Dec. 5 - Nelson Mandela anniversary of his passing

Dec. 5 - Nelson Mandela anniversary of his passing

By Lynda Carson - December 17, 2025

As recent as December 5, 2025, it was the 12th anniversary of the passing of Nelson Mandela, and from what I could tell there were only a few reports in the U.S. news media that mentioned his passing, including the Chicago Tribune.

On February 12, 1990, after 18 years of being a prisoner of the South African government at Robben Island, Nelson Mandella was released. However, he may have been in captivity by the government for as many as 27 years.

After his release, during a tour of the U.S., Nelson Mandella came to Oakland, to do a speech at the Coliseum where around 58,000 people packed the stadium to hear him speak.

According to a Wikipedia report, in part it says, “ Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, born Rolihlahla Mandela; b. July 18, 1918 – d. December 5, 2013, was a South African anti-apartheid activist and statesman who was the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first Black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His administration focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by fostering racial reconciliation and a multiracial democracy. Ideologically an African nationalist and socialist, he served as the president of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997.”

In a May 2012 report with the Smithsonian Magazine, in part it says, “The busload of tourists on Robben Island grew quiet as Yasien Mohamed, our 63-year-old guide, gestured to a bleak limestone quarry on the side of the road. It was here, he said, that Nelson Mandela toiled virtually every day for 13 years, digging up rock, some of which paved the road we were driving on. The sun was so relentless, the quarry so bright and dusty, that Mandela was stricken with “snow blindness” that damaged his eyes.

Nevertheless, Mandela and other heroes of South Africa’s anti-apartheid movement, such as Govan Mbeki and Walter Sisulu, used their time in this quarry to teach each other literature, philosophy and political theory, among other things. “This campus may not look like the fancy university campuses you have in America,” Mohamed said, “but this limestone quarry was one of the great universities of the world.”

Robben Island, a desolate outcropping five miles offshore, is a testament to courage and fortitude in the face of brutality, a must-see for any visitor to South Africa. Tours leave Cape Town four times a day, and the trip includes a bus tour of the island and a visit to the prison.

The island was first used as a political prison in the mid-1600s; Dutch settlers sent slaves, convicts and indigenous Khoikhoi people who refused to bend to colonial rule. In 1846 the island was turned into a leper colony. From 1961 to 1991, a maximum-security prison here held enemies of apartheid. In 1997, three years after apartheid fell, the prison was turned into the Robben Island Museum.

The most powerful part of the tour is a visit to Mandela’s cell, a 7-by-9-foot room where a bulb burned day and night over his head for the 18 years he was jailed here, beginning in 1964. As Mandela recalled in Long Walk to Freedom, “I could walk the length of my cell in three paces. When I lay down, I could feel the wall with my feet and my head grazed the concrete at the other side.”

Below are a few interesting historical reports leading up to the release of Nelson Mandela.

Lynda Carson may be reached at newzland2 [at] gmail.com

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April 12, 1975 report, called VORSTER KEEPS MANDELA'S PRISON DOOR FIRMLY CLOSED.

In part, it says “RESPONDING IN PARLIAMENT APRIL 21 TO AN APPEAL BY
PROGRESSIVE PARTY LEADER COLIN EGLIN THAT HE CONSIDER A
REMISSION OF POLITICAL PRISONERS' SENTENCES, PRIME MINISTER
VORSTER SAID HE DID NOT CONSIDER NELSON MANDELA AND OTHERS
LIKE TO TO BE POLITICAL PRISONERS. EGLIN, HE SAID, SHOULD
NOT EXPECT HIM TO DO ANYTHING ON THE MATTER SIMPLY BECAUSE
THERE WERE FOREIGN STATES WHICH ACCEPTED MEN LIKE MANDELA
AS LEADERS OF BLACK SOUTH AFRICANS INSTEAD OF THE BLACKS'
OWN SELECTED LEADERS.

