outside the Commonwealth?
0:30:56 > 0:30:59We as British speaking people don't like it.
0:30:59 > 0:31:03We didn't want it, but now that it's happened, we've got to make the best of it.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07Do you feel that having been rejected by so many hundreds of millions of
0:31:07 > 0:31:11people in the Commonwealth indicates that you in some way failed?
0:31:11 > 0:31:15I don't agree that we were rejected by hundreds of people.
0:31:15 > 0:31:18We were rejected by a few people who were representing
0:31:18 > 0:31:20hundreds of people in the Commonwealth.
0:31:20 > 0:31:26Do you as an Afrikaner feel that you can pursue apartheid now, surrounded by hostile African states?
0:31:26 > 0:31:29The hostility is towards what they regard as suppression.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33If we can prove to the world that it is not suppression but a desire to
0:31:33 > 0:31:37let the non-Europeans develop, then the hostility will stop.
0:31:37 > 0:31:40As a non-white here,
0:31:40 > 0:31:46we are conscious that there must be some kind of pressure put on the rulers of this country
0:31:46 > 0:31:49to bring about a change in our political status.
0:31:49 > 0:31:57While in the Commonwealth, we were protected, to a certain extent, from world criticism.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00The criticism of the world was cushioned, in a certain way,
0:32:00 > 0:32:03by England and Australia and friendly countries.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05Now we're alone.
0:32:05 > 0:32:07Now all this criticism has been borne in upon us
0:32:07 > 0:32:13with the utmost vigour and emphasis, and I think leaving the Commonwealth has had that effect,
0:32:13 > 0:32:17and made us realise exactly where we stand.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26Two days before South Africa became a republic,
0:32:26 > 0:32:29a stayaway strike was organised throughout the country in protest.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32But most Africans went to work.
0:32:32 > 0:32:3510,000 of them were arrested before the strike began.
0:32:35 > 0:32:40The army was fully mobilised, and an African knows he can be jailed for three years if he dares to strike.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48I went to see the man who organised the stayaway,
0:32:48 > 0:32:54a 42-year-old African lawyer, Nelson Mandela, the most dynamic leader in South Africa today.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00The police were hunting for him at the time, but
0:33:00 > 0:33:03African nationalists had arranged for me to meet him at his hideout.
0:33:03 > 0:33:05He is still underground.
0:33:05 > 0:33:09This is Mandela's first television interview.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12I asked him what it was that the African really wanted.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15The Africans require,
0:33:15 > 0:33:17want,
0:33:17 > 0:33:21the franchise on the basis of one-man, one-vote.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24They want political independence.
0:33:24 > 0:33:31Do you see Africans being able to develop in this country without the European being pushed out?
0:33:31 > 0:33:35We have made it very clear in our policy
0:33:35 > 0:33:39that South Africa is a country of many races.
0:33:39 > 0:33:43There is room for all the various races in this country.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46Are there many educated Africans in South Africa?
0:33:46 > 0:33:48Yes.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52We have a large number of Africans who are educated
0:33:52 > 0:33:56and are taking part in the political struggles of the African.
0:33:56 > 0:34:01The question of education has nothing to do with the question of the vote.
0:34:01 > 0:34:06You don't have to have education in order to know that you want
0:34:06 > 0:34:10certain fundamental rights, you have got aspirations and claims.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12It has nothing to do with education.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15Are you planning any more campaigns of non-cooperation?
0:34:15 > 0:34:17Yes.
0:34:17 > 0:34:24The Pietermaritzburg resolution makes provision for a campaign of non-cooperation with the government,
0:34:24 > 0:34:30and we are presently starting plans to implement this aspect of the resolution.
0:34:30 > 0:34:33If Dr Verwoerd's government doesn't give you
0:34:33 > 0:34:39the kind of concessions you want some time soon, is there any likelihood of violence?
0:34:39 > 0:34:46There are many people who feel that the reaction of the government to our stay at home -
0:34:48 > 0:34:55ordering of a general mobilisation, arming the white community, arresting ten thousands of Africans,
0:34:55 > 0:34:59the show of force throughout the country,
0:34:59 > 0:35:02not withstanding our clear declaration
0:35:02 > 0:35:07that this campaign is being run on peaceful and non-violent lines -
0:35:07 > 0:35:11closed the chapter as far as our methods of political struggle are concerned.
