South Africa Negotiations At Last

By Bruce W. Nelan

Peace and goodwill were appropriately item No. 1 on the national agenda the weekend before Christmas. They were the objectives proclaimed by all 19 of the delegations that opened formal negotiations on a new, nonracial constitution for the country. As the 228 black, white, Indian and mixed-race politicians gathered for the first session of the Convention for a Democratic South Africa at a conference center near Johannesburg, African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela said the challenge they faced was "to unshackle ourselves from the past and build anew."

Now that the legislative pillars of apartheid have been scrapped, South Africa is trying to complete its transformation into a multiparty parliamentary system that will, for the first time, include the black majority. As its first task, the convention must provide the framework for a new constitution and the transition to it.

There unanimity ends. The A.N.C. and its allies demand that the white government of President F.W. de Klerk hand over power to an interim government that would hold elections for a constituent assembly to draft a new constitution. The ruling National Party rejects the idea, though it is willing to amend the present constitution to allow blacks to participate in the government during the transition. The government also opposes the notion of an elected constituent assembly. De Klerk says he intends to "share power," but will not surrender it to a black majority.

The convention is open to all parties that want to participate, and a wide spectrum of political groups and local leaders went to the table. The opening session attracted spokesmen for most South Africans, but it was not completely representative because some extremist groups are boycotting the whole process.

The mostly Afrikaner Conservative Party, the official opposition in Parliament, calls the talks a recipe for white "annihilation." The neo-Nazi Afrikaner Resistance Movement says it will not negotiate with "terrorists and communists." Both warn they will fight rather than accept a black government. Right-wing whites were suspected of setting off bombs last week in the Orange Free State and the Transvaal; there were no injuries.

On the other side, the Patriotic Front of 90 mostly black organizations forged last October has split. The far-left Pan Africanist Congress, which still uses the slogan "One settler, one bullet," denounces the convention as a sellout to whites. So does the Azanian People's Organization, a small black- consciousness group.

Even if Mandela and De Klerk bridge their differences on how to get started, another broad area of disagreement lies ahead. The A.N.C. wants the new constitution to provide for majority rule and a strong, centralized government. The National Party is holding out for a collective three- or five- person presidency, a decentralized federal system and what amounts to a veto for whites over major legislation.

Last week's session was not intended to resolve all the issues. It provided a forum for the participants to state their opening positions and to figure out how to take the next step. Before adjourning on Saturday, the convention adopted a "declaration of intent" vowing to achieve democracy. The delegates also set up working groups that will begin meeting next month on questions like the basic principles of a new constitution and the nature of a transitional government. The groups plan to report to another session of the convention in mid-March.

With reporting by Peter Hawthorne/Cape Town