The Nelson Mandela Foundation approved the decision of FW de Klerk and welcomed his withdrawal of the statement “apartheid was not a crime against humanity”.
Sello Hatang, CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, says De Klerk’s apology doesn’t mean much and does nothing to put the country on the path of nation-building and reconciliation as Mandela would have liked.
The ANC says the sincerity of De Klerk’s apology will be tested in the future by his words and deeds.
“The senseless brutality, oppression, inhumanity, and devastation that apartheid has meant to millions of black South Africans cannot be underestimated by anyone despite political commitment, faith, skin color and place in the community.
“Any form of denial of the existence of apartheid as a crime against humanity is an insult to the reality of millions of South Africans and a total departure from the noble cause of social cohesion,” the ANC says.
The EFF already rejected De Klerk’s apology on Monday.