I am often asked the question: Would you have done anything differently Then my reply is: Yes, here and there on strategy and on exactly how one would approach a specific situation. Yes, I would have done some things differently with hindsight. But on the fundamental issues - on the question whether we should have taken the fundamental decisions which really culminated in the speech of 2 February 1990, I say: I would not have taken any decision differently at all. That was the only viable alternative. We were on the right road. We were headed for peace. We have done what was neccessary to do?
President Mandela himself regularly participates in the efforts to keep the aparthied bogey alive. His latest effort came yesterday when he blamed the high levels of crime and labour unrest on the policies of the past and particularly on wage discrimination. What are the facts No doubt wage discrimination on the basis of colour was wrong. No doubt it has had a negative effect on all people of colour and did untold damage. I am not standing here as an advocate of racism. But in 1995, to continue to single that out as the cause of all the problems with regard to crime and with regard to labour unrest just doesn't tally with the facts. The field of labour legislation was one of the first areas of fundamental reform. Already in the mid-seventies, if my memory serves me right, we introduced a new non-discriminatory labour dispensation. At that stage already the concept of equal pay for equal work was fully accepted. Labour and that which goes with it was one of the ice breakers which brought us to 2 February 1990?
The economic plight of millions of South Africans can no longer just be blamed on the policies of the past. The ANC must take its full share of the blame. They chose strategies aimed at ruining the economy, at disrupting education and at making the country ungovernable. We know today that they did not succeed in those goals. What they did, however, succeed in was to ruin the lives of many South Africans in the process.
Some people talk of a lost generation, of a million or more young black South Africans who have not been trained for anything, who are now roaming the streets and who are living off crime. But who took them out of school Who brought education, incomplete and open to criticism as it was, into the political arena and who took them away from that education and training Small wonder that Bishop Tut in a sermon on Freedom Day called on all South Africans to stop blaming apartheid for everything. They must begin to ask themselves: What can I do to change the siutation And what have I done wrong in the past month or in the past year?
The fact is: the NP has finally broken with apartheid already in 1986. Since that day and specifically since 2 February 1990, we purposefully took the necessary steps to eradicate each and every remaining element of statutory discrimination. We did so because we believed it was right to do so. Not because of sanctions, not because of pressure, but on the basis of inner conviction.
Tonight I would like to focus on a few related aspects in this regard. The NP Government under my Presidency went out of its way to have each and every allegation properly investigated. The Harms Commission, the Goldstone Commission, the Goniwe inquest and many other investigations all bear testimony to this fact. No serious allegations with regard to misdemeanors of a serious nature on the side of Government forces were pushed under the carpet. We appointed commission of enquiry and we had them properly investigated. And in the new dispensation we supported the establishment of the so-called Truth Commission right from the beginning. It is therefore a lie to suggest that the NP wants to cover up.
Of course we strongly insisted on an even-handed approach. In this regard we had reasonable success in getting that legislation into an acceptable form, where at least we can say that there is now a reasonable balance and that a good foundation has been laid for an even-handed approach. But the proof of the pudding will lie in the eating. I share the concerns expressed in quite a number of editorials during the past days about the issue of the Truth Commission - concerns that it will develop into a witchhunt and a one-sided witchhunt at that. I think there is a great risk. There are some ominous notes in what Min Omar and ANC had to say on the occasion of the signing of the Bill.
Even President Mandela, while laudably trying to emphasise the reconciliation goals of the Commission - and I commend him for that - could not resist the temptation (if he was reported correctly) to make it sound like an investigation focussed mainly on the actions of previous governments. I say that this cannot and will not be tolerated. The role of the ANC and its forces need to come under the very same spotlight in equal measure. And the same applies to the PAC, the IFP, the CP and to all other organisations. The brutal necklace murders of scores of black South Africans, the bombs killing and maiming of scores of black civilians, the abductions and the tortures, the violent intimidation dare not be swept under the carpet. For these reasons the NP welcomes President Mandela's undertaking with regard to the appointment of "persons of good standing, high respected and not of a high political profile". The NP will hold him to that and urges him to follow the route of thorough consultation aimed at consensus of those appointments. To start out with controversial appointments would be disasterous towards the main purpose of the Commission, namely to achieve reconciliation.
We must develop our human resources. The best assistance and help you can give to anybody, is to train that person, is to enable that person to improve his or her position by the achievement of skills which can be sold on the market. And therefore I believe the main focus should be education and training. That is empowerment. With economic growth, jobs being created, people being better trained, you will get that improvement in the quality of life which is so important.