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Sequel to Long Walk to Freedom - Revision 4.2 - Chapter 2 Page 3

The Nelson Mandela Foundation

The Nelson Mandela Foundation
Johannesburg, South Africa

This item consists of 7 typed pages, numbered 1-7. It is not clear if version 4.2 was written before or after version 4-3. The main themes are: rightwing Afrikaners, position of Afrikaners, start of talks with government

this is page 3 of 7 typed pages, numbered 1-7.

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  • Title: Sequel to Long Walk to Freedom - Revision 4.2 - Chapter 2 Page 3
  • Date: 1985/2002
  • Original Language: English
  • Transcript:
    Soon after General Constand Viljoen resigned as leader of the Freedom Front, I invited his wife, Rishi and himself 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 should check the accuracy of such reports. I did so, and when I discovered that they were accurate I decided to act. 3
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  • Type: Book
  • Subjects: white Supremacy; position Afrikaners; rightwing Afrikaners; start talks with government
  • Repository: Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory
  • Reference code: 4.2, 3
  • Origination: Mandela, Nelson
  • Originals location: Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory
  • Immediate source of acquisition or transfer: Donation of the Office of Nelson Mandela
  • Finding aids: Finding aid available
  • Extent and Medium: 7 typed pages, 1 typed page
  • Creator: Mandela, Nelson
  • Conditions governing reproduction: Copyright held by the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory
  • Conditions governing access: Access by permission of the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory
  • Collection: Sequel to Long Walk to Freedom
  • Chapter revision: 4.2
  • Chapter: 2
  • Book: Sequel to Long Walk to Freedom
  • Alternate forms available: All chapters have been scanned and saved on disk: NMF DOCS 0019
The Nelson Mandela Foundation

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