FW de Klerk memorial service

Former president FW de Klerk looks on as President Cyril Ramaphosa attempts to deliver his State of the Nation Address at Parliament in Cape Town on 13 February 2020.
Photo: Sumaya Hisham / POOL / AFP

Just in: FW de Klerk apologises for controversial ‘apartheid comments’

A remorseful FW de Klerk has retracted comments made about the apartheid regime, following an intense backlash that spilled over at SONA.

FW de Klerk memorial service

Former president FW de Klerk looks on as President Cyril Ramaphosa attempts to deliver his State of the Nation Address at Parliament in Cape Town on 13 February 2020.
Photo: Sumaya Hisham / POOL / AFP

FW de Klerk has apologised to South Africans on Monday afternoon, following comments he made last weekend about apartheid. The last president of the cruel regime irked South Africans by claiming apartheid “was not a crime against humanity”. But after an intense backlash, the former politician has changed his tune.

FW de Klerk apology – what was said?

Speaking through his foundation, FW de Klerk declared aparthed “totally unacceptable” and conceded that the UN had previously highlighted the era was indeed a humanitarian offence. In his repentant apology, De Klerk says that he is sorry for causing “confusion, anger and hurt” with his words.

“I have taken note of the vehement reaction to our response to the EFF’s attack on me at the State of the Nation address on Thursday night. I agree with the Desmond and Leah Tutu Foundation that this is not the time to quibble about the degrees of unacceptability of apartheid.  It was totally unacceptable.

“The FW de Klerk Foundation has accordingly decided to withdraw its statement of 14 February unconditionally and apologises for the confusion, anger and hurt that it has caused… We remain deeply committed to national reconciliation.”

FW de Klerk

‘Sorry’ could be the hardest word

Earlier on Monday, the EFF confirmed they would pursue a murder inquiry into state-sponsored killings that De Klerk had allegedly organised. There are also calls to strip the senior statesman of his Nobel Peace Prize. As mentioned above, FWDK also made a note of the UN provision which labels apartheid “a crime against humanity”:

“The international crime of apartheid did not disappear with the demise of apartheid in South Africa.  In 1998 it was included in the Statute of Rome, which established the International Criminal Court. In terms of Article 7(1) a ‘crime against humanity’ is defined as acts ‘…committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack’.”

  • You can read the full statement here: