Eerw. Allan Hendrickse en die Driekamerparlement: Persepsies en werklikheid

Abstract

The death of the Rev. HJ (Allan) Hendrickse, former leader of the Labour Party of South Africa, on 16 March 2005, reopened the whole controversy regarding participation in the Tricameral Parliament. This article focuses on the reasons why Hendrickse and the Labour Party opted for participation. It highlights seven reasons. Hendrickse based his political strategy partly on an essay that Nelson Mandela had written in 1958 in which he stated his belief that the democratic and progressive movement should also have a voice in Parliament.
This article also focuses on the fruits of participation. According to Hendrickse, the purpose of their participation was to dismantle apartheid. He firmly believed that a number of apartheid acts were removed because of their presence. He strongly stressed the fact that because of the Labour Party's participation in the Tricameral Parliament, there was a political cross-pollination which inter alia paved the way for the new South Africa. After his death he was lauded by Pres. Thabo Mbeki for the role that he had played.