Male: On the run from the police in 1961, outlawed African national congress leader Nelson Mandela stated the democratic objectives of his party in his interview with the BBC.
Nelson: The Africans on a cry out want to franchise on the basis of one man, one vote. They want political independence. The question of education has nothing to do with the question on the vote. On numerous occasions, it has been told in history that people can enjoy the vote even if they have no education or proper desired education. Everything is a good thing, but you don’t have to have education in order to know. But you want certain fundamental rights so you have got aspirations, you have got claims. It has nothing to do with education whatsoever.
Male: The INC is battled to end the party was receiving worldwide coverage due largely to the efforts of this one man who was born on the Trandkei region of South Africa on July 18th 1918.
He was the son of a chieftain and the first member of his family to attend school before going on to study law while working as a security guard in the gold mine. After the introduction of a Partide in 1948, he and other young radicals took over the leadership of the ANC. Initially they were committed to non-violence civil disobedience such as strikes which led to the arrest of eight and a half thousand people.
However, after the Sharpeville Massacre massacre in which 69 black people were killed by police, the ANC was declared illegal. At that point, Nelson believed the ANC had no alternative but to resort to strategic violence. And he headed up the organizations armed wing, coordinating a so called sabotage campaign aimed at military and government targets, such as public buildings, power lines, telephone links and the railways.
After 17 months in hiding, he was arrested, brought to trial and sentenced to 5 years in prison. He faced another trial at the Pretoria Supreme Court in 1964 and was sentenced to life imprisonment. His second wife and co-activist Winnie was there to see him taken away with their babies in her arms. He was taken to the notorious Robben Island Prison, Table Bay where he performed hard labor, breaking up rocks in the line quarry.
And in 1985, President P.W. Botha, dangled the release on the condition that Mandela renounced arm struggle. Meanwhile, support for the band ANC’s cause was hunting up overseas. United Nations imposed trade sanctions and on Mandela’s 70th birthday in 1988, an estimated 400 million people watched the tribute concert given by the biggest names in rock and pop.
In south Africa itself, the ruling national party gained a new leader F.W de Klerk who—and negotiating in the release of Mandela. In the 11th of February 1990, he walked out the prison to be greeted by union and the waiting crowds, despite the celebrations it was obvious that his 27 years in jail had taken their toll as well as prostate problems, rumors abounded that it also contracted tuberculosis and diabetes.
Still it was a day for celebration. By next year, the ANC held its first national conference electing him as their president and he led the party negotiations that resulted in country’s first multi racial elections and after the assassination of senior LMC leader Chris Hani in April 1993, Mandela addressed the country dealing with the crowd in a historic speech that mark his final rejection of violence.
The scene was set for democratic elections to take place on April 27th 1994. On which date the ANC won 62% of majority vote. 2 weeks later at the age of 75, Nelson Mandela was elected the country’s first black president whit de Klerk as his deputy and the government of national—
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