Endgame (2009) - full transcript
A story based on the covert discussions that brought down the Apartheid regime in South Africa.
This is an illegal gathering.
You must disperse immediately.
Stay down.
Pass.
You're in Soweto.
Why?
My sister lives in District Three.
What's in the back?
Furniture.
Wait.
Okay, it's fine.
He was out collecting wood
with his father and his sister.
The Police came out of nowhere and
grabbed us and took us to the bridge.
They took my dad and tied him
in a canvas bag...
and dropped him into the river.
They made us watch him drown.
They told us to go home and tell
the others the price for being ANC.
We have a word...
'Ubuntu'.
It means a person's humanity...
is measured according to their
relationship with others.
We tell the children that these
people, who commit these crimes...
have lost their humanity...
and are as much victims
of Apartheid as we are.
Michael Young.
Sir?
Go, go, go!
- It's Michael Young.
- What progress?
This isn't going to work for us.
We need to aim higher.
Safer to stay in the foothills.
The more visible, the more
vulnerable we are.
Yes, it's much safer.
Yes.
A bit of hush.
It is my pleasure to present
Thabo Mbeki.
The African National Congress'
Head of Information...
who is here representing
the ANC president, Oliver Tambo.
I know that you'll make Mr Mbeki
feel most welcome.
My name is Thabo Mbeki...
and I am a terrorist.
No doubt, that is what you
have been told.
No incendiary devices.
No concealed weapons.
I am just a man, as you are.
Every day the President
of South Africa...
under the mantle of his State
of Emergency...
deploys thousands more of
his troops in the townships...
brutally crushing the rising
resistance to his oppressive regime.
Yet, the UK, is still one of South
Africa's leading trading partners.
Every company...
every financial institution
which continues to invest there...
is a source of political and economic
strength to P.W. Botha.
If it is true that money talks,
then let it speak, clearly.
Let your voice join ours when we say
the bloodshed of our people must end.
The time to shout 'enough' has come.
The time for you to act is here.
Mr Mbeki?
Michael Young.
Public Affairs Director,
Consolidated Goldfields.
Tell me how we can help.
It's not an offer to make lightly,
Mr Young. We might take you up on it.
It wasn't made lightly.
As you say, we too have an incentive
to ensure your country's survival.
We have this recurring
nightmare, Mr Young...
that one day the South African
Government will send us a message...
indicating that it is ready to talk
to us about ending apartheid.
Because of our antagonism and mistrust,
we fail to hear the message. We...
fail to respond.
We miss the moment.
Thank you.
An apparatchik working for
a reactionary outfit like Goldfields?
Is that what it's come to?
The fact that he works for Goldfields
means he'll be listened to.
You know a better entry card?
And if the Public Affairs
thing is just a front?
I doubt he's Ml6.
I need a word.
He's expecting you.
Come in.
I think I have a way forward
on our problem.
I'm listening.
Mr Vijoan?
It's Michael Young. I called last
week about the meetings...
I'm trying to set up between
the ANC and leading Afrikaners.
The risk is too great.
I have a young family to think of.
Please don't call me again.
They're just exploratory meetings...
and someone representing
the Dutch Reform Church...
who better to act as
a mediator between the two sides?
It's not the policy of our church
to involve ourselves in politics.
I can't help you. I am sorry.
There are those on both sides
who favour force over dialogue.
To maintain secrecy, it's best
if we hold the talks in the U.K.
In South Africa secrets are
a way of life.
They also have a habit
of exploding in your face.
I can't be bothered.
I'm sorry.
- Can I use your toilet?
- Yeah, it's around the back.
Love has a habit of pushing us
into the arms of philosophy.
An earthquake claims a thousand lives.
Families bludgeoned to death
by intruders.
The death of a much loved child.
Such events prompt us to ask
how a benign deity can allow...
such tragedies to happen.
The task of Philosophy is to rise above
the futility and chaos of daily life...
to seek a deeper truth
to our existence.
I'll finish with the words of Pascal.
'If man's dignity lies in thought...
then let us all strive to think well.'
Good day.
Be warned!
Those who have not yet handed in their
assignment on Freedom and the State...
will find their own freedom curtailed.
Mr Gruber, make my day.
Treat yourself to a new
typewriter ribbon.
Mr Young, I assume?
An audacious mission
you've undertaken.
A mission impossible,
might be more apt.
What you are asking is impossible.
No sane man would put his livelihood,
not to mention his life...
on the line
to break bread with the devil.
In this country, those who go public
against Apartheid...
acquire the status of a pariah.
Yet, you still agreed
to meet with me?
You say Consolidated Goldfields have
agreed to fund these meetings?
Your founder would turn in his grave.
Rhodes knew that market forces
can succeed where politicians fail.
You are being disingenuous.
This is about your company protecting
it's investments here, is it not?
They know apartheid is an anathema
morally and economically.
They've colluded with it long enough.
It's an open secret that a silent
coup has taken place in our country.
Botha no longer consults Parliament
or the cabinet...
but rules in the manner of
a medieval monarch.
Only his inner sanctum of
security advisors have his ear.
It's they who wield the power,
and they are not interested...
in a political solution.
Like most Afrikaners, I find...
the murderous methodology of
the ANC morally repugnant...
and the idea of cosying up to them
is abhorrent...
even the thought makes me retch.
I'm sorry that you
had a wasted journey.
I am not the man
for your mission.
Get on the move.
If you are not otherwise engaged,
Mr Mandela...
the Minister of Justice invites
you to join him for tea.
I'm told it's cucumber sandwiches
this time.
It seems you
have another visitor, too.
The Head of National Intelligence,
no less.
Doctor Barnard is here?
A moment if you please, Mr Brand.
Copy, control.
Thank you.
Control.
Confirm subject's arrival.
Mr Coatsee.
Good to see you again.
Good to see you too, Mr Mandela.
Doctor Neil Barnard is here,
Head of National Intelligence.
He's asked to sit in
on our discussions.
Mr Nelson Mandela.
Doctor Neil Barnard.
...used tear gas
to disperse the crowd...
in what a security forces
spokesperson described as...
'necessary measures
to contain the violence'.
And, there were further arrests when
Eug?ne Terre'Blanche's AWB party...
held a recruitment rally,
four people were detained.
If they want to take this country
by force and violence...
they'll meet us
over the barrel of a gun.
A! W! B!
Michael Young.
I cannot stand by and do nothing
while my country is reduced to ashes.
I'll come to your meeting.
Let me know where and when.
Doctor Barnard, Mr President.
- Did he take the bait?
- And deny his moment of destiny?
- He took it alright.
- Vanity... vanity.
Tambo's waiting to see you.
Oliver, maybe these talks are the
opportunity we've been waiting for.
Yes, but not everyone is going
to like it.
Many will see this as a betrayal.
So, we need to keep this between us,
and report back only to me.
Be careful, Thabo.
We're in.
Some housekeeping notes.
No telephone communication
with the ANC either...
in Lusaka or here in London.
South African Intelligence have our
phones tapped. Yours too, by now.
Don't think because you're back
in London you're not vulnerable.
Car and letter bombs are the weapons
of choice of the security agents.
Welcome to our world.
The board get wind we're jumping into
bed...
with a bunch of Kalashnikov
carrying terrorists...
we'll both be out on our ears.
You realise that?
They can't ignore reality.
Every day Botha gets more isolated,
the country more ungovernable.
Something doesn't give, and soon
the company will go down with it.
You see your role in this as what?
To create a neutral arena
and step aside.
Hope that they can see each other
as men, rather than as enemies.
A risky strategy.
Others are risking more than that.
Heroics don't cut much ice with
shareholders.
A 'need to know' basis. Only.
Trust no-one. Confide in no-one.
I'll bury the costs under Research
and Development, or some such.
Arrangements for my personal affairs
should anything happen to me.
- You think that's likely?
- A precaution.
Michael?
If this ever gets out...
I shall have to deny all knowledge
of it and, disown you.
And, I'll be nothing,
if not convincing.
Passport? Ticket?
Taxi.
It's okay.
Professor.
In the nick of time.
May I come in?
In public, Botha's still holding
the party line...
that you must defeat terrorists before
you can negotiate with them.
Privately, he wants you to continue
the dialogue for as long as possible.
The more we know about the ANC's
fault lines in their power structure...
the better we are equipped
to control the end game.
So, I am to act as your spy?
A go between is more what
we had in mind.
Have you thought why you were chosen
to lead these talks, Professor?
You're a soft target.
They think your reputation as an
advocate for social justice...
gives them a way in.
Play along.
Mbeki must think you are just a...
respected academic on
a fact-finding mission.
A soft target is not
a soft touch, Doctor.
I'm going to that meeting to hear
what they have to say.
As importantly for them to hear
what I have to say.
The whole process
is futile otherwise.
Ja, but the thing is,
you see, Professor.
You don't co-operate...
your participation in
the process will be terminated.
My direct line. Call me.
You need to be vigilant
about incendiary devices now.
Always check under your
car before using it.
I'll send my people over
to show you how.
And your ticket?
Don't forget to ring Albi Sachs.
Hello?
This is Thabo Mbeki.
I need a quick word.
He's just left for the airport.
I'll try and catch him, hold on.
Albi!
Albi!
- Get another line.
- Another line, please!
Background checks on staff. And
they know that security is an issue?
I briefed them this morning.
Brief them every morning.
Just keep hammering it home.
- This is Mr Mambenki's room.
- Mbeki.
- All the rooms are ensuite.
- It's nice.
- And, next door?
- His colleague. Mr... Pahad.
Put Professor Esterhuyse
next to Mbeki.
We need to mix them up. Maximise
the opportunity for chance meetings.
- Right.
- Good. Thank you.
'Welcome' seems a meagre word
for such an occasion.
But, it is no less sincere,
all the same.
Now, as you can see from
the agenda I drew up...
we have a lot of ground to cover.
So, if we're to get through it
I think it is essential that...
With respect, Mr Young.
Since you are not South African,
it's not your agenda.
It's ours.
And, with respect, Mr Mbeki...
I must remind you that the agenda
was agreed by both sides in advance.
Item one.
The ANC perspective.
We know that you Afrikaners have
paid in blood for your country.
As, we have.
We know too, that it was from your
suffering...
that a system of apartheid
was incubated.
The need to dominate is often
a consequence of survival.
Our problem is, as exiles, we are...
outside the political system.
So, we are not in a position to offer
any concessions or compromises...
in any potential negotiations with
the government.
If you can't offer concessions,
what can you offer?
All we can do is set out our
stall of demands.
The release of Nelson Mandela
and all political prisoners.
The unbanning of all proscribed
political organisations.
Only then can a negotiated transition
to majority rule take place.
So, then, we can take it that there
is no truth in the rumour...
that the ANC hopes Mandela will
die in prison?
Thus elevating him to the status
of martyr.
You don't think he's achieved
that status already?
That rumour, along with most
information about us...
is based on disinformation.
And, the riots and bloodshed
if he does get released?
Can you guarantee you can control
your guerrilla extremists?
Controlling Mrs Mandela and her
necklacing would be a start.
As would controlling the brutality
of your security police.
Can you guarantee that?
There's talk in Pretoria that Botha
is considering...
forming a new body to be
affiliated to Parliament...
where black representatives can join
the coloured and Indian delegates...
as a prelude to power sharing.
Can we ask your opinion on such
a proposal?
What is yours?
I'm just here on a fact-finding
mission, Mr Mbeki.
Your opinion is the issue.
My understanding is we are not here
to discuss reforming Apartheid.
Or, disguising it under some new
administrative structure.
We're here to talk about how
to abolish it.
What we are seeking, is a prelude
to majority rule.
Power sharing, is not an option.
Ah, Professor.
Okay. Good, good.
Gentlemen, please. Good.
Perhaps, if you outline the specific
nature of your fears...
relating to majority rule.
It's not bloody rocket science.
The blacks come after our blood,
and our children get slaughtered
in their beds. That, is the reality.
A communist leaning administration
will destroy our economic stability.
They'll end up in the same post
colonial chaos...
as the other African states.
Professor?
You'll obliterate not only our language
and our culture, but our human rights.
Fear is the first weapon
of the oppressor.
It blinds us all from seeing
the humanity of the other.
Your hands are not
so clean either, Mr Mbeki.
What is your campaign of terror
based on if not fear?
The culture of fear is not of
our making, Professor.
We learnt it at the feet
of our masters.
You're looking tired, Mr Mandela.
We've kept you talking too late again.
Fortunately, I had no other
plans tonight.
I look forward to our next
conversation, Doctor.
For a moment I thought you said,
'negotiation'.
My ear's playing tricks on me.
Good night, Doctor.
- Mr. Coatsee.
- Good night.
Stop all contact with the
other Robben Islanders.
We don't need their
Greek Chorus in his ear.
Alright.
And get him a suit for next time.
We'll get more out of him
if he thinks he's an equal.
Okay. It's a good idea.
I'll leave you to it.
I just think things might free up
a bit without an outsider present.
Bored with us already?
It's a tactical withdrawal.
So, Professor.
When you first saw me,
did you think...
'Ah, so that's what a fucking,
communist terrorist looks like'?
And, you? Did you think...
'Ah, so that's what a fucking
racist Boer looks like'?
No doubt, you assume our claim
to be non-racial...
is just a rhetoric of political
convenience, but you are mistaken.
It's what defines us.
And you are mistaken in your
assumptions about us, Mr Mbeki.
Our fear doesn't
stem from propaganda...
but from the deep rooted knowledge
that one day we will be punished...
for all the terrible wrongs
we have inflicted.
Good night, Professor.
Goodnight.
Hello?
Professor?
Can I help you?
Young gave his assurance the place
was clean of bugs.
I couldn't take the chance.
I hope to God, you don't make me
regret what I'm about to do.
To the press and parliament,
Botha's still on message that...
you must abandon your weapons before
he'll conduct a dialogue with you.
But, my presence here suggests
otherwise.
Botha knows about these talks?
I'm instructed to report back
to him via Doctor Barnard...
in National Intelligence.
I'm to be their Trojan horse.
You take a risk telling
me this, Professor.
It would be a risk not telling you.
Without trust, we'll achieve nothing.
Tambo says if we are to...
win our freedom
we must first...
banish bitterness.
This will be the test of it.
For all of us.
Get him ready.
Let's give him a taste
of what he's been missing.
If you could just turn around.
- Okay. It's good?
- Ja.
I've lost the knack
of tying them over the years.
Well, shall we?
Got it. I've got it.
Barnard.
Did he enjoy his day of freedom?
Enough to get a taste for it,
let's hope.
- And the UK talks?
- Work in progress.
I need more than that to placate
the bloody doves in Cabinet.
Sir, the Cabinet must know
absolutely nothing about this.
If some loose lips blabs to CNN the
whole process could implode on us.
You sold me these talks
to get the inside track on the ANC.
To give us leverage over Mandela.
If you're not going to deliver.
What's the damn point?
I have his exact words
here somewhere.
Leave us.
I do have a home to go to, Doctor.
At the risk of invoking more accusations
that I'm gullible and naive, I repeat...
In my view, Mbeki, is a man
the government can do business with.
A view based on what?
Your cosy fireside chats?
His existential ramblings
about universal suffrage?
One can respect a man's commitment
to his ideals...
without sharing his methods
of achieving them.
Forgive me, if I don't also genuflect
at his altar of self government.
Talk is cheap, Professor.
He made no concessions, did he?
Not one.
His so called conversion to moderation
is a ploy, orchestrated by Tambo.
And you...
you fell for it.
- Can I go home?
- Not yet.
Mandela sent his lawyer with
a message for me.
They've isolated him from Sisulu
and the other Robben Islanders.
He's been holding secret talks with
Doctor Barnard from the N.I. S...
who reports back to Botha.
I pressed Bizoz on the content
of the meetings.
He claims Nelson said nothing.
He wanted to assure me he's
acting in good faith.
He's walking into a trap.
Botha knows about the U.K. talks.
Barnard recruited Esterhuyse
to act as his informer.
They're playing 'divide and rule'
with us.
Pretoria will claim that
South Africa's most famous prisoner...
wanted a peaceful settlement but
the ANC terrorists...
rejected it to pursue their
doctrine of violence.
Madiba would never fall for such
a trick.
How do we know what
his mental state is?
The pressure he's under?
What concessions he'll make
in return for his freedom?
If he's so solid with us
why not tell us what he's doing?
Why exclude you, of all people.
This Esterhuyse,
do you trust him?
Yes.
A man you've barely
known a few hours?
Yet, I'm supposed
to doubt a man I've known a lifetime.
Who sacrificed everything for us.
If trust is the issue...
perhaps it is my judgement
which is in doubt.
If we let ourselves be tainted
by distrust...
Botha's tactics will succeed.
We play into his hands.
The bombing came less than 24 hours
after President Botha told parliament...
that security forces had uncovered
a terrorist cell in Natal...
and arrested 23 suspected insurgents.
We understand that two of
the terrorists evaded capture.
Security Forces have stepped up
their search in the Soweto area.
Get in here.
I'm home, Marie.
Anyone home?
Target is confirmed.
Tomorrow at twelve p.m.
Sure.
And the bloodshed
in South Africa today...
after a bomb exploded
outside a shopping centre...
in Roodeport, near Johannesburg.
Four civilians were killed
and 18 others injured.
A spokesman claimed that
the target was a nearby bank.
He declined to give details on the
operational difficulties...
which caused the explosion.
Is that how you justify your campaign
of indiscriminate bombings...
the killing of innocent civilians?
We have never supported
the killing of civilians.
Tell that to the women
and children that you maim and kill...
with your limpet bombs and
your pipe bombs.
Or are dead children legitimate
collateral damage...
to promote your cycle of terror?
I can quote you chapter and verse
on dead children, Professor.
Names, ages and dates,
my son included.
I think a break
is in order, gentlemen.
ANC policy is,
and always has been...
that only military and economic
targets are legitimate.
If it smells like crap and
it sounds like crap...
chances are, it is crap.
Not once have I tried to justify...
the excesses of
the South African Security Forces.
Yet, you persist in spouting this
pre-digested dogma at me.
Maybe they think if they say it
enough times, we'll buy it.
This really is not productive,
so either we move on...
The timing, of the Roodeport
bomb isn't coincidental.
Lusaka authorised it...
in the full knowledge of our meetings.
It's the old terror tactic...
once the talking starts,
step up the violence.
If you think that's going
to strengthen your hand...
in any negotiations with
the Government...
you've seen to it that
all chance of that is off the table.
Frankly...
so are these talks.
- Time to turn up the heat.
- Alright.
Hello, Mr Mandela. Please.
Let's talk about Roodeport.
It needed saying.
There was no getting round it.
Perhaps.
But, box a man into a corner and...
The President is running out
of patience, Mr Mandela.
Either, you denounce the communist
links with the ANC...
condemn the violence...
or, frankly, you and I?
We have nothing further to discuss.
When political movements are forced
underground...
they inevitably are thrown together...
and, no man of honour would desert
a lifelong friend...
at the request of a common enemy.
Gentlemen, excuse us.
You're not the only game
in town, Mr Mandela.
Don't you see?
This is your chance to seize
the initiative.
The ANC think they can bomb
their way into power...
but a few words from you,
condemning the violence...
will not only secure your freedom...
but will ensure that you alone...
will be the man the Government
deals with.
You, alone, can lead us all out
of this impasse.
Haven't your years of sacrifice
earned you that right?
This is the situation.
All ANC bombing operations...
fall under the command and
control structure in Lusaka.
But, some of our cadres,
believing force to be the only way...
sometimes act without authority.
Operations can get bungled.
Innocent people...
get killed.
But, you have my word...
that I will do everything
in my power...
to ensure that civilians no longer
suffer from our inadequacies.
Are you telling us that you are unable
to control some of your...
renegade cadres, Mr Mbeki?
If you know the truth
of our situation, Professor...
you will see that the issue
of violence...
is irrevocably connected to
the other issues we wrestle with.
Only when we can participate
in a truly democratic process...
will our armed struggle
become obsolete.
Only then will the conflict
between us end.
- How did you sleep?
- Not too bad. You?
Alright, except for terrible
dreams about lawyers.
Oh, yes. That is a nightmare.
So, anyway, Thatcher is in Moscow...
the crowds in Red Square are all
over her, mobbing her...
She's getting quite queasy with all
this adulation...
so, she says to her interpreter,
'I'm not a communist, you know? '
And, they shout back,
'Neither are we! '
I came here believing what happened
at Roodeport had derailed everything...
you changed that.
What you said in that room
will go no further.
- Safe home, Willie.
- May I tell you...
how truly sorry
I am about your son.
Thank you.
Thabo?
Come off the road.
There was an incident on the way
from the airport.
They were not security agents.
Word is out about your talks.
Some of the militants will
use any tactics to halt them.
For two decades we've said only
force will crush the enemy.
Instead of force,
we now preach talks.
They see that as a betrayal.
And when you pressed him
on the violence issue...
did he admit the ANC high command
now sanction civilian targets?
He made the same point
he has made from the beginning...
cessation of violence...
is contingent on the Government
committing to a democratic process.
You told him there can be no question
of that while the violence continues?
Tell me, Doctor,
should they agree to...
give up the armed struggle and
negotiate with the government...
what would you give them in return?
You cannot go into negotiation without
bringing something to the table.
Yet you send me in empty handed.
Don't be surprised if I come
back empty handed.
You are not empowered
to negotiate, Professor.
You're wrong. Doctor.
Talk is not cheap.
It's all we have left.
Mr Esterhuyse takes the view that...
before formal negotiations
can take place...
concessions, must be made
on both sides.
If we make a gesture by
releasing Mandela...
I said nothing about making
concessions to Mandela's freedom.
This is no longer a matter
of political survival, sir.
Your policy of buying us time
has created a...
a vacuum of uncertainty
that is only fuelling the violence.
You know what I think?
This is about your own survival,
covering your own sorry arse.
If you are seen to take
the initiative with the ANC...
history will always acknowledge it was
you who had the statesmanship...
and vision to pull this country back,
from the brink of civil war.
You alone averted that catastrophe.
History might also say I took
my hand off the tiller too soon.
I give way on Mandela's freedom now,
I give away our trump card.
He's a man like any other.
The more he gets of it,
the more he'll want it.
Mandela is the key.
- Where to today?
- A surprise.
Control, confirm
subject arrival.
Everything is alright,
no problems.
I hope you like your
new quarters, Mr Mandela?
This is Warrant Officer Swart.
He'll look after you.
Do your cooking and so on.
We've met before, at Robben Island.
I used to drive you to the quarry.
I hope you are a better cook
than you were a driver.
Give him the tour.
I'll leave you to settle in.
There's three bedrooms.
This is the largest.
I'm sure you'll find the bed more
comfortable than you're used to.
The departmental conference
is postponed, professor.
This is Michael Young.
Please leave a message.
This is Esterhuyse.
I suggest...
that you make a date for
the next meeting as soon as possible.
- I missed you.
- It's nice to see you back.
Marigolds.
Pansies.
This one is in the wrong place.
It needs more light.
You pick a spot.
I'll fetch a shovel.
Mr President?
Mr President, are you alright?
We need an ambulance now.
Hip, hip, hooray!
Bye bye, Tata.
My dear friend.
At best, Botha regarded my gilded cage
as a way to seduce me into submission.
But I have had twenty years
to prepare me for this moment.
Talking to Barnard was
a high risk strategy...
but you can trust in one thing.
That I am not negotiating terms
with the government...
but facilitating the process
for the ANC to do so.
Surely, you and I have come too far
to let them divide us now.
The election of the new
State President F. W. De Klerk...
has sparked a wave
of violence across the country.
And sensitivity about
his commitment to reform...
seems to be fuelling the violence.
Mr De Klerk's position
to the right of the National Party...
have left some observers
to question his appetite for change.
Botha's mistake was his reliance
on his security apparatus...
at the expense of protecting
his power base in Parliament.
I must tell you, that is a mistake
I do not intend to repeat.
My mistake was accommodating his
plan to try and divide Mandela...
from the ANC in a futile attempt
to cling on to power.
My discussions with Mr Mandela have
convinced me that the only way...
of doing that now is to give some
of it away and negotiate.
Before it's taken from us.
You've been detained
long enough, Doctor.
Gentlemen, shall we?
Help us end Apartheid now!
I doubt we're looking at
the Messiah of change.
De Klerk is a life long
apologist for apartheid.
Presumably that's why his party
chose him.
Names for the next meeting.
I've added a new one.
- Mix things up a bit.
- Willem De Klerk?
- Yes, the President's brother.
- How prescient of you.
I'm hoping he's got
his brother's ear.
Unlike F.W.,
he's on record condemning apartheid.
What if his brother vetoes his
attendance? Along with Esterhuyse?
Esterhuyse is committed now.
Nothing will keep him away.
Unless his passport is revoked.
This is the Esterhuyse residence.
We're not home right now.
If you leave a message.
We'll call you back.
And you're sure that
he's nowhere in the University?
I've tried him at home.
Thabo. Tony. Aziz.
Good to see you again.
- The others aren't here yet?
- They will be. They will be.
If he contacts you,
or if you see him...
tell him to call Michael Young
as soon as possible.
I'll be waiting by the phone.
Tell him that I can't see him now.
The President will be unable
to see you today after all, Doctor.
His diary secretary will
be in touch, sir.
Bloody highway pile-up.
Stuck there for hours.
Gentlemen.
- Michael Young, Mr De Klerk.
- How do you do?
Willem De Klerk, Journalist and
political commentator, Thabo Mbeki.
- Pleased to meet you.
- Pleasure, sir.
Shall we?
You had us worried there.
You don't get rid of me that easily.
My dear friend and comrade.
I cannot tell you my relief
to hear from you at last.
Had you contacted me before,
I could have warned you...
that yours are not the only talks
taking place with the Government.
Your release is high on the agenda
of those discussions.
Given the hard line position
of the new State President...
the future of those talks
must now hang in the balance.
Call it what it is, Willie.
Minority rights, equals white rights.
In other words, you want us to
ensure...
the privileges whites enjoy
are perpetuated.
The idea of group rights is that
no group has dominance over another.
White or black.
Isn't that what your non-racial
credo is all about?
But without assurance of that...
the President will never come
to the negotiating table.
Is that not so, Willem?
That's not for me to say, Professor.
De Klerk's brother
doesn't give much away.
He frequently points out he's
not his brother's keeper.
He barely got his feet under
the table, give him time.
Time is the enemy.
Every day he procrastinates,
is one closer to bloody insurrection.
What is Barnard's sense of him?
Barnard's access to the President's
office is not what it used to be.
We must rely on his brother
for that now.
I thought we might discuss your
impressions of the day, Willem?
I've some excellent brandy
in my room.
Another night, perhaps.
My dear friend...
our struggle is now at a tipping
point, as is our country.
We must try and convince De Klerk
and his government...
that the whites have nothing
to fear from us.
It is not revenge that governs
us, but reconciliation.
We must use every method open
to us to make him understand...
that unless he acts soon,
we cannot deliver.
What is he waiting for?
How many more weeks,
how many more months until he acts?
And where is he on Mandela? Can he not
see the longer he keeps him in prison...
the more time he is giving
for mob rule to take hold?
Exactly!
I do not have the answers
you're looking for, Mr Mbeki.
My brother is not in the habit of
confiding in me about Government policy.
Or anyone else, it seems.
Yes.
Yes, I understand well.
Are you absolutely sure?
We can't put it like that.
Yes, it's important, but
it's a waste of time.
I apologise. I lost track of...
Shall we start by returning to
the outstanding items from yesterday?
I wonder...
Do you mind, I'm sorry?
On behalf of my brother, I have
some issues for clarification.
If you will bear with me.
One...
when would it be possible for
the ANC to embark on talks...
about how to progress formal
negotiations with the Government?
Two.
What would your preconditions
be to such talks...
and, three... what agenda
would be acceptable to you?
You can... tell the President...
there will be no preconditions
on our side...
and we leave it to him
to determine the agenda.
As for timing...
we are ready when he is.
And your position on the cease
fire of violence?
We would order that all violence
be suspended...
while negotiations take place.
When a new constitution
has been agreed...
we will give the instruction that
the armed struggle...
is to be abandoned.
Oliver.
Thabo.
Would you read this for me, please?
"Although we have been apart
all these years..."
It's as if I've been conducting
a lifelong conversation...
with you in my head.
All I pray now, is that you recover
so, God willing...
we can continue it face to face.
As for my freedom...
it is a secondary matter
until you are strong again.
And, until all those imprisoned
have won theirs.
I must be the last
to gain his liberty.
He wouldn't give a name,
much less take no for an answer.
Esterhuyse.
I suppose the weather's
the usual crap?
Is that what you called to discuss?
What time is it over there?
- Noon.
- Turn on your TV. 2 pm, your time.
Now, as we wait for what's been
billed as an historic address.
Let's reflect on the momentous events
of the past few months.
The tearing down of the Berlin Wall
and the end of the Cold War.
But, South Africa has had many
false dawns.
So many speeches which have promised
so much, yet delivered so little.
Here now is President De Klerk
flanked by his cabinet.
As he makes his way to the podium,
all of South Africa...
and indeed the world,
holds it's breath.
My Government has taken the decision
to immediately and unconditionally...
release Mr Nelson Mandela.
I've also instructed that the
prohibition...
of the African National Congress
the Pan African Congress...
and the South African Communist
Party be immediately lifted.
The time has come to negotiate.
The hopes of millions
of South Africans...
will be centred on that process.
We must not falter.
We dare not fail.
Thank you.
We go now to Victor Verster Prison,
where Mr Mandela...
the man who's been imprisoned
for nearly three decades...
72 years old, will be
appearing in public...
for the first time, any moment now.
International media perched.
The crowd getting excited.
That's him.
And there is Mister Mandela.
Nelson Mandela. A free man.
Taking his first steps into
a new South Africa.
Mrs Winnie Mandela next to him
waving to the crowds.
And a salute
from Mr Nelson Mandela.
His wife greeting the people who have
been waiting for so long for this day.
This is the man that the world's
been waiting to see.
His first public appearance
in 27 years.
The day for which he too,
has waited so long.
We owe you so much more.
It takes a big man to make
himself invisible.
Thank you.
Thank you. Michael.
Thank you.
Stay safe.
And you...
comrade.
You must disperse immediately.
Stay down.
Pass.
You're in Soweto.
Why?
My sister lives in District Three.
What's in the back?
Furniture.
Wait.
Okay, it's fine.
He was out collecting wood
with his father and his sister.
The Police came out of nowhere and
grabbed us and took us to the bridge.
They took my dad and tied him
in a canvas bag...
and dropped him into the river.
They made us watch him drown.
They told us to go home and tell
the others the price for being ANC.
We have a word...
'Ubuntu'.
It means a person's humanity...
is measured according to their
relationship with others.
We tell the children that these
people, who commit these crimes...
have lost their humanity...
and are as much victims
of Apartheid as we are.
Michael Young.
Sir?
Go, go, go!
- It's Michael Young.
- What progress?
This isn't going to work for us.
We need to aim higher.
Safer to stay in the foothills.
The more visible, the more
vulnerable we are.
Yes, it's much safer.
Yes.
A bit of hush.
It is my pleasure to present
Thabo Mbeki.
The African National Congress'
Head of Information...
who is here representing
the ANC president, Oliver Tambo.
I know that you'll make Mr Mbeki
feel most welcome.
My name is Thabo Mbeki...
and I am a terrorist.
No doubt, that is what you
have been told.
No incendiary devices.
No concealed weapons.
I am just a man, as you are.
Every day the President
of South Africa...
under the mantle of his State
of Emergency...
deploys thousands more of
his troops in the townships...
brutally crushing the rising
resistance to his oppressive regime.
Yet, the UK, is still one of South
Africa's leading trading partners.
Every company...
every financial institution
which continues to invest there...
is a source of political and economic
strength to P.W. Botha.
If it is true that money talks,
then let it speak, clearly.
Let your voice join ours when we say
the bloodshed of our people must end.
The time to shout 'enough' has come.
The time for you to act is here.
Mr Mbeki?
Michael Young.
Public Affairs Director,
Consolidated Goldfields.
Tell me how we can help.
It's not an offer to make lightly,
Mr Young. We might take you up on it.
It wasn't made lightly.
As you say, we too have an incentive
to ensure your country's survival.
We have this recurring
nightmare, Mr Young...
that one day the South African
Government will send us a message...
indicating that it is ready to talk
to us about ending apartheid.
Because of our antagonism and mistrust,
we fail to hear the message. We...
fail to respond.
We miss the moment.
Thank you.
An apparatchik working for
a reactionary outfit like Goldfields?
Is that what it's come to?
The fact that he works for Goldfields
means he'll be listened to.
You know a better entry card?
And if the Public Affairs
thing is just a front?
I doubt he's Ml6.
I need a word.
He's expecting you.
Come in.
I think I have a way forward
on our problem.
I'm listening.
Mr Vijoan?
It's Michael Young. I called last
week about the meetings...
I'm trying to set up between
the ANC and leading Afrikaners.
The risk is too great.
I have a young family to think of.
Please don't call me again.
They're just exploratory meetings...
and someone representing
the Dutch Reform Church...
who better to act as
a mediator between the two sides?
It's not the policy of our church
to involve ourselves in politics.
I can't help you. I am sorry.
There are those on both sides
who favour force over dialogue.
To maintain secrecy, it's best
if we hold the talks in the U.K.
In South Africa secrets are
a way of life.
They also have a habit
of exploding in your face.
I can't be bothered.
I'm sorry.
- Can I use your toilet?
- Yeah, it's around the back.
Love has a habit of pushing us
into the arms of philosophy.
An earthquake claims a thousand lives.
Families bludgeoned to death
by intruders.
The death of a much loved child.
Such events prompt us to ask
how a benign deity can allow...
such tragedies to happen.
The task of Philosophy is to rise above
the futility and chaos of daily life...
to seek a deeper truth
to our existence.
I'll finish with the words of Pascal.
'If man's dignity lies in thought...
then let us all strive to think well.'
Good day.
Be warned!
Those who have not yet handed in their
assignment on Freedom and the State...
will find their own freedom curtailed.
Mr Gruber, make my day.
Treat yourself to a new
typewriter ribbon.
Mr Young, I assume?
An audacious mission
you've undertaken.
A mission impossible,
might be more apt.
What you are asking is impossible.
No sane man would put his livelihood,
not to mention his life...
on the line
to break bread with the devil.
In this country, those who go public
against Apartheid...
acquire the status of a pariah.
Yet, you still agreed
to meet with me?
You say Consolidated Goldfields have
agreed to fund these meetings?
Your founder would turn in his grave.
Rhodes knew that market forces
can succeed where politicians fail.
You are being disingenuous.
This is about your company protecting
it's investments here, is it not?
They know apartheid is an anathema
morally and economically.
They've colluded with it long enough.
It's an open secret that a silent
coup has taken place in our country.
Botha no longer consults Parliament
or the cabinet...
but rules in the manner of
a medieval monarch.
Only his inner sanctum of
security advisors have his ear.
It's they who wield the power,
and they are not interested...
in a political solution.
Like most Afrikaners, I find...
the murderous methodology of
the ANC morally repugnant...
and the idea of cosying up to them
is abhorrent...
even the thought makes me retch.
I'm sorry that you
had a wasted journey.
I am not the man
for your mission.
Get on the move.
If you are not otherwise engaged,
Mr Mandela...
the Minister of Justice invites
you to join him for tea.
I'm told it's cucumber sandwiches
this time.
It seems you
have another visitor, too.
The Head of National Intelligence,
no less.
Doctor Barnard is here?
A moment if you please, Mr Brand.
Copy, control.
Thank you.
Control.
Confirm subject's arrival.
Mr Coatsee.
Good to see you again.
Good to see you too, Mr Mandela.
Doctor Neil Barnard is here,
Head of National Intelligence.
He's asked to sit in
on our discussions.
Mr Nelson Mandela.
Doctor Neil Barnard.
...used tear gas
to disperse the crowd...
in what a security forces
spokesperson described as...
'necessary measures
to contain the violence'.
And, there were further arrests when
Eug?ne Terre'Blanche's AWB party...
held a recruitment rally,
four people were detained.
If they want to take this country
by force and violence...
they'll meet us
over the barrel of a gun.
A! W! B!
Michael Young.
I cannot stand by and do nothing
while my country is reduced to ashes.
I'll come to your meeting.
Let me know where and when.
Doctor Barnard, Mr President.
- Did he take the bait?
- And deny his moment of destiny?
- He took it alright.
- Vanity... vanity.
Tambo's waiting to see you.
Oliver, maybe these talks are the
opportunity we've been waiting for.
Yes, but not everyone is going
to like it.
Many will see this as a betrayal.
So, we need to keep this between us,
and report back only to me.
Be careful, Thabo.
We're in.
Some housekeeping notes.
No telephone communication
with the ANC either...
in Lusaka or here in London.
South African Intelligence have our
phones tapped. Yours too, by now.
Don't think because you're back
in London you're not vulnerable.
Car and letter bombs are the weapons
of choice of the security agents.
Welcome to our world.
The board get wind we're jumping into
bed...
with a bunch of Kalashnikov
carrying terrorists...
we'll both be out on our ears.
You realise that?
They can't ignore reality.
Every day Botha gets more isolated,
the country more ungovernable.
Something doesn't give, and soon
the company will go down with it.
You see your role in this as what?
To create a neutral arena
and step aside.
Hope that they can see each other
as men, rather than as enemies.
A risky strategy.
Others are risking more than that.
Heroics don't cut much ice with
shareholders.
A 'need to know' basis. Only.
Trust no-one. Confide in no-one.
I'll bury the costs under Research
and Development, or some such.
Arrangements for my personal affairs
should anything happen to me.
- You think that's likely?
- A precaution.
Michael?
If this ever gets out...
I shall have to deny all knowledge
of it and, disown you.
And, I'll be nothing,
if not convincing.
Passport? Ticket?
Taxi.
It's okay.
Professor.
In the nick of time.
May I come in?
In public, Botha's still holding
the party line...
that you must defeat terrorists before
you can negotiate with them.
Privately, he wants you to continue
the dialogue for as long as possible.
The more we know about the ANC's
fault lines in their power structure...
the better we are equipped
to control the end game.
So, I am to act as your spy?
A go between is more what
we had in mind.
Have you thought why you were chosen
to lead these talks, Professor?
You're a soft target.
They think your reputation as an
advocate for social justice...
gives them a way in.
Play along.
Mbeki must think you are just a...
respected academic on
a fact-finding mission.
A soft target is not
a soft touch, Doctor.
I'm going to that meeting to hear
what they have to say.
As importantly for them to hear
what I have to say.
The whole process
is futile otherwise.
Ja, but the thing is,
you see, Professor.
You don't co-operate...
your participation in
the process will be terminated.
My direct line. Call me.
You need to be vigilant
about incendiary devices now.
Always check under your
car before using it.
I'll send my people over
to show you how.
And your ticket?
Don't forget to ring Albi Sachs.
Hello?
This is Thabo Mbeki.
I need a quick word.
He's just left for the airport.
I'll try and catch him, hold on.
Albi!
Albi!
- Get another line.
- Another line, please!
Background checks on staff. And
they know that security is an issue?
I briefed them this morning.
Brief them every morning.
Just keep hammering it home.
- This is Mr Mambenki's room.
- Mbeki.
- All the rooms are ensuite.
- It's nice.
- And, next door?
- His colleague. Mr... Pahad.
Put Professor Esterhuyse
next to Mbeki.
We need to mix them up. Maximise
the opportunity for chance meetings.
- Right.
- Good. Thank you.
'Welcome' seems a meagre word
for such an occasion.
But, it is no less sincere,
all the same.
Now, as you can see from
the agenda I drew up...
we have a lot of ground to cover.
So, if we're to get through it
I think it is essential that...
With respect, Mr Young.
Since you are not South African,
it's not your agenda.
It's ours.
And, with respect, Mr Mbeki...
I must remind you that the agenda
was agreed by both sides in advance.
Item one.
The ANC perspective.
We know that you Afrikaners have
paid in blood for your country.
As, we have.
We know too, that it was from your
suffering...
that a system of apartheid
was incubated.
The need to dominate is often
a consequence of survival.
Our problem is, as exiles, we are...
outside the political system.
So, we are not in a position to offer
any concessions or compromises...
in any potential negotiations with
the government.
If you can't offer concessions,
what can you offer?
All we can do is set out our
stall of demands.
The release of Nelson Mandela
and all political prisoners.
The unbanning of all proscribed
political organisations.
Only then can a negotiated transition
to majority rule take place.
So, then, we can take it that there
is no truth in the rumour...
that the ANC hopes Mandela will
die in prison?
Thus elevating him to the status
of martyr.
You don't think he's achieved
that status already?
That rumour, along with most
information about us...
is based on disinformation.
And, the riots and bloodshed
if he does get released?
Can you guarantee you can control
your guerrilla extremists?
Controlling Mrs Mandela and her
necklacing would be a start.
As would controlling the brutality
of your security police.
Can you guarantee that?
There's talk in Pretoria that Botha
is considering...
forming a new body to be
affiliated to Parliament...
where black representatives can join
the coloured and Indian delegates...
as a prelude to power sharing.
Can we ask your opinion on such
a proposal?
What is yours?
I'm just here on a fact-finding
mission, Mr Mbeki.
Your opinion is the issue.
My understanding is we are not here
to discuss reforming Apartheid.
Or, disguising it under some new
administrative structure.
We're here to talk about how
to abolish it.
What we are seeking, is a prelude
to majority rule.
Power sharing, is not an option.
Ah, Professor.
Okay. Good, good.
Gentlemen, please. Good.
Perhaps, if you outline the specific
nature of your fears...
relating to majority rule.
It's not bloody rocket science.
The blacks come after our blood,
and our children get slaughtered
in their beds. That, is the reality.
A communist leaning administration
will destroy our economic stability.
They'll end up in the same post
colonial chaos...
as the other African states.
Professor?
You'll obliterate not only our language
and our culture, but our human rights.
Fear is the first weapon
of the oppressor.
It blinds us all from seeing
the humanity of the other.
Your hands are not
so clean either, Mr Mbeki.
What is your campaign of terror
based on if not fear?
The culture of fear is not of
our making, Professor.
We learnt it at the feet
of our masters.
You're looking tired, Mr Mandela.
We've kept you talking too late again.
Fortunately, I had no other
plans tonight.
I look forward to our next
conversation, Doctor.
For a moment I thought you said,
'negotiation'.
My ear's playing tricks on me.
Good night, Doctor.
- Mr. Coatsee.
- Good night.
Stop all contact with the
other Robben Islanders.
We don't need their
Greek Chorus in his ear.
Alright.
And get him a suit for next time.
We'll get more out of him
if he thinks he's an equal.
Okay. It's a good idea.
I'll leave you to it.
I just think things might free up
a bit without an outsider present.
Bored with us already?
It's a tactical withdrawal.
So, Professor.
When you first saw me,
did you think...
'Ah, so that's what a fucking,
communist terrorist looks like'?
And, you? Did you think...
'Ah, so that's what a fucking
racist Boer looks like'?
No doubt, you assume our claim
to be non-racial...
is just a rhetoric of political
convenience, but you are mistaken.
It's what defines us.
And you are mistaken in your
assumptions about us, Mr Mbeki.
Our fear doesn't
stem from propaganda...
but from the deep rooted knowledge
that one day we will be punished...
for all the terrible wrongs
we have inflicted.
Good night, Professor.
Goodnight.
Hello?
Professor?
Can I help you?
Young gave his assurance the place
was clean of bugs.
I couldn't take the chance.
I hope to God, you don't make me
regret what I'm about to do.
To the press and parliament,
Botha's still on message that...
you must abandon your weapons before
he'll conduct a dialogue with you.
But, my presence here suggests
otherwise.
Botha knows about these talks?
I'm instructed to report back
to him via Doctor Barnard...
in National Intelligence.
I'm to be their Trojan horse.
You take a risk telling
me this, Professor.
It would be a risk not telling you.
Without trust, we'll achieve nothing.
Tambo says if we are to...
win our freedom
we must first...
banish bitterness.
This will be the test of it.
For all of us.
Get him ready.
Let's give him a taste
of what he's been missing.
If you could just turn around.
- Okay. It's good?
- Ja.
I've lost the knack
of tying them over the years.
Well, shall we?
Got it. I've got it.
Barnard.
Did he enjoy his day of freedom?
Enough to get a taste for it,
let's hope.
- And the UK talks?
- Work in progress.
I need more than that to placate
the bloody doves in Cabinet.
Sir, the Cabinet must know
absolutely nothing about this.
If some loose lips blabs to CNN the
whole process could implode on us.
You sold me these talks
to get the inside track on the ANC.
To give us leverage over Mandela.
If you're not going to deliver.
What's the damn point?
I have his exact words
here somewhere.
Leave us.
I do have a home to go to, Doctor.
At the risk of invoking more accusations
that I'm gullible and naive, I repeat...
In my view, Mbeki, is a man
the government can do business with.
A view based on what?
Your cosy fireside chats?
His existential ramblings
about universal suffrage?
One can respect a man's commitment
to his ideals...
without sharing his methods
of achieving them.
Forgive me, if I don't also genuflect
at his altar of self government.
Talk is cheap, Professor.
He made no concessions, did he?
Not one.
His so called conversion to moderation
is a ploy, orchestrated by Tambo.
And you...
you fell for it.
- Can I go home?
- Not yet.
Mandela sent his lawyer with
a message for me.
They've isolated him from Sisulu
and the other Robben Islanders.
He's been holding secret talks with
Doctor Barnard from the N.I. S...
who reports back to Botha.
I pressed Bizoz on the content
of the meetings.
He claims Nelson said nothing.
He wanted to assure me he's
acting in good faith.
He's walking into a trap.
Botha knows about the U.K. talks.
Barnard recruited Esterhuyse
to act as his informer.
They're playing 'divide and rule'
with us.
Pretoria will claim that
South Africa's most famous prisoner...
wanted a peaceful settlement but
the ANC terrorists...
rejected it to pursue their
doctrine of violence.
Madiba would never fall for such
a trick.
How do we know what
his mental state is?
The pressure he's under?
What concessions he'll make
in return for his freedom?
If he's so solid with us
why not tell us what he's doing?
Why exclude you, of all people.
This Esterhuyse,
do you trust him?
Yes.
A man you've barely
known a few hours?
Yet, I'm supposed
to doubt a man I've known a lifetime.
Who sacrificed everything for us.
If trust is the issue...
perhaps it is my judgement
which is in doubt.
If we let ourselves be tainted
by distrust...
Botha's tactics will succeed.
We play into his hands.
The bombing came less than 24 hours
after President Botha told parliament...
that security forces had uncovered
a terrorist cell in Natal...
and arrested 23 suspected insurgents.
We understand that two of
the terrorists evaded capture.
Security Forces have stepped up
their search in the Soweto area.
Get in here.
I'm home, Marie.
Anyone home?
Target is confirmed.
Tomorrow at twelve p.m.
Sure.
And the bloodshed
in South Africa today...
after a bomb exploded
outside a shopping centre...
in Roodeport, near Johannesburg.
Four civilians were killed
and 18 others injured.
A spokesman claimed that
the target was a nearby bank.
He declined to give details on the
operational difficulties...
which caused the explosion.
Is that how you justify your campaign
of indiscriminate bombings...
the killing of innocent civilians?
We have never supported
the killing of civilians.
Tell that to the women
and children that you maim and kill...
with your limpet bombs and
your pipe bombs.
Or are dead children legitimate
collateral damage...
to promote your cycle of terror?
I can quote you chapter and verse
on dead children, Professor.
Names, ages and dates,
my son included.
I think a break
is in order, gentlemen.
ANC policy is,
and always has been...
that only military and economic
targets are legitimate.
If it smells like crap and
it sounds like crap...
chances are, it is crap.
Not once have I tried to justify...
the excesses of
the South African Security Forces.
Yet, you persist in spouting this
pre-digested dogma at me.
Maybe they think if they say it
enough times, we'll buy it.
This really is not productive,
so either we move on...
The timing, of the Roodeport
bomb isn't coincidental.
Lusaka authorised it...
in the full knowledge of our meetings.
It's the old terror tactic...
once the talking starts,
step up the violence.
If you think that's going
to strengthen your hand...
in any negotiations with
the Government...
you've seen to it that
all chance of that is off the table.
Frankly...
so are these talks.
- Time to turn up the heat.
- Alright.
Hello, Mr Mandela. Please.
Let's talk about Roodeport.
It needed saying.
There was no getting round it.
Perhaps.
But, box a man into a corner and...
The President is running out
of patience, Mr Mandela.
Either, you denounce the communist
links with the ANC...
condemn the violence...
or, frankly, you and I?
We have nothing further to discuss.
When political movements are forced
underground...
they inevitably are thrown together...
and, no man of honour would desert
a lifelong friend...
at the request of a common enemy.
Gentlemen, excuse us.
You're not the only game
in town, Mr Mandela.
Don't you see?
This is your chance to seize
the initiative.
The ANC think they can bomb
their way into power...
but a few words from you,
condemning the violence...
will not only secure your freedom...
but will ensure that you alone...
will be the man the Government
deals with.
You, alone, can lead us all out
of this impasse.
Haven't your years of sacrifice
earned you that right?
This is the situation.
All ANC bombing operations...
fall under the command and
control structure in Lusaka.
But, some of our cadres,
believing force to be the only way...
sometimes act without authority.
Operations can get bungled.
Innocent people...
get killed.
But, you have my word...
that I will do everything
in my power...
to ensure that civilians no longer
suffer from our inadequacies.
Are you telling us that you are unable
to control some of your...
renegade cadres, Mr Mbeki?
If you know the truth
of our situation, Professor...
you will see that the issue
of violence...
is irrevocably connected to
the other issues we wrestle with.
Only when we can participate
in a truly democratic process...
will our armed struggle
become obsolete.
Only then will the conflict
between us end.
- How did you sleep?
- Not too bad. You?
Alright, except for terrible
dreams about lawyers.
Oh, yes. That is a nightmare.
So, anyway, Thatcher is in Moscow...
the crowds in Red Square are all
over her, mobbing her...
She's getting quite queasy with all
this adulation...
so, she says to her interpreter,
'I'm not a communist, you know? '
And, they shout back,
'Neither are we! '
I came here believing what happened
at Roodeport had derailed everything...
you changed that.
What you said in that room
will go no further.
- Safe home, Willie.
- May I tell you...
how truly sorry
I am about your son.
Thank you.
Thabo?
Come off the road.
There was an incident on the way
from the airport.
They were not security agents.
Word is out about your talks.
Some of the militants will
use any tactics to halt them.
For two decades we've said only
force will crush the enemy.
Instead of force,
we now preach talks.
They see that as a betrayal.
And when you pressed him
on the violence issue...
did he admit the ANC high command
now sanction civilian targets?
He made the same point
he has made from the beginning...
cessation of violence...
is contingent on the Government
committing to a democratic process.
You told him there can be no question
of that while the violence continues?
Tell me, Doctor,
should they agree to...
give up the armed struggle and
negotiate with the government...
what would you give them in return?
You cannot go into negotiation without
bringing something to the table.
Yet you send me in empty handed.
Don't be surprised if I come
back empty handed.
You are not empowered
to negotiate, Professor.
You're wrong. Doctor.
Talk is not cheap.
It's all we have left.
Mr Esterhuyse takes the view that...
before formal negotiations
can take place...
concessions, must be made
on both sides.
If we make a gesture by
releasing Mandela...
I said nothing about making
concessions to Mandela's freedom.
This is no longer a matter
of political survival, sir.
Your policy of buying us time
has created a...
a vacuum of uncertainty
that is only fuelling the violence.
You know what I think?
This is about your own survival,
covering your own sorry arse.
If you are seen to take
the initiative with the ANC...
history will always acknowledge it was
you who had the statesmanship...
and vision to pull this country back,
from the brink of civil war.
You alone averted that catastrophe.
History might also say I took
my hand off the tiller too soon.
I give way on Mandela's freedom now,
I give away our trump card.
He's a man like any other.
The more he gets of it,
the more he'll want it.
Mandela is the key.
- Where to today?
- A surprise.
Control, confirm
subject arrival.
Everything is alright,
no problems.
I hope you like your
new quarters, Mr Mandela?
This is Warrant Officer Swart.
He'll look after you.
Do your cooking and so on.
We've met before, at Robben Island.
I used to drive you to the quarry.
I hope you are a better cook
than you were a driver.
Give him the tour.
I'll leave you to settle in.
There's three bedrooms.
This is the largest.
I'm sure you'll find the bed more
comfortable than you're used to.
The departmental conference
is postponed, professor.
This is Michael Young.
Please leave a message.
This is Esterhuyse.
I suggest...
that you make a date for
the next meeting as soon as possible.
- I missed you.
- It's nice to see you back.
Marigolds.
Pansies.
This one is in the wrong place.
It needs more light.
You pick a spot.
I'll fetch a shovel.
Mr President?
Mr President, are you alright?
We need an ambulance now.
Hip, hip, hooray!
Bye bye, Tata.
My dear friend.
At best, Botha regarded my gilded cage
as a way to seduce me into submission.
But I have had twenty years
to prepare me for this moment.
Talking to Barnard was
a high risk strategy...
but you can trust in one thing.
That I am not negotiating terms
with the government...
but facilitating the process
for the ANC to do so.
Surely, you and I have come too far
to let them divide us now.
The election of the new
State President F. W. De Klerk...
has sparked a wave
of violence across the country.
And sensitivity about
his commitment to reform...
seems to be fuelling the violence.
Mr De Klerk's position
to the right of the National Party...
have left some observers
to question his appetite for change.
Botha's mistake was his reliance
on his security apparatus...
at the expense of protecting
his power base in Parliament.
I must tell you, that is a mistake
I do not intend to repeat.
My mistake was accommodating his
plan to try and divide Mandela...
from the ANC in a futile attempt
to cling on to power.
My discussions with Mr Mandela have
convinced me that the only way...
of doing that now is to give some
of it away and negotiate.
Before it's taken from us.
You've been detained
long enough, Doctor.
Gentlemen, shall we?
Help us end Apartheid now!
I doubt we're looking at
the Messiah of change.
De Klerk is a life long
apologist for apartheid.
Presumably that's why his party
chose him.
Names for the next meeting.
I've added a new one.
- Mix things up a bit.
- Willem De Klerk?
- Yes, the President's brother.
- How prescient of you.
I'm hoping he's got
his brother's ear.
Unlike F.W.,
he's on record condemning apartheid.
What if his brother vetoes his
attendance? Along with Esterhuyse?
Esterhuyse is committed now.
Nothing will keep him away.
Unless his passport is revoked.
This is the Esterhuyse residence.
We're not home right now.
If you leave a message.
We'll call you back.
And you're sure that
he's nowhere in the University?
I've tried him at home.
Thabo. Tony. Aziz.
Good to see you again.
- The others aren't here yet?
- They will be. They will be.
If he contacts you,
or if you see him...
tell him to call Michael Young
as soon as possible.
I'll be waiting by the phone.
Tell him that I can't see him now.
The President will be unable
to see you today after all, Doctor.
His diary secretary will
be in touch, sir.
Bloody highway pile-up.
Stuck there for hours.
Gentlemen.
- Michael Young, Mr De Klerk.
- How do you do?
Willem De Klerk, Journalist and
political commentator, Thabo Mbeki.
- Pleased to meet you.
- Pleasure, sir.
Shall we?
You had us worried there.
You don't get rid of me that easily.
My dear friend and comrade.
I cannot tell you my relief
to hear from you at last.
Had you contacted me before,
I could have warned you...
that yours are not the only talks
taking place with the Government.
Your release is high on the agenda
of those discussions.
Given the hard line position
of the new State President...
the future of those talks
must now hang in the balance.
Call it what it is, Willie.
Minority rights, equals white rights.
In other words, you want us to
ensure...
the privileges whites enjoy
are perpetuated.
The idea of group rights is that
no group has dominance over another.
White or black.
Isn't that what your non-racial
credo is all about?
But without assurance of that...
the President will never come
to the negotiating table.
Is that not so, Willem?
That's not for me to say, Professor.
De Klerk's brother
doesn't give much away.
He frequently points out he's
not his brother's keeper.
He barely got his feet under
the table, give him time.
Time is the enemy.
Every day he procrastinates,
is one closer to bloody insurrection.
What is Barnard's sense of him?
Barnard's access to the President's
office is not what it used to be.
We must rely on his brother
for that now.
I thought we might discuss your
impressions of the day, Willem?
I've some excellent brandy
in my room.
Another night, perhaps.
My dear friend...
our struggle is now at a tipping
point, as is our country.
We must try and convince De Klerk
and his government...
that the whites have nothing
to fear from us.
It is not revenge that governs
us, but reconciliation.
We must use every method open
to us to make him understand...
that unless he acts soon,
we cannot deliver.
What is he waiting for?
How many more weeks,
how many more months until he acts?
And where is he on Mandela? Can he not
see the longer he keeps him in prison...
the more time he is giving
for mob rule to take hold?
Exactly!
I do not have the answers
you're looking for, Mr Mbeki.
My brother is not in the habit of
confiding in me about Government policy.
Or anyone else, it seems.
Yes.
Yes, I understand well.
Are you absolutely sure?
We can't put it like that.
Yes, it's important, but
it's a waste of time.
I apologise. I lost track of...
Shall we start by returning to
the outstanding items from yesterday?
I wonder...
Do you mind, I'm sorry?
On behalf of my brother, I have
some issues for clarification.
If you will bear with me.
One...
when would it be possible for
the ANC to embark on talks...
about how to progress formal
negotiations with the Government?
Two.
What would your preconditions
be to such talks...
and, three... what agenda
would be acceptable to you?
You can... tell the President...
there will be no preconditions
on our side...
and we leave it to him
to determine the agenda.
As for timing...
we are ready when he is.
And your position on the cease
fire of violence?
We would order that all violence
be suspended...
while negotiations take place.
When a new constitution
has been agreed...
we will give the instruction that
the armed struggle...
is to be abandoned.
Oliver.
Thabo.
Would you read this for me, please?
"Although we have been apart
all these years..."
It's as if I've been conducting
a lifelong conversation...
with you in my head.
All I pray now, is that you recover
so, God willing...
we can continue it face to face.
As for my freedom...
it is a secondary matter
until you are strong again.
And, until all those imprisoned
have won theirs.
I must be the last
to gain his liberty.
He wouldn't give a name,
much less take no for an answer.
Esterhuyse.
I suppose the weather's
the usual crap?
Is that what you called to discuss?
What time is it over there?
- Noon.
- Turn on your TV. 2 pm, your time.
Now, as we wait for what's been
billed as an historic address.
Let's reflect on the momentous events
of the past few months.
The tearing down of the Berlin Wall
and the end of the Cold War.
But, South Africa has had many
false dawns.
So many speeches which have promised
so much, yet delivered so little.
Here now is President De Klerk
flanked by his cabinet.
As he makes his way to the podium,
all of South Africa...
and indeed the world,
holds it's breath.
My Government has taken the decision
to immediately and unconditionally...
release Mr Nelson Mandela.
I've also instructed that the
prohibition...
of the African National Congress
the Pan African Congress...
and the South African Communist
Party be immediately lifted.
The time has come to negotiate.
The hopes of millions
of South Africans...
will be centred on that process.
We must not falter.
We dare not fail.
Thank you.
We go now to Victor Verster Prison,
where Mr Mandela...
the man who's been imprisoned
for nearly three decades...
72 years old, will be
appearing in public...
for the first time, any moment now.
International media perched.
The crowd getting excited.
That's him.
And there is Mister Mandela.
Nelson Mandela. A free man.
Taking his first steps into
a new South Africa.
Mrs Winnie Mandela next to him
waving to the crowds.
And a salute
from Mr Nelson Mandela.
His wife greeting the people who have
been waiting for so long for this day.
This is the man that the world's
been waiting to see.
His first public appearance
in 27 years.
The day for which he too,
has waited so long.
We owe you so much more.
It takes a big man to make
himself invisible.
Thank you.
Thank you. Michael.
Thank you.
Stay safe.
And you...
comrade.