Comparative Study Visit to South Africa Supporting Inclusive Dialogue at a Challenging Time in Turkey Comparative Study Visit Report
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Comparative Study Visit Study Africa to South Comparative Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands European Union This project is co-funded by the European Union, Norwegian MFA, The Netherlands MFA, and Irish Aid / Bu proje Avrupa Birliği, Norveç Dışişleri Bakanlığı, Hollanda Dışişleri Bakanlığı ve Irlanda Yardım tarafından ortaklaşa finanse edilmektedir Comparative Study Visit to South Africa Supporting Inclusive Dialogue at a Challenging Time in Turkey Comparative Study Visit Report Pretoria and Cape Town, 9-16 June 2019 Pretoria and Cape Town, 9-16 June 2019 June 9-16 Pretoria Town, Cape and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands European Union This project is co-funded by the European Union, Norwegian MFA, The Netherlands MFA, and Irish Aid / Bu proje Avrupa Birliği, Norveç Dışişleri Bakanlığı, Hollanda Dışişleri Bakanlığı ve Irlanda Yardım tarafından ortaklaşa finanse edilmektedir Comparative Study Visit to South Africa Supporting Inclusive Dialogue at a Challenging Time in Turkey Comparative Study Visit Report Pretoria and Cape Town, 9-16 June 2019 7 Published by / Yayınlayan Democratic Progress Institute – Demokratik Gelişim Enstitüsü 11 Guilford Street London WC1N 1DH www.democraticprogress.org [email protected] + 44 (0) 20 7405 3835 First published / İlk Baskı, 2019 IBSN: 978-1-911205-38-8 © DPI – Democratic Progress Institute / Demokratik Gelişim Enstitüsü DPI – Democratic Progress Institute is a charity registered in England and Wales. Registered Charity No. 1037236. Registered Company No. 2922108 DPI – Demokratik Gelişim Enstitüsü İngiltere ve galler’de kayıtlı bir vakıftır. Vakıf kayıt No. 1037236. Kayıtlı Şirket No. 2922108 This publication is copyright, but may be reproduced by any method without fee or prior permission for teaching purposes, but not for resale. For copying in any other circumstances, prior written permission must be obtained from the publisher, and a fee may be payable. Bu yayının telif hakları saklıdır, eğitim amacıyla telif ödenmeksizin yada önceden izin alınmaksızın çoğaltılabilir ancak yeniden satılamaz. Bu durumun dışındaki her tür kopyalama için yayıncıdan yazılı izin alınması gerekmektedir. Bu durumda yayıncılara bir ücret ödenmesi gerekebilir. 8 Comparative Study Visit to South Africa Table of Contents Foreword 11 Summary of Report 13 Session 1: An overview of the South African peace process: learning the lessons from the South African experience 20 Q&A session 33 Session 2: The conditions that enabled the process of negotiations to begin 40 Session 3: Architecture of the South African peace process: who was involved, how did they engage and what were the challenges 57 Q&A session 64 Session 4: Role of security structures during the negotiation period: coming to agreements on security sector reform 73 Q&A session 87 Session 5: Keeping a process going during difficult times 96 Q&A session 108 Session 6: The motivations for resuming negotiations after breakdowns: why the ANC continued dialogue with the NP 114 Q&A session 121 Session 7: Negotiating a new constitution in South Africa: what lessons can be learnt? 129 Q&A session 138 Session 8: Justice, truth and reconciliation: the architecture of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission 144 Q&A session 154 Session 9: The Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA): how was it formed, who was involved and what were the results? 173 Q&A session 180 9 Comparative Study Visit to South Africa Session 10: Discussing the drafting, debates and agreement on the South African Bill of Rights 190 Q&A session 201 Session 11: The ANC: from a Liberation movement to a Political organisation 215 Q&A session 235 DPI Aims and Objectives 253 Board Members 257 Council of Experts 266 10 Comparative Study Visit to South Africa Foreword This report provides an account of the discussions that took place during DPI’s Comparative Study Visit to South Africa on 9-16th June in conjunction with South African-based organisation In Transformation Initiative (ITI) on the topic of “Bringing a process back on track: Lessons Learnt from the South Africa experience”. The event brought together a group from Turkey with diverse political and professional backgrounds who came together to develop an understanding of the conflict in South Africa, how it was brought to a negotiated settlement, and how challenges that presented during the negotiation period were overcome. The CSV involved the participants visiting Johannesburg, Soweto, Pretoria and Cape Town, where they met with a number of the key actors in South Africa’s transition from an apartheid state to a democratic one. The discussion centred on the crucial question of how the parties managed to keep the process going, even during the most difficult times, with a particular focus on the breakdown period and subsequent resumption of the negotiations between the African National Congress and the National Party. We had the benefit of gaining important insights from those who were directly involved in negotiations, as well as in the drafting of the post-apartheid Constitution. This CSV forms part of a larger series of activities planned in the context of the project: “Supporting inclusive dialogue at a challenging time in Turkey”, supported by the EU and the Irish, Dutch and Norwegian governments. DPI would like to express, once again, our deepest thanks to our friends in South Africa, in particular, Roelf Meyer, Ivor Jenkins, Ebrahim Ebrahim and Mohammed Babha, for all their assistance and contribution to the programme for the CSV. 11 Comparative Study Visit to South Africa We would also like to express, once again, our deepest thanks to all of our speakers and participants in the programme for sharing their experiences and expertise, to the DPI team in London and Turkey who delivered this activity, and to DPI intern Sarah Saija for her assistance in preparing this report. Yours sincerely, Kerim Yildiz Chief Executive Officer Democratic Progress Institute 12 Comparative Study Visit to South Africa Summary of Report Between the 9th and 16th of June 2019, DPI carried out a comparative study visit (CSV) on the theme “Bringing a process back on track: Lessons Learnt from the South Africa experience”. The purpose of the visit was to provide a diverse group from Turkey with the opportunity to learn from the period of negotiations to end Apartheid in South Africa and give participants the platform with which to engage in dialogue and discussion with speakers and amongst each other. The study visit, which took the participants to Johannesburg, Soweto, Pretoria and Cape Town, provided access to key protagonists in the period leading to the negotiations, the negotiations themselves, and the resulting state of post-apartheid South Africa. Participants engaged with the first-hand experiences of these actors, from each major political standpoint, who played significant roles in the conflict resolution process and continue to play important roles today. Through this carefully planned series of meetings, the group were exposed to the major successes and challenges encountered during the peace process spearheaded by F. W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela. The experiences shared and discussions with the group led to insightful lessons and a deeper understanding of conflict resolution processes being forged. The event, as well as providing an overview of the process in South Africa, examined many different key themes. Discussion focused on conditions that enabled negotiations to begin - dubbed ‘talks before talks’ - as the well as the formal process of the negotiations themselves. The architecture of the South African peace process was also explored whereby participants heard about who was involved and how they engaged with each other. The role of media and security structures in the peace process was examined in separate sessions. An overarching theme of the CSV examined how to keep the process going even during the most difficult 13 Comparative Study Visit to South Africa times - with a particular focus on the breakdown period and subsequent resumption of the negotiations between the African National Congress and the National Party. Participants also engaged with speakers on the subject of drafting a new South African Constitution and Bill of Rights which would safeguard the rights of each individual citizen in South Africa. Finally, participants discussed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that was set up in the wake of apartheid as a means of seeking justice for all victims of the conflict. Participants visited Soweto, the largest township in Johannesburg, to see the house of former President Nelson Mandela. It was important for participants to see the modest surroundings of the man who espoused inclusion and dialogue as part of the process to bring an end to apartheid in South Africa. This was an invaluable way to begin the week-long event as it grounded the participants in the historic and troubled nature of the peace process in the country during the 1990s. The first day of meetings (10th June) began with a welcome from DPI CEO Kerim Yildiz before Roelf Meyer, former Chief Negotiator for the government and Director of In Transformation Initiative provided the group with an overview of the transition to democracy in South Africa. Here Mr Meyer explained that the founding principle of the peace process was safeguarding individual rights on an equal basis for all. In the following session Mohammed Bhabha, ANC negotiator and former Member of Parliament and the ANC’s Ebrahim Ebrahim, former Deputy Minister