0:35:11 > 0:35:16There are many people who feel that it is useless and futile for us
0:35:16 > 0:35:24to continue talking peace and non-violence against a Government whose reply is only savage attacks
0:35:24 > 0:35:27on an unarmed and defenceless people.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30I think the time has come for us to consider,
0:35:30 > 0:35:35in the light of our experiences in the stay at home,
0:35:35 > 0:35:38whether the methods which we have applied so far are adequate.
0:35:44 > 0:35:49There have been growing protests from all over the world today, and
0:35:49 > 0:35:52particularly in the United Nations and in Parliament
0:35:52 > 0:35:58at the sentence of life imprisonment passed in South Africa on Friday on this man, Nelson Mandela.
0:35:58 > 0:36:05Mandela, who is a lawyer, is an African national leader in South Africa.
0:36:05 > 0:36:12He and seven fellow prisoners accused, with him, of sabotage were all
0:36:12 > 0:36:18condemned to life imprisonment after a trial that lasted eight months.
0:36:18 > 0:36:23Robin Day, who had gone to South Africa to see the republic's reaction to growing pressure from the world
0:36:23 > 0:36:29outside over its policy of apartheid, and in particular the threat of economic sanctions,
0:36:29 > 0:36:33was in court in Pretoria during the last two days of the trial.
0:36:37 > 0:36:42CROWD CHANT
0:36:44 > 0:36:46HE SHOUTS
0:36:49 > 0:36:54A remarkable demonstration by a crowd of several hundred outside the courthouse in Pretoria,
0:36:54 > 0:36:58the courthouse in which Mr Justice de Wet delivered sentence
0:36:58 > 0:37:01in the sabotage trial, which had lasted 86 days.
0:37:01 > 0:37:05Nelson Mandela, whose wife you just saw, leader and
0:37:05 > 0:37:12founder of the sabotage movement and a leading member of African National Congress, was accused
0:37:12 > 0:37:17with the others of plotting sabotage to overthrow the South African government by force and revolution.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21The verdict of guilty on eight of the nine accused was
0:37:21 > 0:37:26not altogether surprising, because Nelson Mandela himself and others had admitted guilt on certain charges.
0:37:26 > 0:37:33Mandela had declared in court "I planned sabotage because all lawful methods of opposition were closed.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37"I have cherished the ideal of democratic society with equal opportunity for all.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40"That is an ideal," he said, "for which am prepared to die."
0:37:40 > 0:37:44The next day, armed police massed in even greater force as
0:37:44 > 0:37:49Mr Justice de Wet was passing sentence, his words recorded for the government radio.
0:37:49 > 0:37:54RADIO: 'The crime of which the accused have been convicted, that is
0:37:54 > 0:37:59'the main crime, the crime of conspiracy, is in essence one of high treason.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02'The state has decided not to charge
0:38:02 > 0:38:05'the crime in this form.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09'Bearing this in mind and giving the matter very serious consideration,
0:38:09 > 0:38:14'I have decided not to impose the supreme penalty,
0:38:14 > 0:38:19'which in a case like this would usually be the probability for the crime.'
0:38:19 > 0:38:22What has been the result of this trial?
0:38:22 > 0:38:25The South African government has crushed a plot to overthrow
0:38:25 > 0:38:31the South African government by sabotage and revolution, with communist assistance.
0:38:31 > 0:38:35But the supreme question still faces the South African people.
0:38:35 > 0:38:40If the black inhabitants of South Africa are not allowed a share in their government, will not
0:38:40 > 0:38:46leaders arise who are bound to see no alternative but violence and alliance with communists?
0:38:48 > 0:38:52At the back entrance to the Pretoria court, large crowds gather to watch
0:38:52 > 0:38:57the accused being driven away to start their life sentences.
0:38:58 > 0:39:02CROWD SINGS
0:39:02 > 0:39:06And outside the Pretoria court, Nelson Mandela's wife
0:39:06 > 0:39:10stood with the crowd around her singing the African freedom song.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13After the sentences had been passed, I spoke to her alone.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17Well, I am slightly relieved. It could have been far worse than this.
0:39:17 > 0:39:23In fact, my people and I expected death sentences for all the accused.
0:39:23 > 0:39:31Could you explain to us in your words what it is that your husband has been aiming at and what he has been doing?
0:39:31 > 0:39:35My husband has been fighting for the liberation of the African people,
0:39:35 > 0:39:40for the working harmoniously of all the racial groups in this country.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50We admit that we did many of the things that you accuse us of
0:39:50 > 0:39:53but we should not be in the dock.
