DURBAN - POLITICAL parties have welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to fly the national flag at half-mast as a sign of respect to the country’s last apartheid president, Frederik Willem de Klerk.
On Tuesday, Ramaphosa declared a mourning period for De Klerk, where national flags will be flown at half-mast from sunset on Wednesday until Sunday.
In a statement, the Presidency said the government would announce the date for a state memorial service for De Klerk.
IFP Chief Whip Narend Singh said the position held by De Klerk post-1994 in the democratic government warranted the respect.
From May 1994 to June 1996, De Klerk served as the country’s first deputy president, serving with former president Thabo Mbeki.
“While we may not agree with what De Klerk did during the apartheid government, his position as the former deputy president of South Africa post-1994, warrants a state memorial and a flag flown at half-mast.”
DA leader and MP John Steenhuisen said De Klerk’s contribution to the country’s transition to democracy cannot be overstated.
“His decision, within a year of taking over the presidency from PW Botha in 1989, to unban liberation movements, release former president Nelson Mandela from prison, lift the ban on political marches and begin the four-year negotiation process towards our first democratic election was a watershed moment in our country’s history,” Steenhuisen said.
He added that De Klerk took the decision to dismantle the country’s nuclear weapons programme, which was not considered possible under any of his predecessors.
“Importantly, he was also able to bring the majority of white voters along with him, and this played a critical role in ensuring that the transition happened peacefully and that the 1994 elections, as well as the constitutional negotiations, were embraced by all South Africans.”
He said the process required calm heads and responsible leadership on both sides of the table, and it was fitting that both he and Nelson Mandela were honoured in 1993 with a shared Nobel Peace Prize.
“Swapping the presidency for his new role as leader of the official opposition, De Klerk continued to play a pivotal – and robust – leadership role in Parliament, as well as in the Government of National Unity, where he served as deputy president under President Mandela,” Steenhuisen said.
During a briefing on the outcomes of coalition talks, EFF leader Julius Malema said he was happy that the De Klerk Foundation announced that De Klerk would be cremated. Malema said it was good that Ramaphosa did not provide a state funeral.
De Klerk died last Thursday after a long battle with cancer.
He will be cremated on Sunday at a private funeral for close friends and family.
Daily News