EndGame (2009)

[bunniefuu]

This is an ill*gal 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 t*rror1st.

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 g*n.

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 t*rrorists...

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 t*rrorists 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 f*cking,

communist t*rror1st looks like'?

And, you? Did you think...

'Ah, so that's what a f*cking

r*cist 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 t*rrorists...

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 t*rror1st cell in Natal...

and arrested 23 suspected insurgents.

We understand that two of

the t*rrorists 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 b*mb exploded

outside a shopping centre...

in Roodeport, near Johannesburg.

Four civilians were k*lled

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 expl*si*n.

Is that how you justify your campaign

of indiscriminate bombings...

the k*lling of innocent civilians?

We have never supported

the k*lling of civilians.

Tell that to the women

and children that you maim and k*ll...

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

b*mb 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 b*mb

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 k*lled.

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 w*r.

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 w*r.

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.