0:39:53 > 0:40:00We were forced to do the things which are contraventions of your laws because we had no option.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03I said to our chaps
0:40:03 > 0:40:06"We are going to die in any case.
0:40:06 > 0:40:10"Let's disappear under a cloud of glory.
0:40:10 > 0:40:15"Let's show them that you can use their platform to fight them".
0:40:15 > 0:40:17The idea
0:40:17 > 0:40:23of a democratic and free society, it is an ideal for which I hope to live
0:40:25 > 0:40:27for and to see realised.
0:40:29 > 0:40:31But my Lord,
0:40:31 > 0:40:34if it needs be, it is an ideal
0:40:36 > 0:40:39for which I am prepared to die.
0:40:40 > 0:40:45Right up to the time when the judge said, "Stand up for your sentence"
0:40:45 > 0:40:50on 12th June 1964, we expected the death sentence.
0:40:54 > 0:41:00So there was a collective sigh of relief when he said, "Life imprisonment, with hard labour."
0:41:00 > 0:41:03The vast majority of the white people expected the death sentence
0:41:03 > 0:41:07to be imposed, and they were disappointed that it was not.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10What was their view of Mandela then?
0:41:10 > 0:41:11He was a terrorist.
0:41:14 > 0:41:18If you asked ten white people,
0:41:18 > 0:41:22what was Mandela's occupation,
0:41:22 > 0:41:25nine would not have known that he was an attorney.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30He was just a black terrorist.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38Everyone here is breaking the law.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40It's a secret African school.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43Africans may now be taught only in state schools.
0:41:43 > 0:41:45There, the teaching is in native languages.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49Africans think this is done to keep them inferior.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52They say it's no good learning arithmetic in a native tongue.
0:41:52 > 0:41:57To get round the law and use English, they're pretending that this is a club.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00All these games are really mathematic classes.
0:42:00 > 0:42:01INAUDIBLE
0:42:05 > 0:42:09Children learn to add in English by keeping the score playing marbles.
0:42:09 > 0:42:13Even so, the headmaster and one teacher have been arrested,
0:42:13 > 0:42:17but the secret schools will go on because Africans have a desire for progress.
0:42:17 > 0:42:23They know they can only get it by learning the techniques of the Western world.
0:42:23 > 0:42:27All the other information about the outside world was extracted
0:42:27 > 0:42:30like a tooth out of our education system.
0:42:30 > 0:42:36What was left was the skewed sense of an education,
0:42:36 > 0:42:39which prepared us to be good servants, and nothing else.
0:42:39 > 0:42:41What is it?
0:42:41 > 0:42:45It is a piece of soap.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48- All together? ALL:- It is a piece of soap.
0:42:48 > 0:42:54You say "I want to be a teacher, I want to be a lawyer, I want to be a doctor, I want to be an architect."
0:42:54 > 0:42:59Your parents would say, "Those are dreams for white children"."
0:43:06 > 0:43:10MAN SPEAKS AFRIKAANS
0:43:12 > 0:43:18Afrikaans was difficult as a subject, so we couldn't imagine having to do subjects
0:43:18 > 0:43:24like history and mathematics and all what have you.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28So we had to indicate that we don't want Afrikaans.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31Initially, our aim was not to destroy.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34The aim was a peaceful demonstration.
0:43:35 > 0:43:37THEY SING
0:43:42 > 0:43:46Suddenly, a tear gas went off.
0:43:46 > 0:43:49We didn't understand what was tear gas.
0:43:49 > 0:43:51As we were retreating, trying to resist,
0:43:51 > 0:43:55tempers flared and we started throwing stones to the police.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05And the children were around there and running away, running this way.
0:44:05 > 0:44:10And all these mothers, they would stand outside here and cry
0:44:10 > 0:44:12"Stop, stop shooting our children!
0:44:12 > 0:44:14"Stop shooting our children!"
0:44:14 > 0:44:16The children were running over here and
0:44:16 > 0:44:20coming to our houses and hiding themselves.
0:44:20 > 0:44:23THEY SHOUT
0:44:30 > 0:44:38We went on burning property, everything that was owned by whites in the township.
0:44:38 > 0:44:42Post office, municipality office, it was just a target, because it was
0:44:42 > 0:44:45the government's things, so we had to destroy all those.
