Nelson Mandela released from prison - Feb 11, 1990 - HISTORY.com This Day In History: 02/11/1990 - Nelson Mandela Released The Yalta Conference ends, the first Gold Record is earned by Glenn Miller, Dick Cheney accidentally shoots his friend, and Nelson Mandela is released from prison for anti-apartheid activities in This Day in History video. The date is February 11th. Nelson Mandela was in prison for 27 years and went on to become the President of South Africa. Lead Story Nelson Mandela released from prison Share this: Nelson Mandela released from prison Author Nelson Mandela released from prison URL Publisher A+E Networks Nelson Mandela, leader of the movement to end South African apartheid, is released from prison after 27 years on February 11, 1990. In 1944, Mandela, a lawyer, joined the African National Congress (ANC), the oldest black political organization in South Africa, where he became a leader of Johannesburg’s youth wing of the ANC. In 1952, he became deputy national president of the ANC, advocating nonviolent resistance to apartheid–South Africa’s institutionalized system of white supremacy and racial segregation.

However, after the massacre of peaceful black demonstrators at Sharpeville in 1960, Nelson helped organize a paramilitary branch of the ANC to engage in guerrilla warfare against the white minority government. In 1961, he was arrested for treason, and although acquitted he was arrested again in 1962 for illegally leaving the country. Convicted and sentenced to five years at Robben Island Prison, he was put on trial again in 1964 on charges of sabotage. In June 1964, he was convicted along with several other ANC leaders and sentenced to life in prison. Mandela spent the first 18 of his 27 years in jail at the brutal Robben Island Prison. Confined to a small cell without a bed or plumbing, he was forced to do hard labor in a quarry. He could write and receive a letter once every six months, and once a year he was allowed to meet with a visitor for 30 minutes. However, Mandela’s resolve remained unbroken, and while remaining the symbolic leader of the anti-apartheid movement, he led a movement of civil disobedience at the prison that coerced South African officials into drastically improving conditions on Robben Island.

He was later moved to another location, where he lived under house arrest. In 1989, F.W. de Klerk became South African president and set about dismantling apartheid. De Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC, suspended executions, and in February 1990 ordered the release of Nelson Mandela. Mandela subsequently led the ANC in its negotiations with the minority government for an end to apartheid and the establishment of a multiracial government. In 1993, Mandela and de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. One year later, the ANC won an electoral majority in the country’s first free elections, and Mandela was elected South Africa’s president. Mandela retired from politics in 1999, but remained a global advocate for peace and social justice until his death in December 2013.

Related Videos South Africa: Nelson Mandela Released From Prison On February 11, 1990 - allAfrica.com South Africa: Nelson Mandela Released From Prison On February 11, 1990 more press release On this day in 1990, anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, was released from Victor Vester prison after spending 27years, six months and six days in prsion. Mandela served 27 years initially on Robben Island, and later in Pollsmoor Rrison and Victor Vester Prison. A crowd of over 2000 people and the media had gathered outside the prison from 8am in the morning waiting for Mandela. When he walked out he did so hand-in-hand with his then second wife Winnie Mandela. Later on that day he addressed a rally of over 60 000 people in Cape Town. In his speech he said, "The need to unite the people of our country is as important a task now as it always has been. No individual leader is able to take on this enormous task on his own.

It is our task as leaders to place our views before our organisation and to allow the democratic structures to decide." Nelson Mandela 1918 - 2013 His Legacy lives on Copyright © 2014 Agang South Africa. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media ( allAfrica.com ). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. AllAfrica publishes around 700 reports a day from more than 140 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals , representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica . To address comments or complaints, please Contact us .

Nelson Mandela Timeline 1990-1999 | South African History Online South African History Online Home » Nelson Mandela Timeline 1800-2014 » Nelson Mandela Timeline 1990-1999 Nelson Mandela Timeline 1800-2014 Nelson Mandela Timeline 2000-2014 Nelson Mandela Timeline 1990-1999 with constitutional arrangements deadlocks when the African National Congress (ANC) and the government cannot reach agreement on certain constitutional principles. Codesa's management committee is asked to find a way out of the log-jam. 1990 2 February, At the opening of parliament FW de Klerk surprised everyone by unbanning all political parties, including the South African Communist Party , and the release of all political prisoners not guilty of violent crimes. 11 February, Mandela was released from Victor Verster Prison. 19 February, Nelson Mandela was issued with his first South African passport on 19 February 1990, 8 days after he was released from prison.

It was this passport (with his second name "Rolihlahla" spelt incorrectly as "Rolilahla") that he used to embark on a tour of some of the African states that had supported the South African liberation struggle, including Zambia , Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia . March, Mandela travelled to Lusaka to meet the ANC's national executive committee. He then travelled to Sweden to meet the ANC President Oliver Tambo , but cut short the rest of his proposed trip abroad as a result of increased unrest within South Africa 16 April, Mandela made an appearance at the International Tribute for a Free South Africa charity concert in Wembley, London. 2 May, African National Congress (ANC) and government teams met at Groote Schuur . Mandela headed the ANC delegation. June, Nelson Mandela began a six-week tour of Europe, the United Kingdom, North America and Africa. His reception by heads of state, and hundreds of thousands of citizens of the countries he visited, confirmed his stature as an internationally respected leader July, Nelson Mandela attended the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) summit held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, but has to leave for Kenya when he contracted pneumonia.

29 July, The South African Communist Party (SACP) is relaunched at the Soweto Stadium with a crowd of 50 000 - in the following fifteen months the SACP membership shoots up to 25 000 at a time when communist parties around the world are in decline August, Talks between the African National Congress (ANC) and the South African government resume and in the same month Mandela visited Norway. This is followed by visits to Zambia, India and Australia. 21 August, The Pretoria Minute is signed which proclaimed that the ANC would suspend all armed activity December, A Cabinet 'bosberaad' (council) is held at a game lodge to discuss the Harare Declaration and the release of Mandela. 24 December, Mandela receives an Honorary Doctorate of Literature from Jadavpur University in India. 1991 29 January, A summit meeting between the ANC and IFP is held in Durban. Mandela met Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi at the Royal Hotel in Durban for 8 hours and agreed to promote peace.This is the first time that Mandela and Buthelezi meet in thirty years.

February, Mandela met again with Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, President of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) , in an attempt to put an end to the violence sweeping through Natal and the Transvaal. However, despite their pledges to work towards peace, the violence continued. Mandela issued an ultimatum to the government, setting a deadline by which it has to end the violence, and fire the Ministers of Defence and Law and Order. He indicated that the African National Congress (ANC) will quit the negotiation process if these demands were not met. However, the government failed to meet these demands. April, Mandela attended a meeting between the ANC and the Pan African Congress in Harare where they resolved to work together to oppose apartheid. A joint sub-committee was established to approach the European Community to reverse its decision to lift bans on steel imports from South Africa. The meeting also resolved to convene a conference of anti-apartheid organisation to support the demand for a national constituent assembly 1 April, Mandela met Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi and raised his distrust of F W de Klerk .

June, Mandela attended the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) summit in Abuja, Nigeria, after which he travel to the United Kingdom and Belgium. July, The ANC conference was held in Durban and Nelson Mandela was elected ANC president, succeeding an ailing Oliver Tambo. 2 July, The African National Congress (ANC) held its first national conference in 30 years inside the country in Durban, with over 2 000 delegates and elected a new National Executive. Nelson Mandela is elected as President of the organisation, succeeding an ailing Oliver Tambo . August, Nelson Mandela travelled to South America. September, Mandela signed the National Peace Accord on behalf of the African National Congress (ANC). This agreement between a number of political organisations, including the ANC, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the National Party (NP), established structures and procedures to attempt to end political violence, which had become widespread. October, A meeting of the Patriotic Front is held in Durban in an attempt to bring together all anti-apartheid groupings in the country. All attend with the exception of Azanian People's Organisation (Azapo).

Policy regarding future negotiations was formulated and the African National Congress (ANC) and the Pan African Congress (PAC) began preparatory meetings for the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (Codesa). However, the PAC cannot see it's way clear to participating in the convention. November, Mandela travelled to West Africa. December, The first meeting of Convention for a Democratic South Africa (Codesa), set up to negotiate procedures for constitutional change, was held. At the end of the plenary session, after F W de Klerk raised the question of disbanding Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) , Mandela delivered a scathing personal verbal attack on him. Mandela argues that even the head of an illegitimate, discredited minority regime should have certain moral standards'. Mandela met United States President, George Bush. 1992 8 January, Mandela celebrated the 80th birthday of the ANC with iconic ANC struggle veterans such as Oliver Tambo. Mandela received a joint award with F W de Klerk in Spain - the Prince of the Asturias Prize for International Co-operation. February, Mandela continued his programme of extensive international travel, visiting Tunisia, Libya and Morocco.

He and State President F W de Klerk jointly accepted the UNESCO Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize in Paris on 3 February. At the same time the two men attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. 13 April, Mandela called a press conference at which he stated that he and his wife, Winnie Mandela, have agreed to separate as a result of differences, which had arisen between them in recent months. Later in April Mandela, F W de Klerk and Mangosuthu Buthelezi addressed a gathering of more than a million members of the Zion Christian Church at Moria, near Pietersburg, and commited themselves to end the ongoing violence and move speedily towards a political settlement. While visiting the Scandinavian countries and Czechoslovakia in May, Mandela suggested that F W de Klerk is personally responsible for the political violence in South Africa. He likened the violence in South Africa to the killing of Jews in Nazi Germany. Mandela also criticised what he felt is the stranglehold imposed on the South African press, which represented White-owned conglomerates. He did express support for critical, independent and investigative press.

June, By 16 June (Soweto Day) no progress had been made and the African National Congress (ANC) called for a mass action campaign to put pressure on the South African government. Following the Boipatong massacre massacre of 17 June 1992, Mandela indicated that negotiations with the government would not resume until ANC demands for an election to a constituent assembly, a transitional government, and state steps to end political violence were met. At the end of June 1992 Mandela addresses the Heads of States Summit of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in Dakar, Senegal. As a result, the OAU agrees to raise the issue of South Africa's political violence at the United Nations . July, Mandela and representatives of other South African parties addressed the UN Security Council. Mandela asked the UN to provide continuous monitoring of the violence, and submitted documents, that he claimed, proved the 'criminal intent', of the government, both in the instigation of violence and in failing to halt it. He maintained that the government is conducting a '...cold-hearted strategy of state terror to impose its will on negotiations'.

Mandela visited the Olympic Games in Barcelona, where a South African team was participating for the first time in 30 years. On his return to South Africa, he involved himself in the African National Congress's (ANC) mass action campaign calling for disciplined and peaceful protest. Following violent incidents between African National Congress (ANC) supporters in the Transvaal, Mandela admitted that the organisation had disciplinary problems with some of its followers, particularly in township self-defence units. He promises to take action against those who abuse positions of power and authority. He indicates that the ANC has shifted its economic thinking, particularly with regard to nationalisation. This is no longer viewed as an ideological imperative, but merely as one of the policy options. He continued to stress the need to redress economic imbalances, but noted that the ANC was aware of both local and international business hostility towards nationalisation. September, Mandela indicated that he is prepared to meet F W de Klerk on condition that he agreed to the fencing off of hostels, the banning of the public display of dangerous weapons and the release of political prisoners.

They met at the end of the month and these bi-lateral talks resulted in the signing of a Record of Understanding by the two leaders, which enabled negotiations to be resumed. 1993 Mandela won the Philadelphia Liberty Medal (USA) April, Following the assassination of the South African Communist Party (SACP) leader, Chris Hani , Mandela again called for restraint, discipline and peace, but at a rally in Soweto's Jabulani Stadium a militant crowd boos him when he tries to convey a message of peace in the wake of the killing. May, Mandela causes a political row when he suggested that South Africa's voting age should be lowered to enable 14-year old children to vote. However, he is persuaded to accept that only people aged 18 or more can vote in the April 1994 elections. 2 May, Mandela honoured Oliver Tambo at his funeral. July-December, Mandela campaigned on behalf of the African National Congress (ANC) for the 1994 election and addressed a large number of rallies and people's forums.

At the same time, he continued to attempt to draw the Freedom Alliance partners (White right wing groups, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Bophuthatswana and Ciskei governments) into the election process. September, While on a visit to the United States of America, Mandela urged world business leaders to lift economic sanctions and to invest in South Africa. December, Mandela was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize together with former president F W de Klerk in Norway 1994 Mandela continued the campaign from the previous year, however he ruled out the possibility of delaying the election date to accommodate them. Mandela's autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, was first published. March, Following a civil uprising in Bophuthatswana, which leads to a downfall of the Mangope government , Mandela guaranteed striking civil servants their jobs, but harshly criticised the looting that occurs during the unrest. April, Last minute talks were held in the Kruger Park between Mandela, F W de Klerk , Mangosuthu Buthelezi and Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini to try to break the deadlock on Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) participation in the elections.

The meeting was unsuccessful and is followed by an attempt at international mediation. This, too, failed, but a last minute effort by Kenyan academic, Washington Okumu, brought the IFP back into the election process. Mandela and De Klerk then signed an agreement regarding the future status of the Zulu King. Mandela contested the election as the head of the African National Congress (ANC) for the National Assembly. 27 April, At Inanda, Durban, Mandela voted in a general election for the first time in his life. May, The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) announced that the African National Congress (ANC) has won 62% of the national vote. Mandela subsequently indicated he had been relieved that the ANC had not achieved a two-thirds majority in the election, as this would allay fears that it would unilaterally re-write the constitution. He stated that he stands for a government of national unity with each part sharing in the exercise of power. In Mandela's State-of-the-Nation speech to parliament he announces that R2.5 billion will be allocated in the 1994/95 budget for the government's Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP).

His pragmatic economic policy is welcomed by business in general. Mandela continues to draw the right wing into the negotiation process and holds a breakthrough meeting with the leader of Conservative Party (CP), Ferdie Hartzenberg. Negotiations also involve a possible meeting with Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) leader Eugene Terre Blanche. 9 May, Mandela is elected unopposed as President of South Africa in the first session of the National Assembly. 10 May, Nelson Mandela's Presidential inauguration takes place at the Union Buildings in Pretoria . As well as about 100 000 celebrants on the lawns in front of the building, it was the largest gathering of international leaders ever held in South Africa. The ceremony was televised and broadcast internationally. In his inaugural speech Mandela called for a 'time of healing' and states that his government will fight against discrimination of any kind. He pledged to enter into a covenant to build a society in which all South Africans, Black and White, could walk tall without fear, assured of their rights to human dignity 'a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world'.

June, Mandela attends the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) summit held in Tunis and is appointed second Vice-President of the organisation. The following month he holds talks with his Angolan, Mozambican and Zairian counterparts in an attempt to further peace-making efforts in Angola. UNITA leader, Jonas Savimbi , welcomed his participation in the peace process. 24 June, The ‘Madiba Magic’ played a tremendous role in South Africa winning the Rugby World Cup Trophy for the first time since the tournament’s inception in 1987. Despite strong competition shown by the All Blacks, the final score was 15-12 in favour of South Africa. The South African President, Nelson Mandela, handed the trophy to Springbok Captain, François Pienaar, as Ellis Park Stadium erupted into celebrations. 25 June, South Africa’s two decade long suspension from the General Assembly of the United Nations ended. July, Mandela underwent eye surgery for a cataract.

The operation is complicated by the fact that his tear glands were damaged by the alkalinity of the stone at Robben Island where he had done hard labour breaking rocks September, Mandela makes a crucial speech at the annual conference of the Congress of South Africa Trade Union (Cosatu) where he calls on the labour movement to transform itself from a liberation movement, to one that would assist in the building of a new South Africa. He warned that workers will lose their jobs if production costs rose because of unnecessary labour unrest and he called on workers to assist in making the ANC's RDP work. 1995 15 January, Mandela spoke at Joe Slovo’s funeral. He argued that ordinary people should guide the formation and implementation of policy. 18 January, At a cabinet meeting, Mandela attacked Deputy President F W de Klerk stating that he did not believe that De Klerk was unaware of the indemnity applications. He goes on to question De Klerk's commitment to the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP). 20 January, At a press conference F W de Klerk maintained that this attack on his integrity and good faith could seriously jeopardise the future of the government of national unity.

April, Mandela fires his estranged wife, Winnie Mandela, from her post as Deputy Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, following a series of controversial issues in which she was involved. She challenged her dismissal in the Supreme Court, claiming that it was unconstitutional. She obtained an affidavit from Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi to the effect that he had not, as a leader of a party in the government of national unity, been consulted about this dismissal. As this is a constitutional requirement, Winnie Mandela is then briefly reinstated before being dismissed again, Mandela having consulted with all party leaders involved in the government of national unity. May, Following a dispute between the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the African National Congress (ANC) regarding international mediation for the new constitution, Mangosuthu Buthelezi called on Zulus to 'rise and resist' any imposed constitutional dispensation. Mandela accused Buthelezi of encouraging violence and attempting to ferment an uprising against central government.

In this context, he threatened to cut off central government funding to KwaZulu Natal, indicating that he would not allow public funds to be used to finance an attempt to overthrow the constitution by violent means. Although a subsequent meeting between the two leaders seems cordial in tone, the matter of mediation remained an unresolved point of conflict. 24 June, The ‘Madiba Magic’ played a tremendous role in South Africa winning the Rugby World Cup Trophy for the first time since the tournament’s inception in 1987. Despite strong competition shown by the All Blacks, the final score was 15-12 in favour of South Africa. The South African President, Nelson Mandela, handed the trophy to Springbok Captain, François Pienaar, as Ellis Park Stadium erupted into celebrations. 19 July, Mandela signed a law into bill creating the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to uncover human rights abuses during the apartheid era. 14 September, Mandela was granted the freedom of the Eastern Cape town of Uitenhage. 11 November, Mandela publically intervened in the Nigerian crisis when he called for the military government, led by Sani Abacha, to be suspended from the Commonwealth.

Abacha was responsible for the execution of human rights activists in Nigeria. Nigeria is suspended until 1999 when democratic rule was restored. 1996 (1990) Nelson Mandela, "We Have Waited Too Long For Our Freedom" | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed (1990) Nelson Mandela, "We Have Waited Too Long For Our Freedom" Nelson Mandela Freed Image Ownership: Public Domain In 1990 the South African government released Nelson Mandela from Victor Verster Prison in Paarl, South Africa after more than 28 years of incarceration including more than 20 years in South Africa's most notorious prison, Robben Island. Here is the speech he gave in Cape Town, South Africa on February 11, the day of his release. Friends, Comrades and Fellow South Africans, I greet you in the name of peace, democracy and freedom for all. I stand here before you, not as a prophet, but as a humble servant of you, the people. Your tireless and heroic sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here today. I therefore place the remaining years of my life in your hands.

On this day of my release I extend my sincere and warmest gratitude to the millions of my compatriots and those in every corner of the globe who have campaigned tirelessly for my release. I extend special greetings to the people of Cape Town, the city which has been my home for three decades. Your mass marches and other forms of struggle have served as a constant source of strength to all political prisoners. I salute the African National Congress. It has fulfilled our every expectation in its role as leader of the great march to freedom. I salute our President, Comrade Oliver Tambo, for leading the ANC even under the most difficult circumstances. I salute the rank and file members of the ANC. You have sacrificed life and limb in the pursuit of the noble cause of our struggle. I salute combatants of Umkhonto we Sizwe, like Solomon Mahlangu and Ashley Kriel, who have paid the ultimate price for the freedom of all South Africans. I salute the South African Communist Party for its sterling contribution to the struggle for democracy. You have survived 40 years of unrelenting persecution. The memory of great communists like Moses Kotane, Yusuf Dadoo, Bram Fischer and Moses Mabhida will be cherished for generations to come.

I salute General Secretary Joe Slovo - one of our finest patriots. We are heartened by the fact that the alliance between ourselves and the Party remains as strong as it always was. I salute the United Democratic Front, Cosatu, the National Education Crisis Committee, the South African Youth Congress, the Transvaal and Natal Indian Congresses and the many other formations of the Mass Democratic Movement. Conscience of Whites I also salute the Black Sash and the National Union of South African Students. We note with pride that you have acted as the conscience of white South Africans. Even during the darkest days in the history of your struggle you held the flag of liberty high. The large-scale mass mobilization of the past few years is one of the key factors which led to the opening of the final chapter of our struggle. I extend my greetings to the working class of our country. Your organized strength is the pride of our movement. You remain the most dependable force in the struggle to end exploitation and oppression. I pay tribute to the many religious communities who carried the campaign for justice forward when the organizations of our people were silenced. I greet the traditional leaders of our country.

Many among you continue to walk in the footsteps of great heroes like Hintsa and Sekhukhuni. I pay tribute to the endless heroism of the youth. You, the young lions, have energized our entire struggle. I pay tribute to the mothers and wives and sisters of our nation. You are the rock-hard foundation of our struggle. Apartheid has inflicted more pain on you than on anyone else. Frontline Sacrifices On this occasion we thank the world community for their great contribution to the anti-apartheid struggle. Without your support our struggle would not have reached this advanced stage. The sacrifices of the Frontline States will be remembered by South Africans forever. My salutations will be incomplete without expressing my deep appreciation for the strength given to me during my long and lonely years in prison by my beloved wife and family. I am convinced that your pain and suffering was far greater than my own. Before I go any further, I wish to make the point that I intend making only a few preliminary comments at this stage. I will make a more public statement only after I have had the opportunity to consult with my comrades. Today the majority of South Africans, black and white, recognize that apartheid has no future.

It has to be ended by our own decisive mass action in order to build peace and security. The mass campaign of defiance and other actions of our organization and people can only culminate with the establishment of democracy. The apartheid destruction on our sub-continent is incalculable. The fabric of family life of millions of our people has been shattered. Millions are homeless and unemployed, our economy lies in ruins and our people are embroiled in political strife. Armed Struggle - No Option but to Continue Our resort to the armed struggle in 1960, with the formation of the military wing of the ANC, Umkhonto we Sizwe, was a purely defensive action against the violence of apartheid. The factors which necessitated the armed struggle still exist today. We have no option but to continue. We express the hope that a climate conducive to a negotiated settlement will be created soon so that there may no longer be the need for the armed struggle. I am a loyal and disciplined member of the African National Congress. I am therefore in full agreement with all of its objectives, strategies and tactics. The need to unite the people of our country is as important a task now as it always has been.

