JOHANNESBURG, South Africa- Nelson Mandela is, deservedly, one of the most celebrated men in the world. His lifelong efforts to free his people from the oppression of white rule and his ascendance to the presidency will not be soon forgotten. In his death, however, many of the more controversial moves that made his success possible already have been. The following are some of the lesser-known, and sometimes less popular, moves Mandela made and what we can learn from them.
1. The refusal to renounce violence: “Only free men can negotiate.”
Although Mandela is often remembered as a champion of nonviolence, this is an oversimplification of his opinions and actions on the matter. While Mandela did not directly advocate violence, he saw it as a sometimes-necessary right of the oppressed group in the face of violent oppression.
In fact, although he never saw combat, he became the first commander in chief of the African National Congress’ (ANC) guerrilla army in 1961. He was thrown in jail in 1964 after a police raid of ANC headquarters where documents outlining the group’s plan for guerilla warfare were found. And it was actually a refusal to concede this right of his people that extended his jail time.
On February 10, 1985, South Africa’s president, P.W. Botha, offered to free Mandela if he renounced the ANC’s use of violence. Mandela refused. In a statement read by his daughter to a crowd of supporters, as he was still incarcerated, Mandela wrote to Botha, “I am not less life-loving than you. But I cannot sell my birthright nor am I prepared to sell the birthright of the people to be free.”
Apartheid rule was systematic, state-sponsored violence. It was violent physically, as those who spoke out were tortured, imprisoned, and killed; psychologically, as the white minority dominated and oppressed the black majority in their own country, and socially, as it tried to destroy the political power and economic agency of those it controlled.
In response to Botha’s offer, Mandela wrote “Let him [Botha] renounce violence. Let him say that he will dismantle apartheid. Let him unban the people’s organization, the African National Congress. Let him free all who have been imprisoned, banished or exiled for their opposition to apartheid. Let him guarantee free political activity so that the people may decide who will govern them.” The message was clear: we cannot afford to back down in the face of such violence, and we will not.
The takeaway here is that Mandela was unwilling to weaken the liberation movement by taking violence off the table, as it was one of few tools available to the oppressed party. While violence is obviously best avoided when possible, in Mandela’s assessment of the situation he deemed that it is not always possible. “Only free men can negotiate,” he wrote in his statement to Botha. This can be seen as a statement not only on his own incarceration, but also on the position of black South Africans in their quest for freedom.
2. The choice to meet secretly with the National Party: “If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.”
Mandela, in every way still the spiritual head of the ANC, began meeting secretly with government officials in November 1985, while he was still in prison. It was a time of mounting anger and distrust towards the National Party, and Mandela was conscious that some members and supporters of the ANC would be angered by his willingness to meet with them. He chose to keep the meetings a secret, so that this anger would not compromise the chance for negotiating a peaceful end to apartheid. He would not meet publicly with National Party leaders until 1989.
Mandela’s decision to meet the opposition in secret, or in some cases, at all, is still contested today. Some characterize the concessions he made, like not demanding a return of wealth and property to black South Africans, as selling his own people short. Many were angered by his encouragements for patience from blacks in acquiring goods and lifestyles even poor whites took for granted. But faced with the opportunity to end apartheid peacefully, Mandela took it, even if it meant the concession of more immediate fixes to inequality in the country.
A great leader knows when to push and when to back off. Mandela may have made concessions to the National Party, but the essential goals of ending apartheid and turning South Africa over to black rule were never among them. Additionally, his willingness to work with the governing party opened the door to the future negotiation of a new constitution and his eventual election in 1994. Though the pain of vast inequality is still felt in South Africa today, conditions would be much worse if the National Party was allowed to continue its rule of the country. Sometimes, wars must be won one battle at a time.
3. Granting amnesty for the oppressors: “You will achieve more in this world through acts of mercy than you will through acts of retribution.”
Mandela’s decision to grant amnesty to members of the National Party and their brutal supporters in the police, army, and civil service once he was in power is one of the most controversial of his life. In exchange for their testimony before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Mandela and other ANC leaders granted amnesty from prosecution for many involved in the incarceration and murder of apartheid activists. This choice shocked and deeply angered many, and there are those who still hate him for it. How could he let those who had infamously tortured and killed so many black activists in Vlakplass walk free? Didn’t they deserve jail, or worse?
Perhaps Mandela’s greatest power was his ability to set aside years of righteous anger at his oppressors in the name of reconciling a broken country. Further prosecution of National Party members would have deepened the racial divide in the country, and risked alienating white citizens who may view the ANC as hostile not just to the party, but to whites generally. White flight would have been disastrous for the South African economy, perhaps pushing it to an economic collapse similar to Zimbabwe’s. Many also credit Mandela’s careful handling of the situation to avoiding a civil war in South Africa.
“As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison,” Mandela famously said. With the decision to not only forgive his oppressors, but also to include them in his vision of South Africa’s future, Mandela changed the course of history.
– Sarah Morrison
Sources: The Atlantic, New York Times, South African History Online
Photo: Fair Fax Regional