VORSTER SAID PRISONERS HAD BEEN SENT TO JAIL BY COMPETENT
COURTS AND HAD BEEN CONVICTED OF CRIMES SUCH AS ARSON AND
MURDER. THEY WERE, HE MAINTAINED,CARD-CARRYING MEMBERS
OF COMMUNIST PARTY WHO DID NOT HAVE TRUE INTERESTS OF BLACKS
AT HEART, AND WISHED TO ESTABLISH IN SOUTH AFRICA A
'COMMUNIST STATE IN THE INTERESTS OF THE KREMLIN'. HE
STATED THAT MANDELA AND THE OTHERS HAVE NO CLAIM TO RELEASE
OR REMISSION OF THEIR SENTENCES.”

>>>>>>>
April 30, 1977 report, called RED CROSS REJECTS CONDITIONS FOR ACCESS TO DETAINEES.

In part, it says “SUMMARY: IN TWO RELATED BUT NOT DIRECTLY - CONNECTED EVENTS,
SAG HAS ATTEMPTED TO COUNTER ACCUSATIONS OF MISTREATMENT OF
POLITICAL PRISONERS AND DETAINEES. IT OFFERED RED CROSS
VISITS TO SECURITY DETAINEES (REJECTED BY RED CROSS DUE TO
CONDITIONS ATTACHED) AND FOR FIRST TIME PERMITTED NEWSMEN TO
VISIT ROBBEN ISLAND PRISON WHICH HOUSES POLITICAL PRISONERS
INCLUDING ANC LEADER NELSON MANDELA. JUSTICE MINISTER KRUGER
TOLD REPORTERS THERE WOULD BE "NO REMISSION OF SENTENCES"
FOR SECURITY PRISONERS. END SUMMARY

DURING YEARLY INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS (ICRC) VISIT TO
PRISONERS CONVICTED UNDER SOUTH AFRICAN SECURITY LAWS, ICRC
PRESIDENT ALEXANDER HAY TOLD PRESS APRIL 26 HE HAD ASKED JUSTICE
MINISTER KRUGER FOR PERMISSION TO ALSO VISIT THOSE DETAINED
WITHOUT TRIAL ON SECURITY GROUNDS. KRUGER REPORTEDLY AGREED
ON CONDITION THAT A MAGISTRATE BE PRESENT DURING EACH VISIT.

HAY TOLD REPORTERS HE HAD REJECTED THE OFFER UNDER THIS
CONDITION AS IT WAS CONTRARY TO ICRC POLICY. HE SAID ICRC
INSISTED ON PRIVATE INTERVIEWS AS THIS WAS ONLY WAY TO HAVE
FRANK DISCUSSIONS.

WITH REGARD TO SECURITY PRISONERS, HAY SAID HE FOUND
"COMMUNICATIONS BLACKOUT" (DENIAL OF NEWSPAPERS OR RADIOS AND
FEW FAMILY VISITS) "VERY SEVERE" AND SAID HE WAS "NOT CONVINCED"
THAT THESE WERE NEEDED FOR SECURITY REASONS. HAY SAID HE HOPED
KRUGER WOULD RESPOND FAVORABLY TO REQUEST FOR MORE FREQUENT
ICRC VISITS TO PRISONERS IN FUTURE. HAY SAID ON BASIS OF
PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION LAST YEAR ICRC HAD DETERMINED THERE
WAS NO RPT NO NEED FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION INTO CONDITIONS OF
BLACKS HELD IN PRIVATE MENTAL INSTITUTIONS AS THEY WERE NOT
RPT NOT HELD FOR POLITICAL REASONS.

TWENTY-FIVE LOCAL AND FOREIGN NEWSMEN WERE PERMITTED FOR
FIRST TIME ON APRIL 25 TO VISIT MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON ON
ROBBEN ISLAND WHICH HOUSES SOME 370 PRISONERS CONVICTED UNDER
VARIOUS SECURITY LAWS. AMONG WELL-KNOWN INMATES ARE 59 YEAR-
OLD NELSON MANDELA, FORMER SECRETARY OF AFRICAN NATIONAL
CONGRESS SERVING LIFE SENTENCE AND HERMAN JA-TOIVO A FOUNDER
MEMBER OF SWAPO SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS IN 1968 FOR TERRORIST
ACTIVITY IN NAMBIBIA. JUSTICE MINISTER KRUGER TOLD PRESS HE HAD
"NO ULTERIOR MOTIVE" IN ARRANGING VISIT AND SAID IT HAD "NO
CONNECTION" WITH PRESENCE HERE OF WESTERN DELEGATIONS DIS-
CUSSING FUTURE OF SWA. IN PRESS RELEASE SAME DAY KRUGER SAID
JOURNALISTS COULD "TEST FOR THEMSELVES THE TREATMENT AND TRUE
CIRCUMSTANCES" OF PRISONERS, WHILE PRISON DIRECTOR IN BRIEFING
NEWSMEN REFERRED TO "SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS" MADE IN UN AND
OTHER REPORTS. ALL 25 JOURNALISTS PARTICIPATING IN TOUR
WERE REQUIRED TO AGREE TO SUBMIT THEIR REPORTS FOR PRIOR
CLEARANCE TO PRISON DEPARTMENT.

IN LATER PRESS CONFERENCE, KRUGER SAID THERE WOULD BE NO
REMISSION OF ANY OF THE PRISONERS SENTENCES BECAUSE THEY HAD
COMMITTED CRIMES AGAINST THE STATE AND NOWHERE IN
THE WORLKD DO SUCH PRISONERS GET REMISSION. KRUGER ALSO
SAID PRISONERS FROM SWA (NAMIBIA) WOULD, AT LATER DATE, BE
TRANSFERRED THERE "DEPENDING ON WHAT HAPPENS THERE". HE
SAID LACK OF ACCOMMODATIONS IN SWA PRISONS PREVENTED
SUCH A MOVE AT THIS TIME.

FULL PAGE REPORTS IN LOCAL PRESS WERE ANODYNE AND HELPED
BUTTRESS SAG CLAIMS THAT PRISONERS ARE ACCORDED FAIR AND
HUMANE TREATMENT (CLIPPINGS BEING POUCHED TO AF).

A CAPE TIMES EDITORIAL CALLED THE VISIT A
"FORWARD STEP" BUT SAID MAJOR CONCERN WAS NOT SO MUCH
ABOUT PRISONS AS ABOUT "PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH OF
DETAINEES UNDER INTERROGATION BY THE SECURITY POLICE".
EDITORIAL SAID "EXTRAORDINARY" NUMBER OF DEATHS IN
DETENTION, FREQUENT COMPLAINTS OF TORTURE, BANNING OF
SUCH PUBLICATIONS AS "TORTURE IN SOUTH AFRICA?"
(RHP"3)) AND SAG REFUSAL TO ALLOW INDEPENDENT INQUIRY
REMAINED CAUSES OF "BURNING CONCERN.”

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May 18, 1977 report, BANISHMENT OF WINNIE MANDELA..

It says, “BANISHMENT OF WINNIE MANDELA: “A POLICE SPOKESMAN
ANNOUNCED ON MAY 16 THAT MRS. WINNIE MANDELA, WIFE OF
JAILED AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS PRESIDENT NELSON MANDELA,
HAS BEEN REQUIRED TO MOVE FROM SOWETO TO A REMOTE VILLAGE
IN THE ORANGE FREE STATE. MRS. MANDELA HAS BEEN POLITI-
CALLY ACTIVE IN SOUTH AFRICA FOR MANY YEARS. SHE HELPED
FOUND THE BLACK PARENTS ASSOCIATION SOON AFTER THE RIOTS
BEGAN IN SOWETO LAST JUNE. THE ASSOCIATION INCLUDED A
NUMBER OF PROMINENT AFRICANS, SUCH AS BISHOP MANAS
BUTHELEZI, WHO ENDEAVORED UNSUCCESSFULLY TO MEDIATE BE-
TWEEN THE STUDENTS AND THE AUTHORITIES. PRESUMABLY AS
THE RESULT OF THIS ACTIVITY, SHE WAS DETAINED IN AUGUST
1976 AND KEPT IN DETENTION UNTIL DECEMBER. SHE WAS
BANNED (I.E. RESTRICTED IN HER ACTIVITIES AND ASSOCIATIONS)
SOON AFTER HER RELEASE FROM DETENTION. MRS. MANDELA HAS
NOT BEEN OFFICIALLY CHARGED WITH OR TRIED FOR ANY OFFENSE
UNDER SOUTH AFRICAN LAW.”

>>>>>>>
June 8, 1977 report, called VISIT WITH WINNIE MANDELA.

In part, it says, “CONOFF TRAVELLED TO BRANDFORT IN ORANGE FREE STATE
FOR TALKS WTH RECENTLY BANISHED WINNIE MANDELA. TALKS
TOOK PLACE IN OFFICES OF LOCAL LAWYER UNDER WATCHFUL EYES
OF POLICE ACROSS STREET. MEETING WAS PRIVATE, WITH ONLY
CONOFF AND MRS MANDELA PRESENT.

MRS MANDELA APPEARED INITIALLY RESERVED BUT WARMED UP AS
MEETING PROGRESSED. IT APPEARS SHE IS STRIVING TO MAINTAIN
STOICISM ABOUT HER PREDICAMENT BUT RESENTMENT CLEARLY LINGERS
BENEATH THE SURFACE. SHE DESCRIBED HER BANISHMENT TO BRANDFORT
AS "PRISON, PERHAPS THE CELL IS LARGER, BUT IT IS STILL A PRISON".

DESPITE RECENT SPECULATION THAT SHE WOULD SEEK EXILE IN THE TRANSKEI
OR SWAZILAND, AFTER DISCUSSING THE ISSUE WITH HER IMPRISIONED HUS-
BAND THIS PAST WEEKEND, SHE IS RESOLVED TO STAY IN BRANDFORT AND
ENDURE BANISHMENT RATHER THAN ACCEPT TRANSKEI EXILE. SHE FEELS BANISH-
MENT WAS COOKED UP BETWEEN TRANSKEI PM MATANZIMA AND SAG PM VORSTER
TO REMOVE ME FROM MY PEOPLE AND PUT THE SPOTLIGHT ON THE TRANSKEI.

SHE CLEARLY SUSPECTS MATANZIMA OF USING HER TO GAIN LEGITIMACY FOR
TRANSKEI.IN HER WORDS, SHE WOULD BE OBLIGED TO CHOOSE THE TRANSKEI
BECAUSE "BRANDFORT WOULD BE SO BAD THAT I WOULD BE FORECED TO ACCEPT
ANY ALTERNATIVE". SHE REVEALED MATANZIMA HAD CALLED HER AND ARRANGED
(ACCORDING TO HER) WITH VORSTER FOR HER TO BE EXILED TO TRANSKEI.
SHE REFUSES, HOWEVER, TO BE MANIPULATED AND WILL STAY IN BRANDFORT
"AS LONG AS NECESSARY".

MRS MANDELA REPORTS SHE IS UNDER CONSTANT HARASSMENT, WITH
SECURITY POLICE COMING AND GOING AT ALL HOURS. VISITORS TO HER
TOWNSHIP HOME ARE WARNED OF LEGAL CONSEQUENCES IF THEY PERSIST
IN VISITING, ALL PART OF A CAMPAIGN, SHE SAYS, TO MAKE LIFE
AS DIFFICULT AS POSSIBLE. SHE EXPRESSED CLEAR INTEREST IN AMB
YOUNG'S VISIT, IMPLYING THE REASON THE BPC DID NOT WANT TO MEET
WITH AMB YOUNG, APART FROM BEING A PROTEST AGAINST PAST USG
POLICIES, WAS TO HIGHLIGHT HER BANISHMENT. SHE STATED IF SHE
HAD BEEN FREE, SHE "PROBABLY" WOULD HAVE MET WITH AMB YOUNG,
ALTHOUGH THE BPC (AND WINNIE MANDELA) ARE STILL SHE SAID, PIQUED
BY ALLEGED US-SOUTH AFRICAN COLLABORATION. SHE (ONCE AGAIN SPEAKING
COLLECTIVELY AS PART OF THE BLACK CONCIOUSNESS MOVEMENT) IS AWARE OF
THE CARTER ADMINISTRATIONS INITIATIVES AND CONCEDED THAT IT WAS
PERHAPS EARLY TO BE MAKING DEFINITIVE JUDGMENTS ON NEW USG
POLICIES TOWARD SOUTH AFRICA.

AS TO THE TIMING OF HER BANISHMENT, COMING ON THE EVE OF THE
VORSTER-MONDALE TALKS, MRS MANDELA CONFESSED TO BEING "MYSTIFIED"
AND JOKED ONE OF THE FEW SOURCES OF AMUSEMENT FOR HER THESE DAYS
WAS THE APPARENT LACK OF COORDINATION WITHIN, AND GROWING INEPT-
ITUDE OF, THE SAG. SHE ASSERTS THE SAG "IS CONVINCED THE ANC IS
MASTERMINDING BLACK POWER DISTURBANCES AND THAT MAKES ME A
LOGICAL TARGET". SHE MAINTAINS, NONETHELESS, HER ROLE IS AS
A "MOUTHPIECE FOR MY PEOPLE" AND "ASIDE FROM BEING NELSON'S
WIFE (NELSON MANDELA, IMPRISONED ANC LEADER) I AM A SYMBOL OF
MY PEOPLES' STRUGGLE".

COMMENT: THERE ARE THOSE, OF COURSE WHO DISPUTE WINNIE MANDELAS
CLAIM TO LEADERSHIP BUT THERE IS NO DOUBT SHE IS AN ARTICULATE AND
IMPRESSIVE WOMAN. IT BECAME CLEAR IN THE COURSE OF THE CONVERSATION
THAT WINNIE MANDELA DOES NOT SEE HERSELF AS ONLY THE WIFE OF
NELSON, BUT A POLITICAL FIGURE AND A LEADER IN HER OWN RIGHT. HER
BANISHMENT TO BRANDFORT, ASIDE FROM THE TRANSKEI CONNECTION,
IS PROBABLY AN ATTEMPT TO LOWER, IF NOT OUTRIGHT SUBMERTE, THE
MANDELA PROFILE. IF THAT IS THE CASE, SHE WILL PROBABLY BE
CALLING BRANDFORT HOME FOR SOME TIME.

(FOR THE DEPARTMENT: MRS MANDELA WROTE TWO LETTERS THAT SHE
ASKED BE DELIVERED TO PRESIDENT CARTER AND AMB YOUNG,
RESPECTIVELY. LETTERS TO BE AIRPOUCHED.)”

>>>>>>>
January 17, 1990 report, called ESSA MOOSA TALKS ABOUT MANDELA AND OTHER TOPICS.

In part, it says “SUMMARY
________
ATTORNEY ESSA MOOSA WHO SPOKE WITH HIM LAST WEEK,
SAYS MANDELA FULLY EXPECTS THAT ON FEBRUARY 2 DE KLERK
WILL ANNOUNCE THE UNBANNING OF THE ANC, PAC AND OTHER
ORGANIZATIONS, THE LIFTING OF THE STATE OF EMERGENCY,
THE RETURN OF POLITICAL EXILES TO SOUTH AFRICA, AND THE
RELEASE OF SEVERAL POLITICAL PRISONERS INCLUDING MANDELA
HIMSELF. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ANNOUNCEMENTS WOULD COME
SWIFTLY AFTER DE KLERK'S SPEECH AT THE OPENING OF
PARLIAMENT.

THE SAG IS CONCERNED OVER ANC RELATIONS WITH THE SACP
AND OVER THE WORKING DEFINITION OF "ONE MAN ONE VOTE,"
AMONG OTHER "WHITE FEARS" ISSUES. MANDELA HAS PASSED
DE KLERK'S "PROPOSALS" ON THESE TOPICS TO THE ANC.
THE ORGANIZATION'S ANNOUNCEMENT THAT IT IS WILLING TO
NEGOTIATE EVEN WHILE APARTHEID LAWS REMAIN IN PLACE MAY
BE PART OF THE ANC'S REPLY TO THE SAG.

TENSIONS IN THE COMMUNITY HAVE BEEN SIGNIFICANTLY
REDUCED BY THE SAG'S TACTIC OF OPENING DIALOGUE AND A
COMMITMENT SHARED BY THE MDM TO REDUCE CONFRONTATIONS.
WHILE MAINLY OF BENEFIT TO THE SAG, THIS PERIOD OF CALM
COULD ALSO FAVOR THE ANC'S NEW STRATEGY OF PRAGMATISM.

RAISING THE PENDING VISIT OF JESSE JACKSON, MOOSA
EXPRESSED CONCERN THAT IT WOULD BE BAD FOR THE STRUGGLE
IF JACKSON ADVOCATED LIFTING SANCTIONS UPON HIS RETURN TO
THE US. END SUMMARY.

IN A HALF HOUR CONVERSATION WITH POLECONOFF. ESSA
MOOSA. THE WESTERN CAPE UDF'S LAWYER AND ONE OF THE
ATTORNEYS WHO MET WITH MANDELA LAST WEEK, MADE THE F0LLOW-
ING REMARKS:

--------------------------------------------- -------------
MANDELA RELEASE WILL BE ANNOUNCED FEBRUARY 2 IN PARLIAMENT
--------------------------------------------- -------------

MANDELA MADE IT QUITE CLEAR THAT HE FULLY EXPECTS
PRESIDENT FW DE KLERK TO MAKE SEVERAL MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS
IN HIS FEBRUARY 2 SPEECH AT THE OPENING OF PARLIAMENT.

DE KLERK WILL ANNOUNCE:

-- THE UNBANNING OF THE ANC, PAC AND OTHER POLITICAL
ORGANIZATIONS;

-- THE END OF THE STATE OF EMERGENCY;

-- THE RETURN OF POLITICAL EXILES TO SOUTH AFRICA;

-- THE RELEASE OF A NUMBER OF POLITICAL PRISONERS,

- INCLUDING NELSON MANDELA.

THESE ANNOUNCEMENTS WILL NOT NECESSARILY MEAN THAT ALL
THE ITEMS LISTED WILL TAKE EFFECT AS OF THE TIME OF THE
SPEECH. BUT FIRM PLANS AND A COMMITMENT TO CARRY THEM OUT
SWIFTLY WILL BE PART OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT.

-------------------------------
WHERE WILL MANDELA BE RELEASED?
-------------------------------

MOOSA SIDESTEPPED A QUESTION ABOUT WHERE MANDELA'S
HOME BASE WOULD BE UPON HIS RELEASE. HE ONLY REMARKED
THAT MANDELA CAN TELL THE SAG WHERE HE WANTS TO BE
RELEASED AND WHERE HIS FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE WOULD THUS
TAKE PLACE. SENTIMENTALLY, SAID MOOSA, PAARL (WHERE
MANDELA IS NOW IN PRISON) SEEMED TO APPEAL TO MANDELA.
(COMMENT: BUT POLITICALLY AND PRACTICALLY THIS MAKES
LITTLE SENSE. JOHANNESBURG SEEMS BY FAR THE MOST
SUITABLE VENUE. END COMMENT.)

--------------------------------------------
DE KLERK-ANC COMMUNICATION THROUGH MANDELA
--------------------------------------------

WHEN HE MET SEVERAL WEEKS AGO WITH MANDELA, DE KLERK
PROVIDED A SET OF PROPOSALS AND ASKED FOR THE ANC'S
RESPONSE. MANDELA HAS NOT DISCUSSED THOSE PROPOSALS
IN ANY DETAIL WITH PEOPLE HERE (AT LEAST HE DID NOT DO SO
WITH THE LAWYERS' GROUP OF WHICH MOOSA WAS A MEMBER) BUT
HE DID TRANSMIT THEM TO ALFRED NZO AND THABO MBEKI.
MOOSA BELIEVES (PIECING TOGETHER STRAY REMARKS WHERE AND
THERE) THAT THE PROPOSALS RELATED PRINCIPALLY TO THE NEED
TO ALLAY WHITE FEARS. SPECIFICALLY, HE THINKS ONE ISSUE
WAS THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE ANC TO THE SACP (SOUTH AFRICAN
COMMUNIST PARTY) AND ANOTHER WAS THE DEFINITION OF ONE MAN
ONE VOTE.

ASIDE FROM BEING AN EFFORT TO SEIZE THE MORAL HIGH
GROUND BY PUBLICLY DEMONSTRATING FLEXIBILITY, THE ANC'S
RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT THAT IT IS PREPARED TO NEGOTIATE
EVEN WHILE APARTHEID LAWS LIKE THE GROUP AREAS ACT REMAIN
IN PLACE MAY BE PART OF THE ORGANIZATION'S REPLY TO DE
KLERK.

MOOSA UNDERSTANDS MANDELA TO HAVE WORKED OUT A
GAME PLAN FOR "NEXT STEPS" IN A NEGOTIATION WITH DE KLERK
SO AS TO ENSURE THAT HE IS NOT RELEASED FROM PRISON
INTO A VACUUM.

MANDELA HAS TOLD VARIOUS VISITORS THAT HE HAS A GOOD
OPINION OF DE KLERK AS A SINCERE INDIVIDUAL EVEN THOUGH
HE REGARDS HIM AS STILL THE LEADER OF THE NATIONAL PARTY
AND NOT MORE THAN THAT.

--------------------------------------------- ---------
COMMITMENT ON SAG AND MDM SIDE TO REDUCE CONFRONTATION
--------------------------------------------- ---------

MOOSA AGREED THAT THE ATMOSPHERE IS MUCH LESS TENSE
THAN EVEN SIX MONTHS AGO. FOR EXAMPLE, LAST YEAR THE
RETURN TO SCHOOL RESULTED IN THE USUAL ACCUSATIONS AND
PHYSICAL CONFRONTATIONS BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION AND TRAINING (DET), AIDED BY THE POLICE,
AND STUDENTS SUPPORTED BY PARENTS, TEACHERS AND THE MDM.
THIS YEAR THERE IS AN EVEN WORSE CRISIS DUE TO LACK OF
SPACE IN BLACK SCHOOLS AND THE FAILURE OF OVER 100,000
STUDENTS TO PASS THEIR "MATRIC EXAMS." YET THERE IS A NEW
SPIRIT OF DIALOGUE AT THE DET AND ACTIVISTS ARE
THEREFORE ABLE TO CHANNEL STUDENT FRUSTRATIONS IN A CON-
STRUCTIVE MANNER.

THE SAG'S NEW "TACTIC" OF ALLOWING DISSENT AND
ENGAGING IN DIALOGUE INSTEAD OF STONEWALLING "IS WORKING
FOR THEM," MOOSA SAID. HE ACKNOWLEDGED, HOWEVER, THAT IT
COULD ALSO, IF DEALT WITH POSITIVELY, WORK FOR THE MDM
AND ANC. THOUGH AN ABSENCE OF DIRECT CONFRONTATION IS
"DEMOBILIZING FOR THE MASSES," FEWER RAW NERVES AMONG
ACTIVISTS COULD MAKE THEM MORE AMENABLE TO THE ANC'S
INCREASINGLY PRAGMATIC STRATEGY FOR DEALING WITH THE SAG.
THAT STRATEGY, MOOSA SAID, IS NOT UNDERSTOOD BY MANY
ACTIVISTS, ESPECIALLY YOUTH, WHO FEAR A SELL-OUT OF THEIR
CAUSE. THERE REMAINS A LOT TO DO TO EXPLAIN THE VIRTUES
OF FLEXIBILITY TO THEM.

--------------------------------
PAC AND BC -- A THORN IN THE SIDE
--------------------------------

MOOSA DESCRIBED THE CONFERENCE ON A DEMOCRATIC
FUTURE AS "NOT A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE IN COOPERATION."
HE OPINED THAT THE PAC AND BC COULD TURN OUT TO BE A
REAL PROBLEM. HE EXPECTS THEM TO REMAIN ALOOF, SNIPING
AT THE ANC'S POSITIONS FROM THE SIDELINES AND STIRRING
UP YOUNG PEOPLE IN PARTICULAR.

----------------------
JESSE JACKSON VISIT
----------------------

MOOSA INQUIRED ABOUT THE DATES FOR JESSE JACKSON'S
VISIT AND EXPRESSED CONCERN THAT JACKSON HAD MET WITH
THE PRESS AT SOUTH AFRICAN AMBASSADOR KOORNHOF'S
RESIDENCE. MOOSA FEARED THAT THE SAG WAS GOING TOO GOOD
A JOB OF CULTIVATING JACKSON AND THAT HE MIGHT RETURN
TO THE US AND ANNOUNCE THAT SANCTIONS SHOULD BE LIFTED.
MOOSA APPEARED TO HAVE GREATER CONFIDENCE IN KOORNHOF'S
PERSUASIVE ABILITY THAN IN THAT OF THE SACC LEADERSHIP
WHICH IS HOSTING THE JACKSON VISIT.”

>>>>>>>
February 13, 1990 report, called MUTED SOVIET REACTION TO MANDELA'S RELEASE.

In part, it says “FOR ALL THE ATTENTION THE SOVIET MEDIA HAVE
PAID TO NELSON MANDELA'S RELEASE FEBRUARY 12, HE
MIGHT AS WELL STILL BE IN PRISON. "SEVEN DAYS", THE
USSR'S MAJOR SUNDAY EVENING NEWS AND WEEK-IN-REVIEW
PROGRAM, DEVOTED ALL OF THIRTY SECONDS TO THE EVENT,
AND BURIED IT SOME FORTY MINUTES INTO THE PROGRAM --
AFTER SUCH HIGHLIGHTS AS UPCOMING LOCAL ELECTIONS IN
SVERDLOVSK. "PRAVDA" (FEB. 12) LIKEWISE DEVOTED
SCANT COVERAGE TO THE RELEASE, AND CARRIED ONLY A BIO
SKETCH OF MANDELA, NEXT TO THE FAMILIAR 27-YEAR OLD
PHOTO OF THE ANC LEADER WHEN HE WAS JAILED.

AT A PRESS CONFERENCE IN MOSCOW FEBRUARY 12,
FIRST DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER YULIY VORONTSOV WAS
ASKED ABOUT MANDELA'S RELEASE AND WHETHER THIS WOULD
PROMPT THE USSR TO RESTORE DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH
SOUTH AFRICA. VORONTSOV RESPONDED THAT THE SOVIET
UNION WELCOMED MANDELA'S RELEASE BY THE SAG. "IT
WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER IF HE HAD NOT BEEN IMPRISONED
FOR 27 YEARS," VORONTSOV SAID IN THE ONLY FORCEFUL
COMMENT WE HAVE HEARD ON THIS SUBJECT. MANDELA'S
RELEASE DID NOT YET MEAN THE SAG HAD DISMANTLED
APARTHEID, HOWEVER. UNTIL THIS OCCURRED, THE WHOLE
CIVILIZED WORLD -- INCLUDING THE USSR -- WOULD REFUSE
TO HAVE NORMAL RELATIONS WITH SOUTH AFRICA, VORONTSOV
SAID.

THE SINCERITY OF VORONTSOV'S COMMENTS WAS
UNDERMINED BY THE FACT THAT THE QUESTION WAS
OBVIOUSLY "PLANTED." THE PRESS CONFERENCE HAD BEEN
CALLED TO DISCUSS AN ENTIRELY SEPARATE SUBJECT
RELATING TO THE MIDDLE EAST. THE PERSON WHO ASKED
THE QUESTION -- RADIO MOSCOW AFRICA SERVICE OFFICIAL
ALEKSEY BATOGOV -- WAS CLEARLY BEWILDERED BY HIS
PRESENCE THERE AND EVEN ASKED AN EMBOFF IN ATTENDANCE
WHAT THE PROCEDURE WAS FOR POSING QUESTIONS.

IF THIS RELATIVE LACK OF ATTENTION TO AN
HISTORIC EVENT HAS SURPRISED US, IT HAS NO DOUBT
INFURIATED SOME AFRICAN DIPLOMATS. NEVERTHELESS,
THIS TREATMENT CONFIRMS THE LOW PRIORITY WHICH
AFRICAN AFFAIRS OCCUPIES IN A SOVIET SOCIETY WHICH IS
ABSORBED IN DOMESTIC ISSUES.”

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