SPEECH BY F W DE KLERK TO THE CONFERENCE ON THE THINGS THAT UNITE US, VINEYARD HOTEL, NEWLANDS, February 2 2011

THE THINGS THAT UNITE US: THE CONSTITUTION

It is a pleasure for me to address this conference on the indispensible contribution that our Constitution makes to national unity.

The Conference has already heard of the important role played by sport, religion, economic interdependence and the spirit of Ubuntu in promoting national unity.  I would like to deal with another factor that lies at the foundation of our emerging national unity: our Constitution.

When considering the unifying role of our Constitution it would be useful to recall the factors that lay at the roots of our historic divisions. 

The simple reality is that the country we know today as South Africa was - like so many other African countries - an artificial creation of European imperialists.  South Africa, in its present territorial form, was created when the Union of Old South Africa was established on 31 May, 1910.   During the preceding century Britain - in what the historian Sir John Seeley described as a fit of absent-mindedness - gained dominion over most of southern Africa.   Indeed, the central theme of our history during the nineteenth century was the relentless conquest by Britain of the three dominant independent peoples of the region - first the Xhosa, then the Zulus and finally, the Afrikaners.    

At the beginning of the twentieth century Britain found itself in possession of an untidy - and often vexatious - assortment of territories and colonies in the sub-continent.  What to do with them?  It concluded that the best solution would be to apply the prescription that had recently worked so well in Canada and Australia, where separate colonies had been consolidated into tidy federations.  Why not try the same approach in South Africa?

Unfortunately, the situations were entirely different: in Canada and Australia the indigenous populations were small and disorganised and the settlers - with various mixtures of English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh - shared the same broad British culture and values.  In South Africa

• the indigenous population was a large majority that comprised coherent and formidable nations (the Zulus had, after all, inflicted a crushing defeat on the British army at Ishlandwana in 1879).
• The white population was fractious and had only just emerged from a devastating war that had laid waste much of the country and killed a sizable portion of the Afrikaner population. 
• There was no common language; no common history; and few common aspirations. 
• Worse still - without any consultation and without their consent - sovereignty over the black national groups was transferred to white South Africans whose main interests lay in warding off any political and economic threat that black South Africans might pose.

There was no basis for national unity.  The subsequent fifty years were marked by a continuing struggle for dominance between the two white peoples - with Afrikaners intent on re-establishing their lost republics and English-speaking South Africans determined to maintain their ties with Britain.  

With the independence of most of the African colonies after 1960 the political focus shifted from disunity between the white communities to the growing tensions and divisions with black South Africans.   One's politics were determined by one's definition of who comprised the South African nation: 

• for rightwing Afrikaners, the nation was the ‘volk';
• for moderate Afrikaners and for most English-speaking South Africans, the nation comprised whites. 
• For liberal whites and for the ANC it was everyone in South Africa. 
• For the PAC it was the blacks.

From the 1960s onward, these different perceptions of who constituted the South African nation led to deepening division and escalating conflict.  The National Party - in pursuit of the Verwoerdian ideology of ethnic self-determination - tried to impose separate nationalities on all South Africa's constituent peoples.  However, it allocated only 13% of the country to 79% of the people and severely restricted the rights of ‘non-whites' living in the so-called ‘white areas'. Predictably, its policies were vehemently rejected by the vast majority of South Africans

During the mid-1980s South Africa experienced escalating internal conflict and tightening international isolation.  By 1986 the National Party had begun to accept that its policies had failed;  that attempts to ‘reform apartheid' would not succeed - and that the country's problems could be addressed only by accepting the principle of a united, non-racial South Africa in which all citizens would enjoy equal constitutional rights.  

By the time I became president in September 1989 the National Party was already committed to fundamental transformation.  21 years ago, on 2 February 1990, I announced the steps that opened the way to our national transformation.  In the subsequent months South Africans from all political parties with significant support came together to hammer out agreements on the establishment of our non-racial constitutional democracy.   In December 1991 their representatives gathered at CODESA to commence negotiations on a new constitution.  Their first act was to adopt a Declaration of Intent which called, among other things, for a Constitution that would ensure:

• that South Africa would be a united, democratic, non-racial and non-sexist state in which sovereign authority is exercised over the whole of its territory;
• that the Constitution would be the supreme law and that it would be guarded over by an independent, non-racial and impartial judiciary;
• that there would be a multi-party democracy with the right to form and join political parties and with regular elections on the basis of universal adult suffrage on a common voters roll;
• that there would be a separation of powers between the legislature, executive and judiciary with appropriate checks and balances;
• that the diversity of languages, cultures and religions of the people of South Africa would be acknowledged;
• that everyone would enjoy universally accepted human rights, freedoms and civil liberties including freedom of religion, speech and assembly protected by an entrenched and justiciable Bill of Rights and a legal system that guarantees equality of all before the law.

Within two years we had adopted an interim constitution that included all these elements.  The vision adopted in the Declaration of Intent was subsequently the foundation of the 1996 Constitution and is now part of our everyday reality in South Africa.

The fact that after such a long and divided history we South Africans succeeded in achieving these goals has been an inspiration for the peaceful resolution of conflicts everywhere. 

• We showed the world that even the most intractable disputes can be solved by peaceful negotiations; 
• we showed that it is possible to break out of the destructive cycle of fear, discrimination and prejudice that continues to beset so many divided societies around the world; and
• we showed that new societies can be built on the basis of shared visions, shared values and shared approaches to governance and fundamental rights.

However, our Constitution was much more than simply a blueprint for how the new society would be governed and a shopping list of the rights that would be assured.  In a very real sense it was a solemn compact on how the issues that had divided South Africa for generations would be resolved.  It dealt, on the one hand, with the fears of minorities that their civil, cultural and economic rights would be swept aside in a majority rule dispensation.  On the other hand it addressed the aspirations of the majority - for justice, for equality and for a better life.

For these reasons it is a carefully balanced document:

On the one hand it is unambiguously transformative. 

It clearly requires action to promote equality.  It empowers the State to take measures to promote the achievement of equality through the advancement of persons or categories of persons who had been disadvantaged by unfair discrimination. 

On the other hand it prohibits unfair discrimination - and requires proof that any discriminatory measures that are adopted are fair.

Section 25 of the Constitution opens the way to expropriation in the national interest - including expropriation for the purpose of land reform.   However, it requires the payment of compensation that would have to be agreed by the parties involved or be decided by a court within the framework of a number of clear and objective criteria.

The Constitution calls for national unity - but recognises the diversity of South Africa's languages and cultures and assures everyone's right to speak the language and practise the culture - of their choice.

The Constitution has worked reasonably well in maintaining the cohesion of our new society and in providing the foundation for growing national unity.  The symbols that it enshrines - our national anthem, our national flag and our coat of arms - have been enthusiastically adopted by the vast majority of people from all our communities.   They now constitute the main outward and visible signs of our new unity.

However, the Constitution goes further than that: it presents a vision of a society based on justice and human dignity to which we should all aspire.  In its Preamble it calls for a society

• that has healed the divisions of the past;
• that is based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental rights;
• that is based on openness, in which the will of the people and of every citizen is protected by the law;
• a society that will improve the quality of life of all citizens and will free the potential in each person; and
• that will be united and able to take its rightful place in the family of nations.

The Constitution also spells out the basic values on which our new society has been established:  they include

• human dignity; the achievement of equality; and the advancement of human rights and freedoms;
• non-racialism and non-sexism;
• the supremacy of the constitution and the rule of law, including the invalidity of law or conduct inconsistent with the Constitution and the fulfillment of constitutional obligations.
• a common South African citizenship - with  equality of all citizens in respect of the rights, privileges and benefits of citizenship as well as the duties and responsibilities of citizenship;
• a  multi-party system of democratic government based on accountability, responsiveness and openness with universal adult suffrage, a national common voters roll, and regular elections; and
• recognition of  eleven official languages all of which must enjoy parity of esteem and must be treated equitably.

This vision and these values are the foundation of our emerging national unity.

Unfortunately, they are not espoused by everyone.

There are those who think that the 1996 Constitution was simply an expedient to accommodate the prevailing exigencies and balance of forces of the time.  They imagine that with the passage of time it will be possible to ignore or dispense with elements of the Constitution that do not accord with their personal or party agendas.

In some areas this is already happening. 

• The language provisions in the founding principles of the Constitution are being increasingly ignored by government.  Government at the national level is unashamedly conducted in only one language - English.  The right to education in the language of one's choice is under threat.
• The independence of key institutions that were established to support constitutional democracy - such as the National Prosecuting authority - has been seriously undermined. 
• Leading parties and politicians openly espouse programmes - such as worker hegemony in all sectors of the state and society - that are irreconcilable with the letter and spirit of our Constitution. 
• The language of some other leaders grows more intemperate by the day in calling for the racial redistribution of wealth and in resurrecting the struggle language - and songs - of the past.

Despite these problems, the Constitution continues to provide a firm foundation for our young non-racial democracy.  It remains the main foundation of our national unity.

But it is fragile.  Our new society and our national unity depend in the long run on adherence to the vision, the values and the fundamental rights that the Constitution enshrines.  The more we deviate from them, the more we undermine the foundations of our new society.

In his disturbing poem, ‘The Second Coming' William Butler Yeats conjured up a stark picture of disintegration.

    "Turning and turning in the widening gyre
    The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
    Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
    Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
    The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
    The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
    The best lack all conviction, while the worst
    Are full of passionate intensity."

This afternoon we have been discussing the things that unite us:

• The things that hold the centre together;
• The things that preserve the ceremonies of innocence;
• The things that ensure that our society does not fall apart;

These things that unite us include

• our wonderful success in solving our historic problems by peaceful means;
• the national symbols of which we have all become so proud;
• the religious principles that are shared by so many of our people;
• our mutual interdependence;
• the unifying power of sport - that was so magnificently evident in the success of the 2010 FIFA World Cup; and
• the voluntary work and generosity of millions of South Africans from all our communities who selflessly care for their fellow citizens in the true spirit of Ubuntu;

But most notably they include our Constitution which expresses the values and dreams of our people and protects their fundamental rights.  It provides us with a common space where we can all come together, in unity, in security and in hope.

I have no doubt that the vision, values and rights enshrined in the Constitution enjoy the support of the vast majority of all our people.

Our challenge as South Africans is to ensure that the Constitutional centre holds and that it will continue to provide the basis for national unity and coherence.  I am confident that it will do so - but then, the best must be prepared to defend it with all the conviction they can muster.  The great moderate majority in our emerging non-racial nation must raise their voices in unison - and drown out the voices of the extremists, of those who are full of passionate intensity.

The unity and the future of our new non-racial nation depends on it.

Source: FW de Klerk Foundation

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