0:44:45 > 0:44:49We went to those shopping centres which were on fire, and we were looting.
0:44:49 > 0:44:54To us, we were taking what belonged to the white men, what belonged
0:44:54 > 0:44:56to the system.
0:45:06 > 0:45:08GUNFIRE
0:45:08 > 0:45:10SIRENS WAIL
0:45:10 > 0:45:13GUNFIRE
0:45:26 > 0:45:32I think police pressure is only successful now in containing
0:45:32 > 0:45:37black consciousness, but not in killing it.
0:45:37 > 0:45:45You cannot compare the results of police action in 1963 and '64 to the results now.
0:45:45 > 0:45:49In '63 and '64, they managed, for instance, to eliminate all
0:45:49 > 0:45:56political discussion even when black people were alone, purely by
0:45:56 > 0:46:04their security spies, who were everywhere amongst black people, and because of the resultant
0:46:04 > 0:46:11problems if you were caught talking politics, criticising the Government and eventually arrested.
0:46:11 > 0:46:18But now the numbers are so much, so much more than that time, that it would take something like
0:46:18 > 0:46:2520 times the present police force to completely obliterate political activity amongst blacks.
0:46:25 > 0:46:28And blacks are speaking with a new pride now.
0:46:28 > 0:46:33The kind of unrest situation which was prevalent in this country
0:46:33 > 0:46:40last year is only possible because nowadays, we have a breed of young people
0:46:40 > 0:46:47who couldn't be bothered or be scared at the prospect of being shot at by police.
0:46:47 > 0:46:51They have something that they detest, and they detest this with pride.
0:46:51 > 0:46:56Now with the numerous deaths that we have suffered in
0:46:56 > 0:47:00Soweto and the many black townships where people were killed,
0:47:00 > 0:47:03we find a new
0:47:03 > 0:47:06kind of empathy, because these are parents.
0:47:06 > 0:47:11They have got their kids being killed. And like parents, they are also angry.
0:47:11 > 0:47:17Now, the comrades of the young ones feel, "We cannot lose our brothers and sisters for nothing."
0:47:17 > 0:47:21The parents feel, "We cannot lose our sons and daughters for nothing."
0:47:21 > 0:47:26So there is a kind of common rallying point now between the young and old.
0:47:32 > 0:47:36THEY CHANT
0:47:36 > 0:47:40Millions of blacks inside South Africa are convinced
0:47:40 > 0:47:42that the revolution will come,
0:47:42 > 0:47:48that they are now writing the epitaph on white South Africa's grave.
0:47:48 > 0:47:52That 4 million whites cannot for ever rule 20 million blacks.
0:47:54 > 0:48:00That one day, the land of South Africa will be theirs, stained with their blood if needs be.
0:48:00 > 0:48:05We are fighting for power in the country.
0:48:05 > 0:48:08We have a just cause on our side.
0:48:08 > 0:48:10It IS our country.
0:48:10 > 0:48:14We are settled here. It's our land.
0:48:14 > 0:48:18We fought for it, we've worked for it, this is ours.
0:48:18 > 0:48:20These sons of farmers are professional men.
0:48:20 > 0:48:25Artisans and technicians have left their tractors, desks and machines
0:48:25 > 0:48:28to man the mechanised power of South Africa's defence force.
0:48:31 > 0:48:38Whatever the cost, white South Africa will give its blood as unsparingly as those who seek to destroy it.
0:48:38 > 0:48:40THEY SING
0:48:40 > 0:48:44The South African security forces believe there are at least 4,000 guerrillas
0:48:44 > 0:48:50under training in camps in Mozambique, Angola and other frontline states.
0:48:50 > 0:48:53The guerrillas' song is about 1976, about June 16th.
0:48:53 > 0:48:58These young guerrillas here are outside the borders of South Africa.
0:48:58 > 0:49:03We cannot identify the location, and we cannot show who they are for reasons of security.
0:49:03 > 0:49:07All we can say is that many of these young people left Soweto five years ago
0:49:07 > 0:49:11in the aftermath of the riots of June 1976.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14What makes you think you can defeat
0:49:14 > 0:49:18the most powerful army in Africa?
0:49:32 > 0:49:35But the Americans weren't defending their own country.
0:49:35 > 0:49:37White South Africa is.
0:49:48 > 0:49:53THEY SING
0:49:53 > 0:49:59The guerrillas sing of the man they regard as their leader, the jailed nationalist Nelson Mandela.
0:49:59 > 0:50:03"Show us the way to victory," say the words. "Freedom is in your hands."
0:50:05 > 0:50:07Nelson Mandela was the first commander-in-chief
0:50:07 > 0:50:11of the ANC's guerrilla army when it was founded 20 years ago.
0:50:11 > 0:50:15That's why he's spent the past 19 years in a South African jail.
0:50:17 > 0:50:22Our people, the African majority, have become convinced and have realised
0:50:22 > 0:50:25out of their own bitter experience that they will have to reply the gun
0:50:25 > 0:50:33by the gun and that the thousands of young people who were murdered in June 1976 shall surely be avenged.
0:50:37 > 0:50:44Well planned acts of sabotage have convinced white South Africa that the words are more than mere bravado.
0:50:44 > 0:50:47Since 1976, the guerrilla campaign has escalated.
0:50:47 > 0:50:53In 1977, there were 11 reported attacks, mostly of the bombing of railway lines.
0:50:53 > 0:50:58The first of the exiles were returning to South Africa, now fully-trained guerrillas.
0:50:58 > 0:51:03In 1978, the pattern continued with 15 further bombings and shootings.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06The police believe the guerrillas were now engaged
0:51:06 > 0:51:10in detailed reconnaissance and establishing cells and arms caches.
0:51:10 > 0:51:14In 1979, the attacks became more sophisticated.
0:51:14 > 0:51:19In May, three guerrillas hit a police station in Soweto with hand grenades and guns.
0:51:19 > 0:51:20One policeman was killed.
0:51:20 > 0:51:24The attacks on police stations marked a new stage in the campaign.
0:51:24 > 0:51:26More were to follow.
0:51:26 > 0:51:34In April 1980, the ANC rocketed a police station in a white area of Johannesburg using a Russian RPG-7.
0:51:34 > 0:51:39But above all, it was the simultaneous attacks on two Sasol refineries
0:51:39 > 0:51:47150 miles apart in June last year that convinced most whites that the ANC guerrillas were a real threat.
0:51:47 > 0:51:53Russian limpet mines sent the refineries sky high, the damage running to millions of pounds.
0:51:53 > 0:51:57Most recently, a fortnight ago, during the Republic Day celebrations,
0:51:57 > 0:52:02the ANC blew up the main Johannesburg to Soweto railway line.
0:52:02 > 0:52:07They also bombed an army recruiting office in Durban, where the main celebrations were being held.
0:52:07 > 0:52:11In all over the last four years, there have been 62 officially
0:52:11 > 0:52:14reported acts of sabotage in South Africa.
0:52:21 > 0:52:25When you were released from jail three years ago, people thought that
0:52:25 > 0:52:29black majority was going to take over government in this country.
0:52:29 > 0:52:33It now seems that you're planning to share power after three years with the whites.
0:52:33 > 0:52:35Why are you doing that?
0:52:35 > 0:52:40Well, the process has always been our idea.
0:52:40 > 0:52:44We have never thought of
0:52:44 > 0:52:48anything romantic in taking over power.
0:52:50 > 0:52:57We have to phase our assumption of power in accordance with the conditions of,
0:52:57 > 0:53:00the concrete conditions in our country.
0:53:00 > 0:53:05But why can't you, as the majority, simply say, "Your time, the creators
0:53:05 > 0:53:08"of apartheid, is over, and we're coming in?"
0:53:08 > 0:53:15If we had achieved a military victory in the battlefield, that was possible.
0:53:15 > 0:53:22But once you negotiate, you need a different standard altogether.
0:53:22 > 0:53:26The problem that is facing us here is not so much
0:53:26 > 0:53:28winning a general election.
0:53:28 > 0:53:31We are confident we will win.
0:53:31 > 0:53:37But the problem that faces us is to retain political power and
0:53:37 > 0:53:38defend it.
0:53:38 > 0:53:44And the concept of a government of national unity
0:53:44 > 0:53:50is based on the fact that to take over,
0:53:50 > 0:53:52to assume political power, is going to be
0:53:52 > 0:53:58a protracted process, because it means
0:53:58 > 0:54:03we have to gain control of the civil service,
0:54:03 > 0:54:05of the army,
0:54:05 > 0:54:09of the police force, the co-operation of business.
0:54:09 > 0:54:16These three services were built up in order to defend apartheid.