No individual leader is able to take on this enormous task on his own. It is our task as leaders to place our views before our organization and to allow the democratic structures to decide on the way forward. On the question of democratic practice, I feel duty-bound to make the point that a leader of the movement is a person who has been democratically elected at a national conference. This is a principle which must be upheld without any exceptions. Insistence on a Meeting Today I wish to report to you that my talks with the government have been aimed at normalizing the political situation in the country. We have not as yet begun discussing the basic demands of the struggle. I wish to stress that I, myself, have at no time entered into negotiation about the future of our country, except to insist on a meeting between the ANC and the government. Mr. De Klerk has gone further than any other Nationalist president in taking real steps to normalize the situation. However, there are further steps as outlined in the Harare Declaration that have to be met before negotiations on the basic demands of our people can begin. I reiterate our call for, inter alia, the immediate ending of the State of Emergency and the freeing of all, and not only some, political prisoners.

Only such a normalized situation which allows for free political activity, can allow us to consult our people in order to obtain a mandate. Not Behind the Backs of the People The people need to be consulted on who will negotiate and on the content of such negotiations. Negotiations cannot take place above the heads or behind the backs of our people. It is our belief that the future of our country can only be determined by a body which is democratically elected on a non-racial basis. Negotiations on the dismantling of apartheid will have to address the overwhelming demands of our people for a democratic, non-racial and unitary South Africa. There must be an end to white monopoly on political power and a fundamental restructuring of our political and economic system to ensure that the inequalities of apartheid are addressed and our society thoroughly democratized. It must be added that Mr. De Klerk himself is a man of integrity who is acutely aware of the danger of a public figure not honoring his undertakings. But as an organization we base our policy and strategies on the harsh reality we are faced with and this reality is that we are still suffering under the policy of the Nationalist government. Our struggle has reached a decisive moment.

We call on our people to seize this moment so that the process towards democracy is rapid and uninterrupted. We have waited too long for our freedom. We can no longer wait. Now is the time to intensify the struggle on all fronts. To relax our effort now would be a mistake which generations to come will not be able to forgive. The Sight of Freedom The sight of freedom looming on the horizon should encourage us to redouble our efforts. It is only through disciplined mass action that our victory can be assured. We call on our white compatriots to join us in the shaping of a new South Africa. The freedom movement is a political home for you too. We call on the international community to continue the campaign to isolate the apartheid regime. To lift sanctions now would be to run the risk of aborting the process towards the complete eradication of apartheid. Our march to freedom is irreversible. We must not allow fear to stand in our way. Universal suffrage on a common voters' roll in a united, democratic and non-racial South Africa is the only way to peace and racial harmony. In conclusion, I wish to quote my own words during my trial in 1964. They are as true today as they were then.

I quote: I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have carried the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunity. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die. I hope you will disperse with dignity and not a single one of you should do anything which will make other people say that we can't control our own people. Sources: Mandela Was Released From Prison In 1990: Image - Bloomberg Bloomberg Mandela Was Released From Prison In 1990 Alexander Joe/AFP/Getty Images Nelson Mandela and his then wife Winnie Mandela greet supporters following his release from prison in Pearl, South Africa, on Feb. 11, 1990. Nelson Mandela - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com Google Nelson Mandela’s Childhood and Education Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, into a royal family of the Xhosa-speaking Thembu tribe in the South African village of Mvezo, where his father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa (c.

1880-1928), served as chief. His mother, Nosekeni Fanny, was the third of Mphakanyiswa’s four wives, who together bore him nine daughters and four sons. After the death of his father in 1927, 9-year-old Mandela—then known by his birth name, Rolihlahla—was adopted by Jongintaba Dalindyebo, a high-ranking Thembu regent who began grooming his young ward for a role within the tribal leadership. Did You Know? As a sign of respect, many South Africans referred to Nelson Mandela as Madiba, his Xhosa clan name. The first in his family to receive a formal education, Mandela completed his primary studies at a local missionary school. There, a teacher dubbed him Nelson as part of a common practice of giving African students English names. He went on to attend the Clarkebury Boarding Institute and Healdtown, a Methodist secondary school, where he excelled in boxing and track as well as academics. In 1939 Mandela entered the elite University of Fort Hare, the only Western-style higher learning institute for South African blacks at the time.

The following year, he and several other students, including his friend and future business partner Oliver Tambo (1917-1993), were sent home for participating in a boycott against university policies. After learning that his guardian had arranged a marriage for him, Mandela fled to Johannesburg and worked first as a night watchman and then as a law clerk while completing his bachelor’s degree by correspondence. He studied law at the University of Witwatersrand, where he became involved in the movement against racial discrimination and forged key relationships with black and white activists. In 1944, Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC) and worked with fellow party members, including Oliver Tambo, to establish its youth league, the ANCYL. That same year, he met and married his first wife, Evelyn Ntoko Mase (1922-2004), with whom he had four children before their divorce in 1957.

Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress Nelson Mandela’s commitment to politics and the ANC grew stronger after the 1948 election victory of the Afrikaner-dominated National Party, which introduced a formal system of racial classification and segregation—apartheid—that restricted nonwhites’ basic rights and barred them from government while maintaining white minority rule. The following year, the ANC adopted the ANCYL’s plan to achieve full citizenship for all South Africans through boycotts, strikes, civil disobedience and other nonviolent methods. Mandela helped lead the ANC’s 1952 Campaign for the Defiance of Unjust Laws, traveling across the country to organize protests against discriminatory policies, and promoted the manifesto known as the Freedom Charter, ratified by the Congress of the People in 1955. Also in 1952, Mandela and Tambo opened South Africa’s first black law firm, which offered free or low-cost legal counsel to those affected by apartheid legislation. On December 5, 1956, Mandela and 155 other activists were arrested and went on trial for treason.

All of the defendants were acquitted in 1961, but in the meantime tensions within the ANC escalated, with a militant faction splitting off in 1959 to form the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). The next year, police opened fire on peaceful black protesters in the township of Sharpeville, killing 69 people; as panic, anger and riots swept the country in the massacre’s aftermath, the apartheid government banned both the ANC and the PAC. Forced to go underground and wear disguises to evade detection, Mandela decided that the time had come for a more radical approach than passive resistance. Nelson Mandela and the Armed Resistance Movement In 1961, Nelson Mandela co-founded and became the first leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe (“Spear of the Nation”), also known as MK, a new armed wing of the ANC. Several years later, during the trial that would put him behind bars for nearly three decades, he described the reasoning for this radical departure from his party’s original tenets: “[I]t would be wrong and unrealistic for African leaders to continue preaching peace and nonviolence at a time when the government met our peaceful demands with force.

It was only when all else had failed, when all channels of peaceful protest had been barred to us, that the decision was made to embark on violent forms of political struggle.” Under Mandela’s leadership, MK launched a sabotage campaign against the government, which had recently declared South Africa a republic and withdrawn from the British Commonwealth. In January 1962, Mandela traveled abroad illegally to attend a conference of African nationalist leaders in Ethiopia, visit the exiled Oliver Tambo in London and undergo guerilla training in Algeria. On August 5, shortly after his return, he was arrested and subsequently sentenced to five years in prison for leaving the country and inciting a 1961 workers’ strike. The following July, police raided an ANC hideout in Rivonia, a suburb on the outskirts of Johannesburg, and arrested a racially diverse group of MK leaders who had gathered to debate the merits of a guerilla insurgency. Evidence was found implicating Mandela and other activists, who were brought to stand trial for sabotage, treason and violent conspiracy alongside their associates. Mandela and seven other defendants narrowly escaped the gallows and were instead sentenced to life imprisonment during the so-called Rivonia Trial, which lasted eight months and attracted substantial international attention.

In a stirring opening statement that sealed his iconic status around the world, Mandela admitted to some of the charges against him while defending the ANC’s actions and denouncing the injustices of apartheid. He ended with the following words: “I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” Nelson Mandela’s Years Behind Bars Nelson Mandela spent the first 18 of his 27 years in jail at the brutal Robben Island Prison, a former leper colony off the coast of Cape Town, where he was confined to a small cell without a bed or plumbing and compelled to do hard labor in a lime quarry. As a black political prisoner, he received scantier rations and fewer privileges than other inmates. He was only allowed to see his wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (1936-), who he had married in 1958 and was the mother of his two young daughters, once every six months.

Mandela and his fellow prisoners were routinely subjected to inhumane punishments for the slightest of offenses; among other atrocities, there were reports of guards burying inmates in the ground up to their necks and urinating on them. These restrictions and conditions notwithstanding, while in confinement Mandela earned a bachelor of law degree from the University of London and served as a mentor to his fellow prisoners, encouraging them to seek better treatment through nonviolent resistance. He also smuggled out political statements and a draft of his autobiography, “Long Walk to Freedom,” published five years after his release. Despite his forced retreat from the spotlight, Mandela remained the symbolic leader of the antiapartheid movement. In 1980 Oliver Tambo introduced a “Free Nelson Mandela” campaign that made the jailed leader a household name and fueled the growing international outcry against South Africa’s racist regime. As pressure mounted, the government offered Mandela his freedom in exchange for various political compromises, including the renouncement of violence and recognition of the “independent” Transkei Bantustan, but he categorically rejected these deals.

