30 December 2014

Declassified papers reveal Thatcher’s mixed response to South Africa’s bloody 1985

Government records made public by the 30 year rule reveal Margaret Thatcher's diplomatic struggle with apartheid South Africa - arguing against sanctions, but in favour of the release of Nelson Mandela - during a year of bloodshed and dialogue for the region.

By Martin Plaut

(Photo By Margaret Thatcher in 1985 at the Conservative Party Conference in Blackpool. Photo: Getty Images)

It was a terrible year. 1985 saw states of emergency declared in South Africa; hundreds were detained. The regime’s troops rampaged across the region. Mozambique, Botswana, Lesotho and Angola were all hit. The forces even attacked Cabinda, the Angolan enclave on the Congo River, thousands of kilometres north of South Africa’s borders.

This was the depths of the Cold War. The white regime’s troops might have crossed frontiers, but they still had the firm support of US president Reagan, pursuing what was termed “constructive engagement” with South Africa president P W Botha. Margaret Thatcher supported this position and was determined to hold the line: South Africa may follow repugnant policies, but it was not to be abandoned.