Q: I have been pondering on this issue for a long time and I hope that the point I am trying to make will be seen in a positive manner. Individuals have a lot to say about the ANC and what they are doing and most of us agree that they are not doing a great job. Who is really to blame for that? Is that the World who sanctioned SA for not releasing Mandela? Is it the world who wanted the ANC un-banned?
A: Quite simply it is the electorate. You and they have the Government they want. Mandela is not as big a deal as you think. His arrest and detention was exploited by the Soviets/ANC in the Western Press to embarrass the UK/US and anyone else who supported the then SA Government. He went on to achieve hero status in Leftist circles but realistically he was not that important in the ANC. The political situation was not simply wanting the ANC unbanned. After the collapse of the Berlin Wall and Soviet Russia the US had no further need for "White" South Africa to halt the communist expansionism in Africa. It had dissappeared with Soviet Russia but the US could address the "human rights" issues of the Region unhindered by military threat. The solution was to install a Black Government in South Africa and recently released CIA papers show that the choice to lead that Government was Buthelezi.The ANC spat their dummies out and threatened to continue with the terrorism. The US capitulated and the rest is history. It wasnt about Mandela or the ANC. It was about an African Government and the ANC ended up being funded by the US to achieve victory in the elections. People blame De Klerk but to my mind he was faced with Hobson's Choice. He probably could have held out for a few more years but at the end of the day he was threatened with military action from the US.That was one fight South Africans could never win or even finance so he took the easy way out and cashed in his chips in return for a Nobel Peace Prize.