Sequel to Long Walk to Freedom - Revision 1 - Chapter 2 Page 7

that he did not want to discuss the matter with me alone, and suggested that I bring President FW de Klerk, Ferdi Hartenzenberg and the General. I proposed that we should also include the leader of the extreme Afrikaner rightwing, Eugene Terre'Blanche, on the grounds that he was a reckless demagogue who could attract larger crowds than President De Klerk . On this issue, the former president was so negative that I dropped the subject. I returned to Johannesburg and immediately telephoned President De Klerk and informed him of Botha's invitation. He was as hostile to the whole idea of us meeting the former president as the latter was towards Terre'Blanche. I then approached the progressive Afrikaner theologian, Professor Johan Heyns, to bring together the General, Hartzenberg, Terre'Blanche and myself. Terre'Blanche was uncompromising and rejected any meeting with me, a communist, as he said. I then met the General and Hartzenberg and asked whether it was true that they were preparing to stop the elections by violent means. The General was frank and admitted that this was correct, and that Afrikaners were arming, and that a bloody civil war was 20