In 1982 Mandela was moved to Pollsmoor Prison on the mainland, and in 1988 he was placed under house arrest on the grounds of a minimum-security correctional facility. The following year, newly elected president F. W. de Klerk (1936-) lifted the ban on the ANC and called for a nonracist South Africa, breaking with the conservatives in his party. On February 11, 1990, he ordered Mandela’s release. Nelson Mandela as President of South Africa After attaining his freedom, Nelson Mandela led the ANC in its negotiations with the governing National Party and various other South African political organizations for an end to apartheid and the establishment of a multiracial government. Though fraught with tension and conducted against a backdrop of political instability, the talks earned Mandela and de Klerk the Nobel Peace Prize in December 1993. On April 26, 1994, more than 22 million South Africans turned out to cast ballots in the country’s first multiracial parliamentary elections in history.

An overwhelming majority chose the ANC to lead the country, and on May 10 Mandela was sworn in as the first black president of South Africa, with de Klerk serving as his first deputy. As president, Mandela established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate human rights and political violations committed by both supporters and opponents of apartheid between 1960 and 1994. He also introduced numerous social and economic programs designed to improve the living standards of South Africa’s black population. In 1996 Mandela presided over the enactment of a new South African constitution, which established a strong central government based on majority rule and prohibited discrimination against minorities, including whites. Improving race relations, discouraging blacks from retaliating against the white minority and building a new international image of a united South Africa were central to President Mandela’s agenda. To these ends, he formed a multiracial “Government of National Unity” and proclaimed the country a “rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.” In a gesture seen as a major step toward reconciliation, he encouraged blacks and whites alike to rally around the predominantly Afrikaner national rugby team when South Africa hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

On his 80th birthday in 1998, Mandela wed the politician and humanitarian Graça Machel (1945-), widow of the former president of Mozambique. (His marriage to Winnie had ended in divorce in 1992.) The following year, he retired from politics at the end of his first term as president and was succeeded by his deputy, Thabo Mbeki (1942-) of the ANC. Nelson Mandela’s Later Years and Legacy After leaving office, Nelson Mandela remained a devoted champion for peace and social justice in his own country and around the world. He established a number of organizations, including the influential Nelson Mandela Foundation and The Elders, an independent group of public figures committed to addressing global problems and easing human suffering. In 2002, Mandela became a vocal advocate of AIDS awareness and treatment programs in a culture where the epidemic had been cloaked in stigma and ignorance. The disease later claimed the life of his son Makgatho (1950-2005) and is believed to affect more people in South Africa than in any other country.

Treated for prostate cancer in 2001 and weakened by other health issues, Mandela grew increasingly frail in his later years and scaled back his schedule of public appearances. In 2009, the United Nations declared July 18 “Nelson Mandela International Day” in recognition of the South African leader’s contributions to democracy, freedom, peace and human rights around the world. Nelson Mandela died on December 5, 2013 from a recurring lung infection. Tags Nelson Mandela is freed | South African History Online South African History Online Home » Nelson Mandela is freed Nelson Mandela is freed source npr.org Sunday, 11 February 1990 On this day, Nelson Mandela was released unconditionally from prison after 27 years. Accompanied by his then-wife Winnie, he left the Victor Verster prison (later renamed Drakenstein Correctional Centre) on the outskirts of Paarl and was driven the 60 kms to Cape Town by African National Congress'(ANC) Rose Sonto along a route lined by thousands of supporters. On the balcony of the City Hall he spoke to a crowd of approximately 50 000 people, who had waited for hours to see him.

He started by expressing his sincere and warmest gratitude to the "millions of my compatriots and those in every corner of the globe who have campaigned tirelessly for my release". Mandela's release followed the relaxation of apartheid laws - including the unbanning of leading liberation organisations (e.g. ANC , SACP , PAC ) by then South African President FW de Klerk . In commemoration of his release, people across the country danced joyously in the streets. Unfortunately the revelry also caused some problems, as doctors had to treat over a hundred people as police clashed with youths looting shops in various cities and townships. In Mdantsane, Ciskei, 10 people were killed when Ciskei soldiers used force against a group of revellers celebrating this liberation figure's release. Mandela’s release can be seen as the beginning of the new South Africa. References: • Coleman, M. (ed)(1998). A Crime Against Humanity: analysing the repression of the apartheid state, Johannesburg: Human Rights Committee, p. 269. • Wallis, F. (2000).

Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau. • Meer, F. (ed)(1993). The Codesa file. Durban: Madiba Publishers.

Question: In which month in 1990 was Nelson Mandela released from prison in South Africa?
Answer: February