Buccus’s hatchet job on De Klerk vitriolic
I REFER to the op-ed “Unpacking the role of De Klerk – an accidental icon” by Imraan Buccus published in The Mercury, February 4.
I am profoundly saddened by the tone and content of his article. I enjoy reading Buccus’s pieces and find him informed and an astute commentator. However, I find disturbing his piece on De Klerk and other pieces he has penned on the latter.
He appears to be waging a vendetta against De Klerk and caricatures him.
Buccus is vitriolic in his unbridled attack on a significant figure in our political transition from 1990 to 1994. In my opinion, he explains the complex political situation at the time simplistically, as if De Klerk had no choice and was “marched into the transition, kicking and screaming”.
De Klerk did indeed have a choice of continuing to use the powerful security forces to contain the violent unrest and threat of insurrection inherent in the apartheid state for a considerable period of time, however tragic the consequences, since the ANC could not defeat the apartheid regime in a military way or by insurrection.
Instead, he could embark on the hazardous path of reform together with Mandela, who had more or less reached the same conclusion. He wisely, after very careful reflection, chose the latter.
In waging his vendetta, Buccus fails to make a meaningful contribution to the discourse on this aspect of our transition. It is interesting to note that last year, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, founder and leader of the Gift of the Givers, who is universally esteemed, accepted the Goodwill Award from the De Klerk Foundation for his organisation’s humanitarian work.
In his acceptance speech he spoke movingly of the road he and De Klerk had traversed since 1990. In contrast, Sooliman’s positive assess- ment of De Klerk is entirely different from that of Buccus.
History will assess De Klerk as one of our great sons who, together with Mandela, authored our liberal democracy and exemplary Constitution. We have benefited inordinately from his extraordinary political metamorphosis. GEORGE DEVENISH
Emeritus professor at UKZN who assisted in drafting the interim constitution in 1993