South Africa’s apartheid explained
"I have prepared for my death and have made it clear that I do not wish to be kept alive at all costs. I hope I am treated with compassion and allowed to pass on to the next phase of life's journey in the manner of my choice."
RACES SEPARATED
Apartheid -- an Afrikaans-language word meaning the state of "apartness" -- became official government policy in 1948 when the conservative National Party took power. It formalised a system of domination that had been in place since European settlers started arriving on the southern tip of Africa more than 300 years before. Rooted in the doctrine that human beings were separated by race, apartheid was built on laws that classified people as either "native" (black), "coloured" (mixed race), "Asian" or "white," according to skin colour and other features. The races were separated in every aspect, including at school, work and hospitals, and where they could live and shop. Jobs were reserved for certain races and marriage and sex across the colour bar was forbidden. Even beaches, buses, park benches and public toilets were separated according to racial category.
WHITE MINORITY RULE
Whites made up less than 20 percent of the population but owned more than 80 percent of the land. They controlled the economy, including agriculture, the lucrative mining sector, and all political levers. Blacks were relegated to inferior jobs, education and services and denied a vote. They were made to live in neglected townships on the outskirts of urban areas or in villages. Until 1986 black South Africans were obliged to carry a passport-like document called a dompas which restricted their movements.
The fight back
The African National Congress (ANC) led the resistance to apartheid, first adopting non-violent tactics such as strikes, boycotts and civil disobedience campaigns. In 1960 a march in Sharpeville against the hated pass books became a massacre when police opened fire on the crowd, killing 69 blacks. That same year, the government banned the ANC and other black opposition and imposed a state of emergency. Underground and in exile, the ANC turned to armed struggle. The Sharpeville massacre brought world attention to the regime's brutal repression, leading to the start of its international isolation. It came as a shock when in 1990 President FW de Klerk, in power for just five months, announced the legalisation of the black opposition. Within days Mandela walked free after nearly three decades in jail. Less than a year-and-a-half later, apartheid was officially over, the last of its discriminatory laws struck from the statute books on June 30, 1991. Its dismantling was celebrated with the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Mandela and de Klerk. The first all-race elections were held in 1994. The ANC won by a landslide and Mandela became the country's first black president.
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