[ti:F.W. de Klerk, South Africa’s Last Apartheid President, Dies] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]F.W. de Klerk, South Africa's last apartheid president [00:05.16]who oversaw the end of the country's white minority rule, has died. [00:10.24]A spokesman for the former president's organization said Thursday [00:15.32]that Frederik Willem de Klerk died in his Cape Town home [00:20.08]after a fight with cancer. [00:22.32]He was 85. [00:25.48]De Klerk surprised the world when he ended apartheid [00:29.52]and peacefully handed over power [00:31.64]to a Black-led government under Nelson Mandela. [00:37.04]De Klerk was a controversial person in South Africa. [00:41.80]Many blamed him for violence against Black South Africans [00:45.52]and anti-apartheid activists during his time in power. [00:49.96]Some white South Africans saw his cooperation [00:53.20]to end apartheid as an act of disloyalty. [00:58.24]"De Klerk's legacy is a big one. It is also an uneven one, [01:03.16]something South Africans are called to reckon with in this moment," [01:07.60]the Mandela Foundation said of his death. [01:13.00]In February 1990, de Klerk announced in a speech to parliament [01:18.08]that Mandela would be released from prison after 27 years. [01:23.40]The country had long been denounced around the world [01:26.60]for its system of apartheid. [01:30.40]With South Africa's economy seriously weakened [01:33.84]from international sanctions, [01:35.84]de Klerk also lifted a ban on the African National Congress (ANC) [01:40.00]and other anti-apartheid political groups. [01:46.96]Negotiations to create a non-racial democracy after Mandela's release [01:51.96]were held during a time of increased political violence. [01:55.96]The talks nearly broke down [01:58.04]and the country came close to a violent race war. [02:01.96]But the process continued peacefully [02:04.64]in what many political experts called a "political miracle." [02:10.04]In 1993 de Klerk shared a Nobel Peace Prize with Mandela, [02:15.64]who would win the presidency the following year. [02:19.80]It was the first time Black South Africans could vote [02:23.60]in Africa's biggest economy. [02:27.68]After the vote, the National Party shared power [02:31.12]in a "Government of National Unity" [02:33.44]in which de Klerk served as a deputy president. [02:37.72]But the relationship between de Klerk and Mandela was often tense. [02:43.00]De Klerk pulled out of the government in 1996, [02:46.64]saying the ANC no longer valued his opinion. [02:52.04]Later in life, de Klerk said there was no longer conflict [02:55.96]between him and Mandela and that they remained friends. [03:00.64]Although he publicly apologized for the pain that apartheid caused, [03:04.96]he was never seen as a hero like Mandela. [03:09.80]Years after the end of apartheid, [03:12.08]de Klerk continued to defend the political system. [03:16.44]He said the goal of apartheid was to separate [03:19.60]the development of white and Black South Africans. [03:23.44]But in reality, the violent apartheid system [03:26.72]forced millions of the country's Black majority [03:29.80]into "homeland" communities with high rates of poverty. [03:34.24]And the system left most of South Africa's land [03:37.60]in the hands of the white minority population. [03:42.20]De Klerk admitted later in life [03:44.40]that the goal of "separate but equal failed." [03:48.92]In 2020, de Klerk angered many South Africans [03:52.76]when he said he did not think apartheid [03:55.04]was a crime against humanity. [03:58.48]When he attended President Cyril Ramaphosa's [04:02.00]State of the Nation speech in parliament that year, [04:05.04]some members shouted at him and demanded that he leave. [04:10.80]Later, de Klerk said he accepted [04:13.16]that apartheid was a crime against humanity [04:15.88]and apologized for his earlier comments. [04:19.88]But he is still seen by many South Africans [04:22.52]as the last apartheid leader, [04:24.44]not the leader who helped lead the country away [04:27.64]from violent racial discrimination. [04:31.52]Upon his death, opposition leader Julius Malema [04:35.36]criticized media reports that said de Klerk [04:38.68]was a former president of South Africa. [04:41.92]"He is a former apartheid president," Malema said in a tweet. [04:47.20]Others on social media [04:49.00]said de Klerk should not be given a state funeral. [04:54.44]I'm Dan Novak. [04:56.16]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM