Endgame: a movie about negotiation.
Last night on its Masterpiece Contemporary series, PBS aired Endgame, a movie based on the real, secret negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa. The talks took place in the United Kingdom between representatives of the African National Congress (ANC) led by Thabo Mbeki (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor) and representatives of the Afrikaner South African government led by Professor Will Esterhuyse (played by William Hurt).
The secret negotiations started in 1985 and culminated in 1990, when both parties agreed to hold official negotiations to abolish apartheid. In 1990, the de Klerk government made a large concession by freeing ANC leader Nelson Mandela.
The negotiations came about in an unusual way. Michael Young, who was then the chief of public affairs and communications for Consolidated Goldfields, believed something needed to be done to stabilize South Africa, which at the time was embroiled in growing violence and repression. The instability was threatening the company’s interests, so Young proposed “creating a neutral arena” to encourage negotiations. Young recruited both Mbeki and Esterhuyse, and convinced them to engage in secret negotiations on neutral ground in England. No one was to know about the talks and Consolidated Goldfields was not to be implicated.
Young arranges for ANC and South Africa government representatives to meet in a large country house in England, where he wanted to “maximize opportunity for chance meetings.” Part of the strategy was to break down the distrust between both sides.
The meetings start with an agreed agenda, in which the first order of business is to find out what demands, hopes and fears each side has. The ANC want to end apartheid and have majority rule. The government wants assurances that the ANC will stop the increasing violence. Complicating the negotiations was that during the first phase, which took place under the Botha government, government negotiators did not bring anything to the table. Later, when de Klerk took office, the negotiations were able to proceed because de Klerk government was able to offer to free Mandela.
If you missed Endgame on PBS, it will have its theatrical release this Friday, October 30. Here is one of dozens of reviews: http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2009/10/24/endgame_is_a_masterful_retelling_of_how_apartheid_fell/
Did you watch the movie? What did you think?
The secret negotiations started in 1985 and culminated in 1990, when both parties agreed to hold official negotiations to abolish apartheid. In 1990, the de Klerk government made a large concession by freeing ANC leader Nelson Mandela.
The negotiations came about in an unusual way. Michael Young, who was then the chief of public affairs and communications for Consolidated Goldfields, believed something needed to be done to stabilize South Africa, which at the time was embroiled in growing violence and repression. The instability was threatening the company’s interests, so Young proposed “creating a neutral arena” to encourage negotiations. Young recruited both Mbeki and Esterhuyse, and convinced them to engage in secret negotiations on neutral ground in England. No one was to know about the talks and Consolidated Goldfields was not to be implicated.
Young arranges for ANC and South Africa government representatives to meet in a large country house in England, where he wanted to “maximize opportunity for chance meetings.” Part of the strategy was to break down the distrust between both sides.
The meetings start with an agreed agenda, in which the first order of business is to find out what demands, hopes and fears each side has. The ANC want to end apartheid and have majority rule. The government wants assurances that the ANC will stop the increasing violence. Complicating the negotiations was that during the first phase, which took place under the Botha government, government negotiators did not bring anything to the table. Later, when de Klerk took office, the negotiations were able to proceed because de Klerk government was able to offer to free Mandela.
If you missed Endgame on PBS, it will have its theatrical release this Friday, October 30. Here is one of dozens of reviews: http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2009/10/24/endgame_is_a_masterful_retelling_of_how_apartheid_fell/
Did you watch the movie? What did you think?
Labels: Case Studies
posted by Karrass at
12:00 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home