Sequel to Long Walk to Freedom - Revision 4.3 - Chapter 2 Page 2

Soon after General Constand Viljoen resigned as leader of the Freedom Front, I invited him and his wife, Riki, to my house for lunch. Pure generosity was by no means the reason for the invitation. It was an acknowledgement on my part of the crucial role the general had played in the peaceful transformation of our country. The General is no politician, but his integrity and geniality elevated him to one of the architects of the new South Africa. He changed direction when he was on the verge of plunging the country into a disastrous bloodbath which would have resulted in the deaths of countless civilians. He had mobilised between 50 000 and 60 000 soldiers and about 15000 white farmers to fight the ANC. A meeting facilitated by the general's twin brother Braam, and stockbroker Jurgen Kogl, took place between the General and his colleagues on the one hand , and with Joe Nhlanhla, Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki for the ANC , on the other . In this regard, these ANC leaders had a vision far ahead of their comrades. They fully grasped the disastrous repercussions of the impending disaster. Twice in the run up to the first democratic elections the General had stated that no Afrikaner soldier would shoot at another Afrikaner. At the time he was undoubtedly the most popular and seasoned military man around. His statements could not be ignored. I was receiving intelligence reports to the effect that the rightwing Afrikaners had decided to stop the forthcoming elections by violence. To be on the safe side the president of an organisation must carefully check the accuracy of such reports. I did so, and when I discovered that they were accurate I decided to act. 3