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00:29On the run from the police in 1961,
00:32outlawed African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela
00:35stated the democratic objectives of his party
00:38in this interview with the BBC.
00:41The Africans require, want the franchise
00:48on the basis of one man, one vote.
00:50They want political independence.
00:53The question of education has nothing to do
00:55with the question of the vote.
00:58On numerous occasions, it has been proved in history
01:05that people can enjoy the vote even if they have no education.
01:10Of course, we desire education and we think it's a good thing.
01:13But you don't have to have education in order to know
01:17that you want certain fundamental rights.
01:21You have got aspirations, you have got claims.
01:23It has nothing to do with education whatsoever.
01:26The ANC's battle to end apartheid was receiving worldwide coverage
01:30due largely to the efforts of this one man
01:32who was born in the Transkei region of South Africa
01:35on July the 18th, 1919.
01:38He was the son of a Xhosa chieftain
01:40and the first member of his family to attend school
01:43before going on to study law
01:44while working as a security guard in a gold mine.
01:49After the introduction of apartheid in 1948,
01:52he and other young radicals took over the leadership of the ANC.
01:56Initially, they were committed to non-violent civil disobedience
01:59such as strikes, which led to the arrest of 8,500 people.
02:05However, after the Sharpeville massacre
02:07in which 69 black people were killed by police,
02:10the ANC was declared illegal.
02:14At that point, Nelson believed the ANC had no alternative
02:17but to resort to strategic violence
02:19and he headed up the organization's armed wing
02:22coordinating a so-called sabotage campaign
02:25aimed at military and government targets
02:27such as public buildings, power lines, telephone links and the railways.
02:33After 17 months in hiding, he was arrested,
02:36brought to trial and sentenced to five years in prison.
02:39He faced another trial at the Pretoria Supreme Court in 1964
02:43and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
02:46His second wife and co-activist Winnie was there to see him taken away
02:50with their baby Zinzi in her arms.
02:53He was taken to the notorious Robben Island Prison in Table Bay
02:57where he performed hard labor, breaking up rocks in a lime quarry.
03:01And in 1985, President P.W. Boater dangled the carrot of release
03:06on the condition that Mandela renounce armed struggle.
03:09But meanwhile, support for the banned ANC's cause was hotting up overseas.
03:14The United Nations imposed trade sanctions
03:17and on Mandela's 70th birthday in 1988
03:20an estimated 400 million people watched a tribute concert
03:24given by the biggest names in rock and pop.
03:27In South Africa itself, the ruling National Party gained a new leader, F.W. de Klerk
03:32who set about dismantling apartheid and negotiating the release of Mandela.
03:39On the 11th of February 1990, he walked out of the Victor Vesta prison
03:43to be greeted by Winnie and the waiting crowds.
03:46Despite the celebrations, it was obvious that his 27 years in jail had taken their toll.
03:51As well as prostate problems, rumors abounded
03:54that he'd also contracted tuberculosis and diabetes.
03:58Still, it was a day for celebration.
04:02The next year, the ANC held its first national conference
04:05electing him as their president
04:07and he led the party in negotiations that resulted in the country's first multiracial elections.
04:12And after the assassination of senior ANC leader Chris Hanney in April 1993
04:17Mandela addressed the country appealing for calm
04:20in an historic speech that marked his final rejection of violence.
04:24The scene was set for democratic elections to take place on April 27th, 1994
04:29on which date the ANC won 62% of the majority vote.
04:34Two weeks later, at the age of 75
04:36Nelson Mandela was elected the country's first black president
04:40with de Klerk as his deputy in the government of national unity.
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