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133-530: In 1981 Chester Crocker , U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs for newly elected United States President Ronald Reagan , had developed a linkage policy . It tied apartheid South Africa 's agreement to relinquish control of Namibia , in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 435 , and to retreat from Angola, to Cuba's withdrawing its troops from Angola. On 10 September 1986 Cuban president Fidel Castro accepted Crocker's proposal in principle. The South African government also accepted

266-610: A University of South Africa correspondence course, working on his bachelor's degree at night. Earning a small wage, Mandela rented a room in the house of the Xhoma family in the Alexandra township; despite being rife with poverty, crime and pollution, Alexandra always remained a special place for him. Although embarrassed by his poverty, he briefly dated a Swazi woman before unsuccessfully courting his landlord's daughter. To save money and be closer to downtown Johannesburg, Mandela moved into

399-536: A National Voluntary Board to recruit volunteers. The campaign was designed to follow the path of nonviolent resistance influenced by Mahatma Gandhi ; some supported this for ethical reasons, but Mandela instead considered it pragmatic. At a Durban rally on 22 June, Mandela addressed an assembled crowd of 10,000 people, initiating the campaign protests for which he was arrested and briefly interned in Marshall Square prison. These events established Mandela as one of

532-721: A Peaceful Settlement in South Western Africa on 20 July. During the negotiations, the South Africans were asked to release imprisoned ANC activist Nelson Mandela as a sign of goodwill, which was denied. A ceasefire was finally agreed upon on August 8, 1988. Mandela remained in prison until 2 February 1990, when South Africa lifted the ban on activities of the African National Congress . The negotiations were finalised in New York with Angola, Cuba and South Africa signing

665-572: A car accident the following year; Mandela was forbidden from attending either funeral. His wife was rarely able to see him, being regularly imprisoned for political activity, and his daughters first visited in December 1975. Winnie was released from prison in 1977 but was forcibly settled in Brandfort and remained unable to see him. From 1967 onwards, prison conditions improved. Black prisoners were given trousers rather than shorts, games were permitted, and

798-582: A cell structure, MK planned to carry out acts of sabotage that would exert maximum pressure on the government with minimum casualties; they sought to bomb military installations, power plants, telephone lines, and transport links at night, when civilians were not present. Mandela stated that they chose sabotage because it was the least harmful action, did not involve killing, and offered the best hope for racial reconciliation afterwards; he nevertheless acknowledged that should this have failed then guerrilla warfare might have been necessary. Soon after ANC leader Luthuli

931-617: A controlled direction, convincing both ANC leader Albert Luthuli —who was morally opposed to violence—and allied activist groups of its necessity. Inspired by the actions of Fidel Castro 's 26th of July Movement in the Cuban Revolution , in 1961 Mandela, Sisulu and Slovo co-founded Umkhonto we Sizwe ("Spear of the Nation", abbreviated MK). Becoming chairman of the militant group, Mandela gained ideas from literature on guerrilla warfare by Marxist militants Mao and Che Guevara as well as from

1064-524: A devout Christian, sent him to a local Methodist school when he was about seven. Baptised a Methodist, Mandela was given the English forename of "Nelson" by his teacher. When Mandela was about nine, his father came to stay at Qunu, where he died of an undiagnosed ailment that Mandela believed to be lung disease. Feeling "cut adrift", he later said that he inherited his father's "proud rebelliousness" and "stubborn sense of fairness". Mandela's mother took him to

1197-566: A distinguished fellow with CIGI 's Global Security & Politics Program, leading a project that examines Africa's regional conflict management strategy. In addition to these, Crocker sits on the board of directors for the International Peace and Security Institute , which offers intensive education and training to young professionals from world leaders in an effort to promote peaceful diplomacy. In 2020, Crocker, along with over 130 other former Republican national security officials, signed

1330-584: A former American diplomat, revealed that the Central Intelligence Agency , which feared Mandela's associations with communists, had informed the South African police of his location. Jailed in Johannesburg's Marshall Square prison, Mandela was charged with inciting workers' strikes and leaving the country without permission. Representing himself with Slovo as legal advisor, Mandela intended to use

1463-407: A full-fledged attorney. In August 1953, Mandela and Tambo opened their own law firm, Mandela and Tambo , operating in downtown Johannesburg. The only African-run law firm in the country, it was popular with aggrieved black people, often dealing with cases of police brutality . Disliked by the authorities, the firm was forced to relocate to a remote location after their office permit was removed under

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1596-497: A full-time student, subsisting on loans from the Bantu Welfare Trust. In July 1947, Mandela rushed Lembede, who was ill, to hospital, where he died; he was succeeded as ANCYL president by the more moderate Peter Mda , who agreed to co-operate with communists and non-blacks, appointing Mandela ANCYL secretary. Mandela disagreed with Mda's approach, and in December 1947 supported an unsuccessful measure to expel communists from

1729-573: A girl for the first time; he began playing sports and developed his lifelong love of gardening. He completed his Junior Certificate in two years, and in 1937 he moved to Healdtown , the Methodist college in Fort Beaufort attended by most Thembu royalty, including Justice. The headmaster emphasised the superiority of European culture and government, but Mandela became increasingly interested in native African culture , making his first non-Xhosa friend,

1862-453: A group, named Ulundi, that represented all political prisoners (including Eddie Daniels ) on the island, through which he forged links with PAC and Yu Chi Chan Club members. Initiating the "University of Robben Island", whereby prisoners lectured on their own areas of expertise, he debated socio-political topics with his comrades. Though attending Christian Sunday services, Mandela studied Islam. He also studied Afrikaans , hoping to build

1995-475: A high degree of accuracy. The guns were used to halt the Cuban advance to the south and raised the specter of yet another unaffordable arms escalation between two medium-sized military powers. The South Africans assert that the new weapon raised Cuba's fear of more casualties in a war where Cuban fatalities had outnumbered South African fatalities by a factor 10. Conversely, the Cuban air force held air superiority , as

2128-482: A lime quarry. Mandela was initially forbidden to wear sunglasses, and the glare from the lime permanently damaged his eyesight. At night, he worked on his LLB degree, which he was obtaining from the University of London through a correspondence course with Wolsey Hall, Oxford , but newspapers were forbidden, and he was locked in solitary confinement on several occasions for the possession of smuggled news clippings. He

2261-926: A master's degree at Johns Hopkins University in 1965, followed by a Ph.D at the School of Advanced International Studies. From 1969 to 1970, Crocker was a lecturer in African government and politics at the American University in Washington, D.C. He was recruited to join the National Security Council by Henry Kissinger in 1970, but returned to academia in 1972 as director of the Master of Science in Foreign Service program at Georgetown University , where he lectured in African politics and international relations. Over

2394-615: A mutual respect with the warders and convert them to his cause. Various official visitors met with Mandela, most significantly the liberal parliamentary representative Helen Suzman of the Progressive Party , who championed Mandela's cause outside of prison. In September 1970, he met British Labour Party politician Denis Healey . South African Minister of Justice Jimmy Kruger visited in December 1974, but he and Mandela did not get along with each other. His mother visited in 1968, dying shortly after, and his firstborn son Thembi died in

2527-711: A negotiated settlement for the related conflicts in Angola and Namibia. With help from skilled subordinates such as Frank G. Wisner and Vernon Walters, he managed to gain the trust of Kenneth Kaunda, the Zambian president. Kaunda visited the White House for talks with Ronald Reagan in March 1983, and agreed to host an international conference in February 1984 which resulted in the Lusaka Accords,

2660-572: A new policy which he termed "constructive engagement." Shortly after the election, Crocker attracted the attention of the Reagan transition team with an article he wrote in the winter 1980/81 edition of the Foreign Affairs journal. In the article, Crocker was highly critical of the outgoing Carter administration for its apparent hostility to the white minority government in South Africa, by acquiescing in

2793-576: A political path as a lawyer rather than become a privy councillor in Thembuland. Mandela began studying law at the University of the Witwatersrand , where he was the only black African student and faced racism. There, he befriended liberal and communist European, Jewish and Indian students, among them Joe Slovo and Ruth First . Becoming increasingly politicised, Mandela marched in August 1943 in support of

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2926-460: A political speech. Found guilty, he was sentenced to five years' imprisonment; as he left the courtroom, supporters sang " Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika ". I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to see realised. But if it needs be, it

3059-452: A realization of the dangerous situation to which Nationalist policy is leading. We hope that we will bring the Government and its supporters to their senses before it is too late so that both government and its policies can be changed before matters reach the desperate stage of civil war. — Statement released by MK to announce the start of their sabotage campaign Operating through

3192-414: A rented house in the township of Orlando in early 1946. Their first child, Madiba "Thembi" Thembekile, was born in February 1945; a daughter, Makaziwe, was born in 1947 but died of meningitis nine months later. Mandela enjoyed home life, welcoming his mother and his sister, Leabie, to stay with him. In early 1947, his three years of articles ended at Witkin, Sidelsky and Eidelman, and he decided to become

3325-463: A seminal influence on Mandela's thought. The speech laid out a contingency plan for a scenario in which the ANC was banned. This Mandela Plan, or M-Plan, involved dividing the organisation into a cell structure with a more centralised leadership. Mandela obtained work as an attorney for the firm Terblanche and Briggish, before moving to the liberal-run Helman and Michel, passing qualification exams to become

3458-530: A shift in power) led to the MPLA dropping the one-party state and opening the door to a multi-party democracy, with the inclusion of UNITA as a competing party. After some 18 years of war, that was a tremendous breakthrough. The elections were declared "generally" free and fair by the UN, with the MPLA gaining just under 50% of the vote. However UNITA, along with eight opposition parties and many other election observers, said that

3591-701: A significant part of his life. He attended a Methodist mission school located next to the palace, where he studied English, Xhosa, history and geography. He developed a love of African history , listening to the tales told by elderly visitors to the palace, and was influenced by the anti-imperialist rhetoric of a visiting chief, Joyi. Nevertheless, at the time he considered the European colonizers not as oppressors but as benefactors who had brought education and other benefits to southern Africa. Aged 16, he, his cousin Justice and several other boys travelled to Tyhalarha to undergo

3724-437: A six-month course in guerrilla warfare, but completed only two months before being recalled to South Africa by the ANC's leadership. On 5 August 1962, police captured Mandela along with fellow activist Cecil Williams near Howick . Many MK members suspected that the authorities had been tipped off with regard to Mandela's whereabouts, although Mandela himself gave these ideas little credence. In later years, Donald Rickard ,

3857-536: A small but significant step forward in the search for peace in southern Africa. On April 3, 1984, Richard Knight of the American Committee on Africa reported to the United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid on the effects the new policy was having: The Reagan administration's policy of constructive engagement has already led to a significant relaxation of the arms embargo. Stressing

3990-662: A speaker of Sotho , and coming under the influence of one of his favourite teachers, a Xhosa who broke taboo by marrying a Sotho. Mandela spent much of his spare time at Healdtown as a long-distance runner and boxer, and in his second year he became a prefect . In 1939, with Jongintaba's backing, Mandela began work on a BA degree at the University of Fort Hare , an elite black institution of approximately 150 students in Alice, Eastern Cape . He studied English, anthropology , politics, "native administration", and Roman Dutch law in his first year, desiring to become an interpreter or clerk in

4123-559: A statement that asserted that President Trump was unfit to serve another term, and "To that end, we are firmly convinced that it is in the best interest of our nation that Vice President Joe Biden be elected as the next President of the United States, and we will vote for him." Crocker married the South African Saone Barren who had previously been the partner of Roger Jowell . In 1989, Ronald Reagan awarded Crocker with

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4256-444: A successful bus boycott to reverse fare rises. Joining the ANC, he was increasingly influenced by Sisulu, spending time with other activists at Sisulu's Orlando house, including his old friend Oliver Tambo. In 1943, Mandela met Anton Lembede , an ANC member affiliated with the "Africanist" branch of African nationalism , which was virulently opposed to a racially united front against colonialism and imperialism or to an alliance with

4389-416: A verdict of not guilty, ruling that there was insufficient evidence to convict the accused of "high treason", since they had advocated neither communism nor violent revolution; the outcome embarrassed the government. Disguised as a chauffeur, Mandela travelled around the country incognito, organising the ANC's new cell structure and the planned mass stay-at-home strike. Referred to as the "Black Pimpernel" in

