On 13 July, the FW de Klerk Foundation, supported by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), hosted a discussion on: The Rule of Law, The Constitution and South
It is once again a great pleasure for me to address the Cape Town Press Club.
I shall spend a little more time today on the past than on the future ‐ because, at the age of 84, I have much more past than future ‐ and also because the past has become an increasingly contentious issue, not only for the present ‐ but also for the future.
As the tide of imperialism ebbed from Africa, South Africa found itself floundering in the last pool of white rule. We were glaringly out of step with the new international norms of non-discrimination, equality and self-determination that had been articulated in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.As the tide of imperialism ebbed from Africa, South Africa found itself floundering in the last pool of white rule. We were glaringly out of step with the new international norms of non-discrimination, equality and self-determination that had been articulated in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
It is generally acknowledged that the first cracks in the apartheid system appeared in 1976, when the youth of Soweto (near Johannesburg) started to protest against the system that they experienced as unjust. The ANC in exile claimed credit for this uprising. This was met by stern measures by the South African government.
It is a great pleasure for me to address the youth delegates at this Nobel Peace Laureate Summit in Mérida.
I have no doubt that one of the central challenges that your generation will confront will be the management of the enormous changes that you will experience during your lifetimes.
President Walesa, Ms Tibaijuka, Minister Mohammed Al Mutawa, Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen.
I welcome this opportunity to share my views on the importance of peaceful coexistence and religious tolerance with this distinguished audience. I would also like to commend the Oslo Centre and the Foundation for Dialogue and Peace for the role that they have played in organising this event.
It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you to this celebration of the 20thanniversary of the FW de Klerk Foundation in conjunction with the 25thanniversary of the New South Africa. I should like to share a few ideas about the process that led to the establishment of our constitutional democracy – and then to say a few words about the work of the Foundation.
Your Royal Highnesses, Fellow Nobel Peace Laureates, Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen… One of the inescapable implications of globalisation is an enormous increase in the interaction between people from different backgrounds, cultures, languages and religions. The management of the resulting cultural, language and religious diversity will be one of this century’s greatest challenges.
Thank you Mr Suhr, for your introduction and the perspective of KAS on our important conference. Former President De Klerk has set the scene further by his astute analysis and comments about the possible change of section 25 of the Constitution.
