On 31 January 1985, faced with trouble at home and pressure from abroad, the apartheid State President PW Botha offered a tepid, halfway measure for Mandela’s freedom. In a debate in Parliament, PW Botha publicly offered Mandela his freedom if he “unconditionally rejected violence as a political instrument”.
This offer was also extended to all political prisoners. Then, as though he were staking Mandela to a public challenge, he added, “It is therefore not the South African government which stands in the way of Mr Mandela’s freedom. It is he himself”. So “the choice is his. All that is requested him now is that he should unconditionally reject violence as a political instrument, a norm which is respected in all civilised countries of the world”.
This offer followed an interview on Monday, 21 January 1985, of a 66-year old Nelson Mandela in Pollsmoor Prison by Lord Bethell, a Conservative Party member of the European Parliament. Bethell wanted to know about his views on the armed struggle. Mandela said to him: “The armed struggle was forced on us by the government, and if they want us to give it up, the ball is in their court. They must legalise us, treat us like a political party and negotiate with us. Until they do, we will have to live with the armed struggle” Extracts from the interview appeared in Britain’s “Mail on Sunday” on 27 January 1985.
According to Nelson Mandela, the government had sent “feelers” to him over the years, begin