4522-668: Is an American diplomat and scholar who served as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from June 9, 1981, to April 21, 1989, in the Reagan administration . Crocker, architect of the U.S. policy of " constructive engagement " towards Southern Africa including apartheid-era South Africa , is credited with setting the terms of Namibian independence. Crocker was born in New York City in 1941. He attended Ohio State University and graduated with distinction in History in 1963. He obtained

4655-494: Is an ideal for which I am prepared to die. — Mandela's Rivonia Trial Speech , 1964 On 11 July 1963, police raided Liliesleaf Farm, arresting those that they found there and uncovering paperwork documenting MK's activities, some of which mentioned Mandela. The Rivonia Trial began at Pretoria Supreme Court in October, with Mandela and his comrades charged with four counts of sabotage and conspiracy to violently overthrow

4788-516: Is based on the will of the people. — Opening words of the Freedom Charter After taking part in the unsuccessful protest to prevent the forced relocation of all black people from the Sophiatown suburb of Johannesburg in February 1955, Mandela concluded that violent action would prove necessary to end apartheid and white minority rule. On his advice, Sisulu requested weaponry from

4921-658: The 1994 multiracial general election in which Mandela led the ANC to victory and became president. Leading a broad coalition government which promulgated a new constitution , Mandela emphasised reconciliation between the country's racial groups and created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate past human rights abuses. Economically, his administration retained its predecessor's liberal framework despite his own socialist beliefs, also introducing measures to encourage land reform , combat poverty and expand healthcare services. Internationally, Mandela acted as mediator in

5054-568: The African National Congress (ANC) who wanted South Africa to be independent of the British Empire , Mandela avoided any involvement with the nascent movement, and became a vocal supporter of the British war effort when the Second World War broke out. At the end of his first year he became involved in a students' representative council (SRC) boycott against the quality of food, for which he

5187-624: The Group Areas Act ; as a result, their clientele dwindled. As a lawyer of aristocratic heritage, Mandela was part of Johannesburg's elite black middle-class, and accorded much respect from the black community. Although a second daughter, Makaziwe Phumia , was born in May 1954, Mandela's relationship with Evelyn became strained, and she accused him of adultery. He may have had affairs with ANC member Lillian Ngoyi and secretary Ruth Mompati; various individuals close to Mandela in this period have stated that

5320-607: The MPLA , which was identified as a socialist group. By the end of the 1970s, Angola had become the focus of the USSR's African policy. Crocker intensified his mediation efforts in successive years. In May 1988 he headed a U.S. mediation team which brought negotiators from Angola, Cuba and South Africa, and observers from the Soviet Union together in London. Intense diplomatic maneuvering characterized

5453-522: The National Party 's white-only government established apartheid, a system of racial segregation that privileged whites , Mandela and the ANC committed themselves to its overthrow. He was appointed president of the ANC's Transvaal branch, rising to prominence for his involvement in the 1952 Defiance Campaign and the 1955 Congress of the People . He was repeatedly arrested for seditious activities and

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5586-639: The Native Affairs Department . Mandela stayed in the Wesley House dormitory, befriending his own kinsman, K. D. Matanzima , as well as Oliver Tambo , who became a close friend and comrade for decades to come. He took up ballroom dancing, performed in a drama society play about Abraham Lincoln , and gave Bible classes in the local community as part of the Student Christian Association. Although he had friends who held connections to

5719-535: The Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial and served as secretary-general of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1998 to 1999. He declined a second presidential term and was succeeded by his deputy, Thabo Mbeki . Mandela became an elder statesman and focused on combating poverty and HIV/AIDS through the charitable Nelson Mandela Foundation . Mandela was a controversial figure for much of his life. Although critics on

5852-616: The Presidential Citizen's Medal . In 1992, Crocker was awarded an honorary doctorate from Rhodes University . On September 18, 2008, Crocker was appointed to the World Bank 's new Independent Advisory Board, (IAB), which will provide advice on anti-corruption measures. Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( / m æ n ˈ d ɛ l ə / man- DEL -ə , Xhosa: [xolíɬaɬa mandɛ̂ːla] ; born Rolihlahla Mandela ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013)

5985-479: The Rivonia Trial , was sentenced to life imprisonment for conspiring to overthrow the state. Mandela served 27 years in prison, split between Robben Island , Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison . Amid growing domestic and international pressure and fears of racial civil war, President F. W. de Klerk released him in 1990. Mandela and de Klerk led efforts to negotiate an end to apartheid, which resulted in

6118-626: The United States Institute of Peace , which supports research, education and training, as well as operating programs in conflict zones. He held the position of chairman of the board from 1992 to 2004, after which Crocker continued on as a board member until 2011. He is also a member of the Global Leadership Foundation , an independent, non-profit organisation which lends the expertise of established diplomats and world leaders to current governments. From May 2014 Crocker acted as

6251-487: The induna (headman) discovered that he was a runaway. He stayed with a cousin in George Goch Township, who introduced Mandela to realtor and ANC activist Walter Sisulu . The latter secured Mandela a job as an articled clerk at the law firm of Witkin, Sidelsky and Eidelman, a company run by Lazar Sidelsky , a liberal Jew sympathetic to the ANC's cause. At the firm, Mandela befriended Gaur Radebe—a Hlubi member of

6384-708: The ulwaluko circumcision ritual that symbolically marked their transition from boys to men; afterwards he was given the name Dalibunga . Intending to gain skills needed to become a privy councillor for the Thembu royal house, Mandela began his secondary education in 1933 at Clarkebury Methodist High School in Engcobo , a Western-style institution that was the largest school for black Africans in Thembuland . Made to socialise with other students on an equal basis, he claimed that he lost his "stuck up" attitude, becoming best friends with

6517-676: The " Father of the Nation ". Mandela was born on 18 July 1918, in the village of Mvezo in Umtata , then part of South Africa's Cape Province . He was given the forename Rolihlahla, a Xhosa term colloquially meaning "troublemaker", and in later years became known by his clan name, Madiba. His patrilineal great-grandfather, Ngubengcuka , was ruler of the Thembu Kingdom in the Transkeian Territories of South Africa's modern Eastern Cape province. One of Ngubengcuka's sons, named Mandela,

