ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, May 10, 1996 TAG: 9605100078
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
SOURCE: Associated Press
The party that gave South Africa apartheid decided Thursday to withdraw from President Nelson Mandela's unity government and try to influence policy as a ``vigilant'' opposition force.
In an announcement that reflected the deepening maturity of South Africa's democracy, the white-led National Party said it would leave the government June 30. The announcement came one day after the Constitutional Assembly accepted a new constitution.
``The National Party has felt for some time now that our influence within the government of national unity has been declining,'' said party leader F.W. de Klerk. He had expressed concern Wednesday that the new constitution gave too much power to the governing party.
The withdrawal also appeared to be motivated in part by the National Party's desire to position itself as an independent force before the 1999 parliamentary elections.
``We will be able to exercise greater influence on the economic policies of the government by publicly adopting a vigilant and critical role than by exercising our diminishing influence within the government,'' de Klerk said.
Mandela told a news conference that unity and reconciliation in South Africa did not depend on an enforced coalition and his African National Congress party had the confidence to govern alone.
The rand currency took a hit, but the stability of Mandela's ANC government was never in question. The ANC enjoys a comfortable majority in Parliament and a wide base of support.
Still, the participation of the National Party and other minority parties in the government had been a stabilizing factor in the transition from apartheid to democracy. That participation had been mandated by South Africa's interim constitution, replaced Wednesday after two years of debate.
The new constitution, unlike the interim one, does not require the president to give Cabinet posts to parties that receive at least 10 percent of the vote.
Mandela thanked de Klerk and his party colleagues for their ``constructive role'' in his government, but added they had a continuing responsibility toward ``eradicating the legacy of apartheid, which they created.''
``As such, we hope that their decision to play a more active role as an opposition party does not mean obstructing the process of the transformation or defending apartheid privilege,'' said Mandela.
De Klerk was the South African president who released Mandela after 27 years in prison and began the negotiations that led to majority rule. The National Party led the country for four decades under apartheid.
To reassure investors, de Klerk said Thursday's decision did not portend any growing political instability and added that the government's basic economic policies were sound.
LENGTH: Medium: 58 linesby CNB