Dene Valley u3a History Group

UNSUNG SOUTH AFRICAN HERO. NIEL BARNARD.

In an obscure small town in the Western Cape lives a man whose influence on the course of South African history has not been acknowledged, even as F.W.de Klerk gets all the credit for his historic February 1990 speech in parliament.

In the background , far from the madding crowd , is an unassuming mastermind of South Africa’s negotiated settlement. His name is Niel Barnard, forgotten spy chief who led a secret mission to avoid civil war in South Africa. Only a few South Africans remember his name. As we celebrate 31 years of the unbanning of peoples organisations of the last apartheid president F.W.de Klerk on red Friday 2 February 1990, Barnard is quietly observing matters in his living room as de Klerk basks in the glory for the miracle that changed the course of South African history.

There was no miracle. De Klerk’s speech was the culmination of roughly 5 years of secret talks between the South African Government and the African National Congress to break the logjam in the South African conflict.

De Klerk’s historic speech on 2 February was a script written by Barnard. He spent many hours visiting Nelson Mandela in his cell on Robben Island and grew to know the man well. He arranged to have Nelson Mandela moved to the mainland to facilitate more regular contact but also to prevent the media from becoming aware of the status of this contact and for future meetings to take place in a private residence near the prison.

What De Klerk must be credited with was the courage to cross the Rubicon that P.W. Botha talked about but failed to cross.

Ann Jarrett April 2021