6650-405: The "Great Place" palace at Mqhekezweni, where he was entrusted to the guardianship of the Thembu regent , Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo. Although he did not see his mother again for many years, Mandela felt that Jongintaba and his wife Noengland treated him as their own child, raising him alongside their children. As Mandela attended church services every Sunday with his guardians, Christianity became

6783-418: The ANC also dropped its Marxist philosophy and was accepted into the wider South African Democratic Movement , which supported political change in the country. After the government repealed a ban on ANC activities, it eventually won democratic elections in South Africa, became the ruling party of a multi-party, democratic South Africa. Chester Crocker Chester Arthur Crocker (born October 29, 1941)

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6916-509: The ANC and Communist Party —and Nat Bregman, a Jewish communist who became his first white friend. Mandela attended Communist Party gatherings, where he was impressed that Europeans , Africans , Indians , and Coloureds mixed as equals. He later stated that he did not join the party because its atheism conflicted with his Christian faith, and because he saw the South African struggle as being racially based rather than as class warfare . To continue his higher education, Mandela signed up to

7049-522: The ANC and PAC; in March, they arrested Mandela and other activists, imprisoning them for five months without charge in the unsanitary conditions of the Pretoria Local prison. Imprisonment caused problems for Mandela and his co-defendants in the Treason Trial; their lawyers could not reach them, and so it was decided that the lawyers would withdraw in protest until the accused were freed from prison when

7182-553: The ANCYL, considering their ideology un-African. In 1947, Mandela was elected to the executive committee of the ANC's Transvaal Province branch, serving under regional president C. S. Ramohanoe. When Ramohanoe acted against the wishes of the committee by co-operating with Indians and communists, Mandela was one of those who forced his resignation. In the South African general election in 1948 , in which only whites were permitted to vote,

7315-586: The Afrikaner-dominated Herenigde Nasionale Party under Daniel François Malan took power, soon uniting with the Afrikaner Party to form the National Party . Openly racialist , the party codified and expanded racial segregation with new apartheid legislation . Gaining increasing influence in the ANC, Mandela and his party cadre allies began advocating direct action against apartheid, such as boycotts and strikes, influenced by

7448-541: The BCM called for militant action, but, following the Soweto uprising of 1976, many BCM activists were imprisoned on Robben Island. Mandela tried to build a relationship with these young radicals, although he was critical of their racialism and contempt for white anti-apartheid activists. Renewed international interest in his plight came in July 1978, when he celebrated his 60th birthday. He

7581-470: The Cuban delegation, rejected the South African demands, noting that "South Africa must face the fact that it will not obtain at the negotiating table what it could not achieve on the battlefield." According to the book 32 Battalion by Piet Nortje, during this campaign South Africa introduced its new secret weapons, the G5 and G6 howitzer guns. The cannons can fire a projectile over 40 kilometres (25 mi) with

7714-456: The Cuban troop issue is an integral part, has always been a prerequisite for agreement on Namibian independence. As a practical diplomatic matter, it will not be possible to obtain a Namibian independence agreement without satisfactory regional security assurances. Resolution 435 already required South Africa to leave Namibia so the incorporation of Cuba and Angola was deemed unnecessary in the eyes of some. The policy's requirement to cooperate with

7847-496: The Cuban troop withdrawal from Angola and the Namibian independence in 1989, was a fundamental factor in impelling P. W. Botha's successor, F. W. De Klerk , in the direction of releasing Mandela and opening the political process to black South African participation." Martti Ahtisaari was also of the opinion that the policy of constructive engagement acted as an undeniable catalyst for resolution. He remarked that "those of us close to

7980-737: The MK constitution. Although in later life Mandela denied, for political reasons, ever being a member of the Communist Party, historical research published in 2011 strongly suggested that he had joined in the late 1950s or early 1960s. This was confirmed by both the SACP and the ANC after Mandela's death. According to the SACP, he was not only a member of the party, but also served on its Central Committee. We of Umkhonto have always sought to achieve liberation without bloodshed and civil clash. Even at this late hour, we hope that our first actions will awaken everyone to

8113-503: The National Security Council staff. He returned to academia in 1972, as director of the Master of Science in Foreign Service program at Georgetown University , a position he held until 1978. He held several other professorial roles, including director of African studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (1976–80) and James R. Schlesinger Professor in the Practice of Strategic Studies at Georgetown University (1999–present). Other notable positions held include service at

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8246-497: The People , calling on all South Africans to send in proposals for a post-apartheid era. Based on the responses, a Freedom Charter was drafted by Rusty Bernstein , calling for the creation of a democratic, non-racialist state with the nationalisation of major industry. The charter was adopted at a June 1955 conference in Kliptown , which was forcibly closed down by police. The tenets of the Freedom Charter remained important for Mandela, and in 1956 he described it as "an inspiration to

8379-399: The People's Republic of China, which was denied. Although the Chinese government supported the anti-apartheid struggle, they believed the movement insufficiently prepared for guerrilla warfare . With the involvement of the South African Indian Congress , the Coloured People's Congress, the South African Congress of Trade Unions and the Congress of Democrats , the ANC planned a Congress of

8512-436: The Reagan administration's friendly approach towards the white-minority government in South Africa – and hostility from the other, with prime minister P. W. Botha refusing to meet with him. Undeterred, Crocker continued to insist that a comprehensive solution was the only way to allay the fears on both sides. In his testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on February 15, 1983, he argued: Security, of which

8645-401: The South African government was viewed unfavorably by politicians and human rights organizations on account of the implicit condoning of apartheid. Author/journalist Christopher Hitchens gives credit for the independence agreement to the South-West Africa People's Organization , rather than to constructive engagement. However, UN diplomat Martti Ahtisaari contended that "South Africa had not

8778-437: The South Africans were linking Namibian independence with Cuban withdrawal. The Cuban negotiator, Jorge Risquet, announced that Cuba would stay in Angola until the end of apartheid, probably also as a negotiation ploy. (Apartheid did not end until more than 4 years after Cuba left Angola). The Cubans suggested that the U.S. was worried whether the Cuban forces would stop their advance at the Namibian border. Jorge Risquet, head of

8911-409: The United Nations Security Council's imposition of a mandatory arms embargo ( UNSCR 418/77 ) and the UN's demand for the end of South Africa's illegal occupation of Namibia ( UNSCR 435/78 ). Crocker's policy linked the removal of South African forces from Namibia with the removal of Cuban forces from Angola , which many U.S. diplomats considered to be of vital importance. Without Cuban withdrawal, it

9044-451: The accord on 22 December 1988. It provided for the retreat of South African forces from Angola, which had already taken place by 30 August; the withdrawal of South Africa from Namibia; and Namibia's independence and the withdrawal of Cuban forces from Angola within 30 months. The agreement followed the American linkage proposal which had also been pushed by South Africa on numerous occasions in 1984 and in 1986 (the UN plenary meeting). Namibia

9177-571: The allegations and fought for custody of their children. She withdrew her petition of separation in November, but Mandela filed for divorce in January 1958; the divorce was finalised in March, with the children placed in Evelyn's care. During the divorce proceedings, he began courting a social worker, Winnie Madikizela , whom he married in Bizana in June 1958. She later became involved in ANC activities, spending several weeks in prison. Together they had two children: Zenani , born in February 1959, and Zindziswa (1960–2020). In December 1956, Mandela

9310-474: The best-known black political figures in South Africa. With further protests, the ANC's membership grew from 20,000 to 100,000 members; the government responded with mass arrests and introduced the Public Safety Act, 1953 to permit martial law . In May, authorities banned Transvaal ANC president J. B. Marks from making public appearances; unable to maintain his position, he recommended Mandela as his successor. Although Africanists opposed his candidacy, Mandela

9443-616: The camaraderie and scenery of the island. Getting on well with Pollsmoor's commanding officer, Brigadier Munro, Mandela was permitted to create a roof garden ; he also read voraciously and corresponded widely, now being permitted 52 letters a year. He was appointed patron of the multi-racial United Democratic Front (UDF), founded to combat reforms implemented by South African president P. W. Botha . Botha's National Party government had permitted Coloured and Indian citizens to vote for their own parliaments, which had control over education, health and housing, but black Africans were excluded from

9576-405: The communists. Despite his friendships with non-blacks and communists, Mandela embraced Lembede's views, believing that black Africans should be entirely independent in their struggle for political self-determination. Deciding on the need for a youth wing to mass-mobilise Africans in opposition to their subjugation, Mandela was among a delegation that approached ANC president Alfred Bitini Xuma on

9709-576: The compound of the Witwatersrand Native Labour Association , living among miners of various tribes; as the compound was visited by various chiefs, he once met the Queen Regent of Basutoland . In late 1941, Jongintaba visited Johannesburg—there forgiving Mandela for running away—before returning to Thembuland, where he died in the winter of 1942. After he passed his BA exams in early 1943, Mandela returned to Johannesburg to follow

9842-402: The conditions for Cuba's withdrawal had been agreed. Cuban troops began withdrawing on 10 January 1989, and the withdrawal was finalised in stages one month early on 25 May 1991. The Angolan government offered an amnesty to UNITA troops under the premise that UNITA would be integrated into the MPLA under a one-party state economy. That concept was rejected by UNITA. The situation in the country

9975-804: The conference. After the symposium, he travelled to Cairo , Egypt, admiring the political reforms of President Gamal Abdel Nasser , and in April 1962 he went to Morocco where asked El Khatib to meet the king to ask him to give him £5,000. The next day he got the £5,000 along with some weapons and training to Mandela's soldier, and then went to Tunis , Tunisia, where President Habib Bourguiba gave him £5,000 for weaponry. He proceeded to Morocco, Mali, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Senegal, receiving funds from Liberian president William Tubman and Guinean president Ahmed Sékou Touré . He left Africa for London, England, where he met anti-apartheid activists, reporters and prominent politicians. Upon returning to Ethiopia, he began

10108-450: The course of the next nine years, Crocker advanced to assistant professor, and finally became associate professor at Georgetown University. As chairman of Ronald Reagan 's 1980 presidential election campaign's "Africa working group", Crocker sought to change US policy on apartheid South Africa away from what he saw as the confrontational approach adopted by the Carter presidency and towards

10241-631: The election had been neither free nor fair. Following the Halloween Massacre , UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi directed UNITA forces to take up arms again against the MPLA. However, the US now opposed UNITA, instead pressuring Savimbi to accept the election results. The war ended after Savimbi's death, in 2002. In preparation for independence, free elections in Namibia were held in November 1989, with SWAPO taking 57% of

10374-461: The goal of regional stability, the American government has now adopted a policy which they see as an 'even-handed' approach to all countries in the region. Thus the Reagan administration seeks to blame all sides equally for the violence in the region, ignoring the fact that the violence stems from apartheid. In reality there is no even-handedness in the US's engagement in southern Africa: a policy which in

10507-670: The government refused, relying on its Cold War allies US president Ronald Reagan and British prime minister Margaret Thatcher ; both considered Mandela's ANC a terrorist organisation sympathetic to communism and supported its suppression. In April 1982, Mandela was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison in Tokai, Cape Town , along with senior ANC leaders Walter Sisulu, Andrew Mlangeni, Ahmed Kathrada and Raymond Mhlaba; they believed that they were being isolated to remove their influence on younger activists at Robben Island. Conditions at Pollsmoor were better than at Robben Island, although Mandela missed

10640-406: The government; their chief prosecutor was Percy Yutar . Judge Quartus de Wet soon threw out the prosecution's case for insufficient evidence, but Yutar reformulated the charges, presenting his new case from December 1963 until February 1964, calling 173 witnesses and bringing thousands of documents and photographs to the trial. Although four of the accused denied involvement with MK, Mandela and

10773-461: The idea of a classless society which, to [his] mind, was similar to traditional African culture where life was shared and communal." In April 1952, Mandela began work at the H.M. Basner law firm, which was owned by a communist, although his increasing commitment to work and activism meant he spent less time with his family. In 1952, the ANC began preparation for a joint Defiance Campaign against apartheid with Indian and communist groups, founding

10906-550: The idea of a multi-racial front against apartheid. Influenced by friends like Moses Kotane and by the Soviet Union 's support for wars of national liberation , his mistrust of communism broke down and he began reading literature by Karl Marx , Vladimir Lenin , and Mao Zedong , eventually embracing the Marxist philosophy of dialectical materialism . Commenting on communism, he later stated that he "found [himself] strongly drawn to

11039-509: The last three years has resulted in an increased South African ability to harass and dominate regionally. A study of the easing of the arms embargo reveals that more than $ 28.3 million worth of military equipment was authorised for sale to South Africa for fiscal years 1981-1984, as compared to $ 25,000 for 1979. While the FNLA and UNITA were funded by South Africa and the U.S., the Soviet Union had provided billions of dollars in military support for

11172-457: The latter bore him a child. Disgusted by her son's behaviour, Nosekeni returned to Transkei, while Evelyn embraced the Jehovah's Witnesses and rejected Mandela's preoccupation with politics. We, the people of South Africa, declare for all our country and the world to know: That South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it

11305-403: The least intention of relinquishing Namibia." Crocker's analysis of the situation from the perspective of the South African government concluded that this delay would never be overcome unless the South Africans felt that the execution of resolution 435 offered them an incentive. In spite of such criticisms and the initial distrust among black African leaders, Crocker persevered in his pursuit of

11438-402: The matter were aware that if nothing new was put forward we would remain in this situation for the rest of our lives. But we couldn't declare publicly that this was an excellent idea – although in the final analysis it was a bold and adroit move by Crocker." From 1969 to 1970 Crocker was professional lecturer in African government and politics at the American University , before he left to join

11571-598: The military theorist Carl von Clausewitz . Although initially declared officially separate from the ANC so as not to taint the latter's reputation, MK was later widely recognised as the party's armed wing. Most early MK members were white communists who were able to conceal Mandela in their homes; after hiding in communist Wolfie Kodesh's flat in Berea , Mandela moved to the communist-owned Liliesleaf Farm in Rivonia , there joined by Raymond Mhlaba , Slovo and Bernstein, who put together

11704-446: The monarch; he was appointed to the position in 1915, after his predecessor was accused of corruption by a governing white magistrate. In 1926, Gadla was also sacked for corruption, but Nelson was told that his father had lost his job for standing up to the magistrate's unreasonable demands. A devotee of the god Qamata , Gadla was a polygamist with four wives, four sons and nine daughters, who lived in different villages. Nelson's mother

11837-645: The newly founded constitution and the principle of a multi-party democracy. As part of the Tripartite Accord, the African National Congress, the Marxist-leaning guerrilla /freedom movement conducting guerrilla attacks in South Africa to end apartheid , would remove its bases from Angola and no longer received support from the Angolan MPLA. The ANC moved its operations to Zambia and Uganda. Later,

11970-593: The next seven months so as to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 435 and secure Namibian independence. At the Reagan/Gorbachev summit in Moscow (May 29-June 1, 1988) it was decided that Cuban troops would be withdrawn from Angola, and Soviet military aid would cease, as soon as South Africa withdrew from Namibia. The Tripartite Accord , which gave effect to these decisions, were signed at UN headquarters in New York on December 22, 1988. Crocker attended

12103-494: The other five accused admitted sabotage but denied that they had ever agreed to initiate guerrilla war against the government. They used the trial to highlight their political cause; at the opening of the defence's proceedings, Mandela gave his three-hour " I Am Prepared to Die " speech. That speech—which was inspired by Castro's " History Will Absolve Me "—was widely reported in the press despite official censorship. The trial gained international attention; there were global calls for

12236-587: The passes that they were legally obliged to carry . One of the PAC-organised demonstrations was fired upon by police, resulting in the deaths of 69 protesters in the Sharpeville massacre . The incident brought international condemnation of the government and resulted in rioting throughout South Africa, with Mandela publicly burning his pass in solidarity. Responding to the unrest, the government implemented state of emergency measures, declaring martial law and banning

12369-751: The people of South Africa". Following the end of a second ban in September 1955, Mandela went on a working holiday to Transkei to discuss the implications of the Bantu Authorities Act, 1951 with local Xhosa chiefs, also visiting his mother and Noengland before proceeding to Cape Town . In March 1956, he received his third ban on public appearances, restricting him to Johannesburg for five years, but he often defied it. Mandela's marriage broke down and Evelyn left him, taking their children to live with her brother. Initiating divorce proceedings in May 1956, she claimed that Mandela had physically abused her; he denied

12502-499: The presence of Cuban troops in Angola as such linkage is incompatible with the relevant United Nations resolutions, particularly Security Council resolution 435 (1978);..." The Angolan and United States governments started bilateral talks in June 1987 while the civil war continued. There is disagreement amongst historians on how the various parties agreed to come to the table: In the words of Chester Crocker, "Watching South Africa and Cuba at

12635-599: The president of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997. A Xhosa , Mandela was born into the Thembu royal family in Mvezo , South Africa. He studied law at the University of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand before working as a lawyer in Johannesburg . There he became involved in anti-colonial and African nationalist politics, joining the ANC in 1943 and co-founding its Youth League in 1944. After

12768-482: The press—a reference to Emma Orczy 's 1905 novel The Scarlet Pimpernel —a warrant for his arrest was put out by the police. Mandela held secret meetings with reporters, and after the government failed to prevent the strike, he warned them that many anti-apartheid activists would soon resort to violence through groups like the PAC's Poqo . He believed that the ANC should form an armed group to channel some of this violence in

12901-450: The principle of linkage; it proposed the concept at the UN 7th Plenary Meeting on 20 September 1986 (the Question of Namibia). The concept was strongly rejected by a Cuban-backed majority, with representatives strongly stating their opposition to the effect of, "... The UN.... Calls upon South Africa to desist from linking the independence of Namibia to irrelevant and extraneous issues such as

13034-605: The prison on Robben Island , remaining there for the next 18 years. Isolated from non-political prisoners in Section B, Mandela was imprisoned in a damp concrete cell measuring 8 feet (2.4 m) by 7 feet (2.1 m), with a straw mat on which to sleep. Verbally and physically harassed by several white prison wardens, the Rivonia Trial prisoners spent their days breaking rocks into gravel, until being reassigned in January 1965 to work in

13167-596: The prosecution withdrew its indictment, submitting a reformulated version in November which argued that the ANC leadership committed high treason by advocating violent revolution, a charge the defendants denied. In April 1959, Africanists dissatisfied with the ANC's united front approach founded the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC); Mandela disagreed with the PAC's racially exclusionary views, describing them as "immature" and "naïve". Both parties took part in an anti-pass campaign in early 1960, in which Africans burned

13300-513: The release of the accused from the United Nations and World Peace Council , while the University of London Union voted Mandela to its presidency. On 12 June 1964, justice De Wet found Mandela and two of his co-accused guilty on all four charges; although the prosecution had called for the death sentence to be applied, the judge instead condemned them to life imprisonment . In 1964, Mandela and his co-accused were transferred from Pretoria to

13433-529: The right denounced him as a communist terrorist and those on the far left deemed him too eager to negotiate and reconcile with apartheid's supporters, he gained international acclaim for his activism. Globally regarded as an icon of democracy and social justice , he received more than 250 honours , including the Nobel Peace Prize . He is held in deep respect within South Africa, where he is often referred to by his Thembu clan name , Madiba, and described as

13566-474: The same." They did not mention withdrawing from Namibia. On 16 March 1988, the South African Business Day reported that Pretoria was "offering to withdraw into Namibia – not from Namibia – in return for the withdrawal of Cuban forces from Angola. The implication is that South Africa has no real intention of giving up the territory any time soon." However the UN plenary meeting of 1986 indicates that

13699-463: The signing ceremony along with George Shultz . UNSR Martti Ahtisaari took over from Crocker in April 1989 and began the implementation of UNSCR 435. In May 1989 Crocker stepped down as Assistant Secretary of State and returned to academia at Georgetown University 's School of Foreign Service. Elections were held from the 7–11 November 1989 and Namibia finally achieved independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990. Chas. W. Freeman Jr commented at

13832-547: The standard of their food was raised. In 1969, an escape plan for Mandela was developed by Gordon Bruce, but it was abandoned after the conspiracy was infiltrated by an agent of the South African Bureau of State Security (BOSS), who hoped to see Mandela shot during the escape. In 1970, Commander Piet Badenhorst became commanding officer. Mandela, seeing an increase in the physical and mental abuse of prisoners, complained to visiting judges, who had Badenhorst reassigned. He

13965-414: The state of emergency was lifted in late August 1960. Over the following months, Mandela used his free time to organise an All-In African Conference near Pietermaritzburg , Natal , in March 1961, at which 1,400 anti-apartheid delegates met, agreeing on a stay-at-home strike to mark 31 May, the day South Africa became a republic. On 29 March 1961, six years after the Treason Trial began, the judges produced

14098-491: The strike because it was multi-racial and not ANC-led, but a majority of black workers took part, resulting in increased police repression and the introduction of the Suppression of Communism Act, 1950 , affecting the actions of all protest groups. At the ANC national conference of December 1951, he continued arguing against a racially united front, but was outvoted. Thereafter, Mandela rejected Lembede's Africanism and embraced

14231-642: The subject at his home in Sophiatown ; the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) was founded on Easter Sunday 1944 in the Bantu Men's Social Centre , with Lembede as president and Mandela as a member of its executive committee. At Sisulu's house, Mandela met Evelyn Mase , a trainee nurse and ANC activist from Engcobo, Transkei. Entering a relationship and marrying in October 1944, they initially lived with her relatives until moving into

14364-629: The table was like watching two scorpions in a bottle." After refusing direct talks with Cuba, the US agreed to include a Cuban delegation in the negotiations, who joined on January 28, 1988. The three parties held a round of negotiations on March 9 in London . The South African government joined negotiations in Cairo on 3 May expecting UN Security Resolution 435 to be modified. Defence Minister Magnus Malan and President P.W. Botha asserted that South Africa would withdraw from Angola only "if Russia and its proxies did

14497-496: The tactics already employed by South Africa's Indian community. Xuma did not support these measures and was removed from the presidency in a vote of no confidence , replaced by James Moroka and a more militant executive committee containing Sisulu, Mda, Tambo and Godfrey Pitje. Mandela later related that he and his colleagues had "guided the ANC to a more radical and revolutionary path." Having devoted his time to politics, Mandela failed his final year at Witwatersrand three times; he

14630-485: The time that "the emergence of Namibia as a stable, decent society with a well-managed economy would inspire more rapid change away from apartheid in South Africa." He later commented in a 1995 interview with Charles Stuart Kennedy for the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training that "there is no doubt that the South African opening to the outside world, which Crocker's diplomacy ultimately brokered and which produced

14763-469: The time; prison authorities discovered several pages, and his LLB study privileges were revoked for four years. Instead, he devoted his spare time to gardening and reading until the authorities permitted him to resume his LLB degree studies in 1980. By the late 1960s, Mandela's fame had been eclipsed by Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM). Seeing the ANC as ineffectual,

14896-456: The trial to showcase "the ANC's moral opposition to racism" while supporters demonstrated outside the court. Moved to Pretoria, where Winnie could visit him, he began correspondence studies for a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the University of London International Programmes . His hearing began in October, but he disrupted proceedings by wearing a traditional kaross , refusing to call any witnesses, and turning his plea of mitigation into

15029-425: The vote. Namibia gained independence in March 1990. SWAPO was originally a Marxist party that intended to install a one-party state. The South African government rejected that premise until the fall of the Soviet Union and SWAPO assured that it would support a multi-party democracy. South Africa held onto Namibia's economic port of Walvis Bay for an additional 18 months until it was assured that SWAPO would respect

15162-410: The withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola , where they had formed a 700 km defensive line to prevent South African assaults similar to the 'Zulu' invasion of 1975. In April 1981, Assistant Secretary of State Crocker was dispatched to Africa on a two-week, eleven-nation tour to lay the groundwork for the new policy. However, Crocker was met with distrust on one side – the black leaders wary of

15295-590: Was Gadla's third wife, Nosekeni Fanny, daughter of Nkedama of the Right Hand House and a member of the amaMpemvu clan of the Xhosa. No one in my family had ever attended school ... On the first day of school my teacher, Miss Mdingane, gave each of us an English name. This was the custom among Africans in those days and was undoubtedly due to the British bias of our education. That day, Miss Mdingane told me that my new name

15428-459: Was Nelson's grandfather and the source of his surname. Because Mandela was the king's child by a wife of the Ixhiba clan, a so-called "Left-Hand House", the descendants of his cadet branch of the royal family were morganatic , ineligible to inherit the throne but recognised as hereditary royal councillors. Nelson Mandela's father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa Mandela, was a local chief and councillor to

15561-399: Was Nelson. Why this particular name, I have no idea. — Mandela, 1994 Mandela later stated that his early life was dominated by traditional Xhosa custom and taboo. He grew up with two sisters in his mother's kraal in the village of Qunu , where he tended herds as a cattle-boy and spent much time outside with other boys. Both his parents were illiterate, but his mother, being

15694-422: Was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by fostering racial reconciliation . Ideologically an African nationalist and socialist , he served as

15827-478: Was anything but settled, and civil war continued for more than a decade. According to Presidents of Foreign Policy by Edward R. Drachman and Alan Shank, a series of meetings and accords between UNITA and the MPLA, brokered by various African leaders, failed horribly. UNITA was insulted by MPLA's insistence on a premise of a one-party state. A combination of MPLA dismay of intervention from the USA (backing UNITA and forcing

15960-520: Was appointed to prosecute the case, and in February the judge ruled that there was "sufficient reason" for the defendants to go on trial in the Transvaal Supreme Court . The formal Treason Trial began in Pretoria in August 1958, with the defendants successfully applying to have the three judges—all linked to the governing National Party—replaced. In August, one charge was dropped, and in October

16093-467: Was arrested alongside most of the ANC national executive and accused of "high treason" against the state. Held in Johannesburg Prison amid mass protests, they underwent a preparatory examination before being granted bail. The defence's refutation began in January 1957, overseen by defence lawyer Vernon Berrangé , and continued until the case was adjourned in September. In January 1958, Oswald Pirow

16226-725: Was awarded an honorary doctorate in Lesotho, the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in India in 1979, and the Freedom of the City of Glasgow , Scotland in 1981. In March 1980, the slogan "Free Mandela!" was developed by journalist Percy Qoboza , sparking an international campaign that led the UN Security Council to call for his release. Despite increasing foreign pressure,

16359-788: Was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize , MK publicly announced its existence with 57 bombings on Dingane's Day (16 December) 1961, followed by further attacks on New Year's Eve. The ANC decided to send Mandela as a delegate to the February 1962 meeting of the Pan-African Freedom Movement for East, Central and Southern Africa (PAFMECSA) in Addis Ababa , Ethiopia. Leaving South Africa in secret via Bechuanaland , on his way Mandela visited Tanganyika and met with its president, Julius Nyerere . Arriving in Ethiopia, Mandela met with Emperor Haile Selassie I , and gave his speech after Selassie's at

16492-483: Was deemed unlikely by diplomats that South Africa would see an incentive to begin the removal of its own troops from Namibia. It was hoped that Cuba would view the withdrawal of its troops as a successful conclusion to their efforts in Africa as it would confirm Cuba's role as a significant player on the diplomatic stage. On February 7, 1981, Crocker formally proposed that the United States should link Namibian independence to

16625-564: Was demonstrated by the bombing of the strategic Calueque complex, and the overflights in 1988 of Cuban Mig-23s of Namibian airspace. According to David Albright , South Africa believed that the discovery of preparations for a nuclear weapon test at the Vastrap facility created an urgency amongst the superpowers to find a solution. While the hostilities in Angola continued, the parties met in June and August in New York City and Geneva . Finally, all approved an outline agreement of Principles for

16758-440: Was elected to be regional president in October. In July 1952, Mandela was arrested under the Suppression of Communism Act and stood trial as one of the 21 accused—among them Moroka, Sisulu and Yusuf Dadoo —in Johannesburg. Found guilty of "statutory communism", a term that the government used to describe most opposition to apartheid, their sentence of nine months' hard labour was suspended for two years. In December, Mandela

16891-463: Was given a six-month ban from attending meetings or talking to more than one individual at a time, making his Transvaal ANC presidency impractical, and during this period the Defiance Campaign petered out. In September 1953, Andrew Kunene read out Mandela's "No Easy Walk to Freedom" speech at a Transvaal ANC meeting; the title was taken from a quote by Indian independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru ,

17024-526: Was initially classified as the lowest grade of prisoner, Class D, meaning that he was permitted one visit and one letter every six months, although all mail was heavily censored. The political prisoners took part in work and hunger strikes —the latter considered largely ineffective by Mandela—to improve prison conditions, viewing this as a microcosm of the anti-apartheid struggle. ANC prisoners elected him to their four-man "High Organ" along with Sisulu, Govan Mbeki and Raymond Mhlaba, and he involved himself in

17157-440: Was replaced by Commander Willie Willemse, who developed a co-operative relationship with Mandela and was keen to improve prison standards. By 1975, Mandela had become a Class A prisoner, which allowed him greater numbers of visits and letters. He corresponded with anti-apartheid activists like Mangosuthu Buthelezi and Desmond Tutu . That year, he began his autobiography, which was smuggled to London, but remained unpublished at

17290-410: Was suspended from the university; he never returned to complete his degree. Returning to Mqhekezweni in December 1940, Mandela found that Jongintaba had arranged marriages for him and Justice; dismayed, they fled to Johannesburg via Queenstown , arriving in April 1941. Mandela found work as a night watchman at Crown Mines, his "first sight of South African capitalism in action", but was fired when

17423-523: Was to gain independence on terms that South Africa had set out, including multi-party democracy, a capitalist free-market economy, and a transition period. The signing of the agreement was marred by the death of Bernt Carlsson , the United Nations Commissioner for Namibia , who had contributed to the agreement but was killed on Pan Am Flight 103 , on his way to the signing ceremony. The South African Army left Angola by 30 August 1988, before

17556-497: Was ultimately denied his degree in December 1949. Mandela took Xuma's place on the ANC national executive in March 1950, and that same year was elected national president of the ANCYL. In March, the Defend Free Speech Convention was held in Johannesburg, bringing together African, Indian and communist activists to call a May Day general strike in protest against apartheid and white minority rule. Mandela opposed

17689-410: Was unsuccessfully prosecuted in the 1956 Treason Trial . Influenced by Marxism , he secretly joined the banned South African Communist Party (SACP). Although initially committed to non-violent protest, in association with the SACP he co-founded the militant uMkhonto we Sizwe in 1961 that led a sabotage campaign against the apartheid government. He was arrested and imprisoned in 1962, and, following

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