0:54:16 > 0:54:18White minority rule.
0:54:18 > 0:54:22And if we are going to retain power,
0:54:22 > 0:54:30we have to gain control of these three services, which cannot be done overnight.
0:54:38 > 0:54:42We don't question the rights of any party, including the ANC.
0:54:42 > 0:54:46We are in a discussion with the government.
0:54:46 > 0:54:50But we resolve that any party, with the government,
0:54:50 > 0:54:55should reach an understanding and make a decision, which impacts on
0:54:55 > 0:55:00the rest of South Africans without any representation of the rest of us.
0:55:00 > 0:55:04That is the crux of this demonstration.
0:55:06 > 0:55:11Insistent that his Zulu interests are being overlooked, Buthelezi is proclaiming his support
0:55:11 > 0:55:14for a separate solution for his region of Natal.
0:55:14 > 0:55:16THEY CHANT
0:55:16 > 0:55:21He wants the white areas of Natal to merge with the black in a new state.
0:55:21 > 0:55:24It would be called Quazulu Natal.
0:55:24 > 0:55:28Many of Natal's whites endorse this plan to go it alone.
0:55:28 > 0:55:32It would be a quarter of the population of South Africa.
0:55:32 > 0:55:38Virtually self-governing, it would be almost an independent state within the country.
0:55:38 > 0:55:42How do you pursue that course when you know that
0:55:42 > 0:55:47other parties to negotiations like the ANC are totally opposed to it?
0:55:47 > 0:55:52Well, do you imply that because ANC is opposed to something, I must abandon it?
0:55:52 > 0:55:55I think that if we want to talk about democracy, we
0:55:55 > 0:55:59have as much right as the ANC to put our point of view.
0:55:59 > 0:56:04Not everything the ANC stands for are things that we would ever support,
0:56:04 > 0:56:06even if it means death.
0:56:06 > 0:56:13Is it unreasonable in your view for chief minister Buthelezi to want power in his region of South Africa
0:56:13 > 0:56:19and not for the power to be held at the centre by the ANC? Is that unreasonable?
0:56:19 > 0:56:23Well, let us leave that
0:56:23 > 0:56:27to the voters in South Africa.
0:56:27 > 0:56:31If Chief Buthelezi believes in democracy,
0:56:31 > 0:56:34then democracy means
0:56:34 > 0:56:39that we should abide by the decision of the masses of the people.
0:56:39 > 0:56:42- The majority?- Not have to impose
0:56:42 > 0:56:44our views
0:56:44 > 0:56:47on the people, on the voters.
0:56:47 > 0:56:52That is what has happened in this country since union.
0:56:52 > 0:56:58Why would you want a change in that position now?
0:57:05 > 0:57:08Good evening from South Africa, where blacks have been voting in
0:57:08 > 0:57:11a national election for the first time in history.
0:57:11 > 0:57:13The moment of their liberation has arrived.
0:57:15 > 0:57:21It was seven o'clock in the morning, the day when power began to pass from the minority to the majority.
0:57:21 > 0:57:27Those white politicians here who used to maintain that black people had no interest in politics
0:57:27 > 0:57:30and didn't understand it couldn't have been more wrong.
0:57:30 > 0:57:36We have had this dream that one day, things will come right for us.
0:57:36 > 0:57:38So now's the time, now's the day.
0:57:38 > 0:57:42Never mind the bombings and things, they don't mean nothing.
0:57:42 > 0:57:44We are going forward.
0:57:44 > 0:57:48Finally, after long hours of waiting, the moment came.
0:57:48 > 0:57:54People who had never before been consulted about their future were finally making their views known.
0:57:54 > 0:57:59Many of the elderly white people who voted seemed to share this sense of a new beginning.
0:57:59 > 0:58:00I'm very excited.
0:58:00 > 0:58:03It raised my blood pressure.
0:58:03 > 0:58:07I was very happy that we're doing the right thing.
0:58:07 > 0:58:10Today the new South Africa,
0:58:10 > 0:58:15which was our vision for such a long time, is being born.
0:58:15 > 0:58:18It's a good news day for South Africa and all its people.
0:58:18 > 0:58:24Today is a day like no other before it.
0:58:26 > 0:58:31Voting in our first free and fair election has begun.
0:58:34 > 0:58:38Today marks the dawn of our freedom.
0:58:40 > 0:58:43Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:43 > 0:58:47E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk