De Klerk admits apartheid was a crime against humanity

South Africa’s former President FW de Klerk has withdrawn a statement that refused to equate the policy of apartheid to crimes against humanity. 

The former President had faced mounting criticism for his stance, including pressure from anti-apartheid campaigner Desmond Tutu.

Archbishop Tutu said De Klerk’s comments did not account for the impact that the policy of apartheid had had on the lives of its victims, and urged him to retract his comment. 

Mr De Klerk’s foundation subsequently issued a statement on Facebook which agreed with Mr Tutu, adding “this is not the time to quibble about the degrees of unacceptability of apartheid. It was totally unacceptable”. 

The post goes on to state that the foundation supports the definition of apartheid under the Rome Statute of 1998, which defines the policy as a crime against humanity.

“The FW de Klerk Foundation supports this provision. It can also be seen as the legislative expression of Nelson Mandela’s statement during his inaugural address that “never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another”, the post read. 

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