‘Bloody Commonwealth peacemongers’: the role of the Commonwealth in South Africa’s transition from apartheid

ABSTRACT

In the international campaign against apartheid, the Commonwealth is often cited as clashing repeatedly with its former imperial master, the United Kingdom, whether on sport, arms sales or sanctions against South Africa. Yet little attention is paid to the quite different role a united Commonwealth was able to play in South Africa’s transition from apartheid, following the release of Nelson Mandela from prison in February 1990. This article uses new archival evidence to assess the impact of the Commonwealth’s role alongside other forms of international assistance during the period.

KEYWORDS:

• Apartheid
• South Africa
• Commonwealth
• Mandela
• De Klerk
• Anyaoku

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank former Commonwealth colleagues who have read and commented on his draft. In particular, his appreciation goes to Kamalesh Sharma and Patricia Scotland who, as Commonwealth Secretaries-General, have in turn allowed him to consult Commonwealth archives not yet available to the public. Archival research for this article was carried out, in the UK, at The National Archives at Kew, London; the Anti-Apartheid Collection at the Bodleian Library, Oxford; and at the Commonwealth archive at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London. In South Africa, the author consulted records held in the Department for International Relations & Cooperation; Historical Papers held at the University of Witwatersrand; the South African History archive; and the archive/special collections at the University of Cape Town.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 Interview transcript, F.W.de Klerk in conversation with CSM South Africa, 28 October 1991, Commonwealth Secretariat archives SGAN/09/025.

2 Memorandum (unidentified author), ‘Notes on Possibilities for International Role in the Transition to Democratic Government in South Africa,’ Commonwealth Secretariat archives, SGAN/09/025.

3 Commonwealth News Release (91/39), ‘Commonwealth Secretary-General in Special Mission to South Africa,’ 29 October 1991, Commonwealth Secretariat archives, SGAN/09/025.

4 Joint Media Statement, FW de Klerk and Emeka Anyaoku, 7 November 1991, Union Buildings, Pretoria. Commonwealth Secretariat archives, SGAN/09/025.

5 The Commonwealth’s Distinguished Observers were Revd. Canaan Banana (former President of Zimbabwe); Rt. Hon. Sir Geoffrey Howe (former Deputy Prime Minister, UK); Shri Dinesh Singh (Former Minister of External Affairs, India); Tan Sri Ghazali Shafie (former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia); Hon, Mr Justice Telford Georges (Trinidad & Tobago, former Chief Justice of The Bahamas); and Rt. Hon. Sir Ninian Stephen (Former Governor-General of Australia).

6 Report of the Commonwealth Group of Observers, The Commonwealth at CODESA, 20–21 December 1991, (London: Commonwealth Secretariat, 1992), Commonwealth Secretariat archives, SGAN/09/009, 9.

7 Joint Statement by International Observers to the First Meeting of CODESA, Johannesburg, 20–21 December 1991, Commonwealth Secretariat archives, SGAN/09/009 (CODESA1).

8 Record of a meeting between the Secretary-General and Nelson Mandela, 14 May 1992, Johannesburg, personal papers.

9 The Waddington Report, ‘Report of the inquiry into the police response to, and investigation of, events in Boipatong on 17 June 1992,’ 20 July 1992, O’Malley archives, accessed 12 October 2018, https://omalley.nelsonmandela.org/omalley/.

10 Aide-Memoire from Emeka Anyaoku to various interlocutors, ‘Proposed Commonwealth Group to Assist in Arresting Violence in South Africa,’ 3 July, Johannesburg, Commonwealth Secretariat archives, SGAN/09/054,1.

11 Brief for COMSA Observers, ‘Commonwealth Observer Mission to South Africa, October – December 1992,’ Commonwealth Secretariat archives, SGAN/09/054, 21.

12 Report by Dr Boutros Boutros-Ghali to the UN Security Council, ‘Report of the Secretary-General on the question of South Africa,’ 22 December 1992, UN document S/25004, 281292, 11.

13 Human Rights Commission, ‘Special Focus: Violence in Crossroads,’ UCT archives, BC 668, P4.10.

14 European Community Observer Mission in South Africa, Confidential Report for the period October 1992-April 1993, Commonwealth Secretariat archives, SGAN/09/ A18.2, 43.

15 Ibid., 40.

16 ECOMSA, Confidential Report, Appendix K.

17 Personal observation by the author, temporarily assigned to COMSA over that period.

18 ECOMSA, Confidential Report, 2.

19 Ibid., 2.

20 Correspondence from Mark Butler to Emeka Anyaoku, 28 April 1993, Commonwealth Secretariat archives, SGAN/09/22.

21 Notes from a telephone conversation between Duncan Chappell and Commonwealth Secretariat staff, 1 May 1993, Commonwealth Secretariat archives, SGAN 09/22.

22 Correspondence from Beyers Naude to Emeka Anyaoku, 3 May 1993, Commonwealth Secretariat archives SGAN/09/22.

23 Annotation by Emeka Anyaoku to Anthony Siaguru on correspondence from Barry Munson, Toti Crisis and Upliftment Centre, Amanzimtoti, 5 December 1992, Commonwealth Secretariat archives, SGAN/09/002.

24 Memorandum, ‘COMSA Budget Estimates for period 15 January–15 April 1993,’ from Max Gaylard to Emeka Anyaoku, 15 January 1993, Commonwealth Secretariat archives, SGAN/09/22.

25 Transcript of a press conference given by COMSA, 17 December 1992, Johannesburg, held in archives of the Department for International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), freedom of information request.

26 Statement by Department of Justice (P.A. Du Rand, Chief Liaison Officer), 22 December 1992, in response to COMSA statement, DIRCO archives, FOI request.

27 ‘Editorial, ‘Upholding the law,’ The Star, 23 December 1992, DIRCO archives, FOI request.

28 Record of a telephone conversation between Emeka Anyaoku and Pik Botha, 24 November 1992, Johannesburg, Commonwealth Secretariat archives, SGAN/09/002.

29 Memorandum by COMSA (Colleen Lowe-Morna) to Commonwealth Secretariat, ‘Commonwealth assistance to the transition,’ 6 January 1994, Commonwealth Secretariat archives, SGAN/09/046, 1.

30 Memorandum by COMSA (C. Lowe-Morna) to Commonwealth Secretariat, ‘Update on assistance to the NPKF,’ 11 January 1994, Commonwealth Secretariat archives, SGAN/09/046, 2.

31 Correspondence from the Joint Executive Secretaries, TEC to Emeka Anyaoku, 19 January 1994, Commonwealth Secretariat archives, SGAN/09/46, 1.

32 Correspondence from Emeka Anyaoku to the Joint Executive Secretaries, TEC, 26 January 1994, Commonwealth Secretariat archives, SGAN/09/046, 1.

33 Press Release, ‘Commonwealth announces support to NPKF’, 10 February 1994, Johannesburg, Commonwealth Secretariat archives, SGAN/09/046.

34 Memorandum from John Syson to Anthony Siaguru, ‘CPAG – Requirement for Commonwealth Secretariat Funding,’ 9 March 1994, Commonwealth Secretariat archives, SGAN/09/046.

35 Chris Louw, ‘Experts warned that NPKF wasn’t ready,’ 22 April, Weekly Mail & Guardian, Commonwealth Secretariat archives, SGAN/09/046.

36 Colonel Cottam, CPAG, Report to Russell Marshal, COMSA, April 1994, Commonwealth Secretariat archives, SGAN/09/046.

37 Cottam, Report to COMSA, 4.

38 Cottam, Report to COMSA, 4.

39 COMSA Press Release, ‘COMSA urges political tolerance,’ May 1993, Johannesburg, Commonwealth Secretariat archives, SGAN 09/16.

40 Record of a Meeting between Emeka Anyaoku and FW de Klerk, 13 November 1992 (Note taken by M.J. Gaylard, 24 November 1992), personal papers, 1.

41 Ibid., 4.

42 IEC, ‘Manual for International Observers: April 1994,’ 7 April 1994, Johannesburg, 38.

43 Ibid., 14.

44 The European Union had come into being on 1 November 1993, under the Maastricht Treaty. Its mission at the elections was the European Union Election Unit in South Africa (EUNELSA).

45 Timothy Sisk, ‘A US Perspective of South Africa’s 1994 Election’, in Reynolds, Election ’94 South Africa, 144

46 Interview with Justice Kriegler, 5 May 2014, SABC Digital News, accessed 3 February 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZR_jlOG.yg.

47 Johnson, ‘How Free? How Fair’, Launching Democracy, 323. Ron Gould was a Canadian electoral expert appointed to serve on the IEC for the 1994 elections.

48 Press Release, ‘Final Statement by the International Observer Missions on the South African elections’, 6 May 1994, UNOMSA/PR/55, Commonwealth Secretariat archives, SGAN/09/019.

49 Johnson, ‘How Free? How Fair?’ Launching Democracy, 323.

Additional information

Funding

The author’s doctoral research, from which this article is derived, was in part funded by a Global Uncertainties Award provided by the University of Exeter for part-time study between 2013 and 2020.