Mahlabatini Declaration
Encyclopedia
The Mahlabatini Declaration of Faith was a statement of core principles laid down by South Africa
n political leaders Mangosuthu Buthelezi
and Harry Schwarz
on 4 January 1974. It was signed in Mahlabatini, KwaZulu-Natal
, hence its name. Its purpose was to provide a blueprint for government of South Africa
by consent and racial peace in a multi-racial society, stressing opportunity for all, consultation, the federal concept, and a Bill of Rights
. It also first affirmed that political change must take place though non-violent means. It was the first of such agreements in apartheid South Africa by acknowledged black and white political leaders in South Africa, which would ultimately end with the negotiations between President F.W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela
in 1993.
, met and had discussions with Gatsha (later Mangosuthu) Buthelezi, Chief Executive Councillor of the black homeland of KwaZulu
. They jointly issued a document, which stated that "the situation of South Africa in the world scene as well as internal community relations requires, in our view, an acceptance of certain fundamental concepts for the economic, social and constitutional development of our country". It was intended for these core concepts to be the foundations for negotiations involving all in South Africa. Both leaders were acting in personal capacities.
The declaration's purpose was to provide a blueprint for government of South Africa
for racial peace in South Africa. It called for negotiations involving all peoples, in order to draw up constitutional proposals stressing opportunity for all with a Bill of Rights
to safeguard these rights.It suggested that the federal concept was the appropriate framework for such changes to take place. It also first affirmed that political change must take place though non-violent means. The concept of a non-discriminatory society had been outlined in the 'Act of Dedication' of 1973 that Schwarz had written, while Leader of the Opposition in the Transvaal
. Schwarz had called for the Transvaal and South Africa to adopt and subscribe to the act. While the United Party Transvaal caucus unanimously adopted the initiative, the National Party refused for it to come to debate. The principles of the act were adopted at the 1973 National United Party Congress.
nor the African National Congress
was interested in peaceful solutions or dialogue. Political figures such as Alan Paton
praised the declaration. The agreement was heralded by many as a breakthrough in race relations in South Africa. The declaration drew much media interest both inside and outside South Africa.
(Lebowa
), Lucas Mangope
(Bophuthatswana
) and Hudson Nisanwisi (Gazankulu
), met in Cape Town. The leaders announced to the press that they fully supported the declaration.
In March 1974 Chief Phatudi, Harry Schwarz and M. I. Mitchell (United Party MP), had discussions at Sheshego. They issued a joint statement, endorsing the principles embodied in the Mahlabatini Declaration. It also stated that all South Africans must be united to meet any external threats, subversion, or terrorism, and that the best way of uniting the people to meet such threats was to give them a real state in society which they were asked to defend.
, was a controversial figure in the party for his outspoken views against apartheid and was known as the leader of the liberal 'Young Turks' within the party.
In 1975 divisions over the Mahlabatini Declaration manifested in several 'Young Turks', including Schwarz, being expelled from the party, by leader Sir de Villiers Graaff. The members who were either expelled or resigned, formed the Reform Party
, with Schwarz as its leader. In July 1975, the Reform Party merged with the Progressive Party
, which eventually became the Progressive Federal Party
in 1977. This proved to realign opposition politics in South Africa, with the demise of the United Party as the PFP became the main opposition party, following the 1977 general election.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n political leaders Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi is a South African Zulu politician who founded the Inkatha Freedom Party in 1975 and continues to lead the party today.His praise name is Shenge.-Early life:...
and Harry Schwarz
Harry Schwarz
Harry Heinz Schwarz was a South African lawyer, statesman and long-time political opposition leader against apartheid, who eventually served as the South African ambassador to the United States during the country’s transition to representative democracy.Schwarz rose from the childhood poverty he...
on 4 January 1974. It was signed in Mahlabatini, KwaZulu-Natal
Mahlabatini, KwaZulu-Natal
Mahlabatini is a small town in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was established in 1898 by the British and the name means place of white sands....
, hence its name. Its purpose was to provide a blueprint for government of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
by consent and racial peace in a multi-racial society, stressing opportunity for all, consultation, the federal concept, and a Bill of Rights
Bill of rights
A bill of rights is a list of the most important rights of the citizens of a country. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement. The term "bill of rights" originates from England, where it referred to the Bill of Rights 1689. Bills of rights may be entrenched or...
. It also first affirmed that political change must take place though non-violent means. It was the first of such agreements in apartheid South Africa by acknowledged black and white political leaders in South Africa, which would ultimately end with the negotiations between President F.W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
in 1993.
Background
On 4 January 1974, Harry Schwarz, Transvaal leader of the official opposition United PartyUnited Party (South Africa)
The United Party was South Africa's ruling political party between 1934 and 1948. It was formed by a merger of most of Prime Minister Barry Hertzog's National Party with the rival South African Party of Jan Smuts, plus the remnants of the Unionist Party...
, met and had discussions with Gatsha (later Mangosuthu) Buthelezi, Chief Executive Councillor of the black homeland of KwaZulu
KwaZulu
KwaZulu was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government as a semi-independent homeland for the Zulu people. The capital, formerly at Nongoma, was moved in 1980 to Ulundi....
. They jointly issued a document, which stated that "the situation of South Africa in the world scene as well as internal community relations requires, in our view, an acceptance of certain fundamental concepts for the economic, social and constitutional development of our country". It was intended for these core concepts to be the foundations for negotiations involving all in South Africa. Both leaders were acting in personal capacities.
The declaration's purpose was to provide a blueprint for government of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
for racial peace in South Africa. It called for negotiations involving all peoples, in order to draw up constitutional proposals stressing opportunity for all with a Bill of Rights
Bill of rights
A bill of rights is a list of the most important rights of the citizens of a country. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement. The term "bill of rights" originates from England, where it referred to the Bill of Rights 1689. Bills of rights may be entrenched or...
to safeguard these rights.It suggested that the federal concept was the appropriate framework for such changes to take place. It also first affirmed that political change must take place though non-violent means. The concept of a non-discriminatory society had been outlined in the 'Act of Dedication' of 1973 that Schwarz had written, while Leader of the Opposition in the Transvaal
Transvaal
The Transvaal is the name of an area of northern South Africa. The land originally comprised most of the independent Boer South African Republic, which had existed since 1856, despite two previous attempts by the British of varying success to establish supremacy...
. Schwarz had called for the Transvaal and South Africa to adopt and subscribe to the act. While the United Party Transvaal caucus unanimously adopted the initiative, the National Party refused for it to come to debate. The principles of the act were adopted at the 1973 National United Party Congress.
Reaction and aftermath
The declaration was the first of its kind, in that it laid down the concept of a peaceful solution to South Africa's problems at a time when neither the National PartyNational Party (South Africa)
The National Party is a former political party in South Africa. Founded in 1914, it was the governing party of the country from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994. Members of the National Party were sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats. Its policies included apartheid, the establishment of a...
nor the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
was interested in peaceful solutions or dialogue. Political figures such as Alan Paton
Alan Paton
Alan Stewart Paton was a South African author and anti-apartheid activist.-Family:Paton was born in Pietermaritzburg, Natal Province , the son of a minor civil servant. After attending Maritzburg College, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Natal in his hometown, followed...
praised the declaration. The agreement was heralded by many as a breakthrough in race relations in South Africa. The declaration drew much media interest both inside and outside South Africa.
Black reaction
Shortly after the declaration was issued, several chief ministers of the black homelands, including Cedric PhatudiCedric Phatudi
Cedric Namedi Phatudi was the Chief Minister of Lebowa, one of the controversial South African bantustans.Born in Mphahlele, Phatudi initially worked as a teacher and educational administrator before attending the University of Fort Hare, gaining a BA in 1947 and a teaching diploma in 1950 at the...
(Lebowa
Lebowa
Lebowa was a bantustan located in the Transvaal in north eastern South Africa. Seshego initially acted as Lebowa's capital while the purpose-built Lebowakgomo was being constructed. Granted internal self-government on 2 October 1972 and ruled for much of its existence by Cedric Phatudi, Lebowa...
), Lucas Mangope
Lucas Mangope
Kgosi Lucas Manyane Mangope is the former leader of the Bantustan of Bophuthatswana and current leader of the United Christian Democratic Party, a minor political party based in the North West province of South Africa....
(Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana , officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana was a Bantustan – an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity – and nominal parliamentary democracy in the northwestern region of South Africa...
) and Hudson Nisanwisi (Gazankulu
Gazankulu
Gazankulu was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government to be a semi-independent homeland for the Tsonga people. It was carved out of the former Transvaal Province and given self-rule in 1971, with its capital at Giyani. When Apartheid was abolished in 1994, the population...
), met in Cape Town. The leaders announced to the press that they fully supported the declaration.
In March 1974 Chief Phatudi, Harry Schwarz and M. I. Mitchell (United Party MP), had discussions at Sheshego. They issued a joint statement, endorsing the principles embodied in the Mahlabatini Declaration. It also stated that all South Africans must be united to meet any external threats, subversion, or terrorism, and that the best way of uniting the people to meet such threats was to give them a real state in society which they were asked to defend.
United Party and opposition realignment
Despite considerable support from black leaders and the English speaking press, the declaration drew much criticism from the establishment of Harry Schwarz's United Party. Schwarz, who had recently deposed the more conservative Marais Styen from the leadership of the United Party in the TransvaalTransvaal Province
Transvaal Province was a province of the Union of South Africa from 1910 to 1961, and of its successor, the Republic of South Africa, from 1961 until the end of apartheid in 1994 when a new constitution subdivided it.-History:...
, was a controversial figure in the party for his outspoken views against apartheid and was known as the leader of the liberal 'Young Turks' within the party.
In 1975 divisions over the Mahlabatini Declaration manifested in several 'Young Turks', including Schwarz, being expelled from the party, by leader Sir de Villiers Graaff. The members who were either expelled or resigned, formed the Reform Party
Reform Party (South Africa)
The Reform Party was an anti-apartheid political party that existed for just five months in 1975 and is one of the predecessor parties to the Democratic Alliance...
, with Schwarz as its leader. In July 1975, the Reform Party merged with the Progressive Party
Progressive Party (South Africa)
The Progressive Party was a liberal party in South Africa that opposed the ruling National Party's policies of apartheid, and championed the Rule of Law. For years its only member of parliament was Helen Suzman...
, which eventually became the Progressive Federal Party
Progressive Federal Party
The Progressive Federal Party was a South African political party formed in 1977. It advocated power-sharing in South Africa through a federal constitution, in place of apartheid...
in 1977. This proved to realign opposition politics in South Africa, with the demise of the United Party as the PFP became the main opposition party, following the 1977 general election.