South Africa: Dashed Hopes

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The proceedings, however, were denounced by radicals in both the black and white camps. Black nationalist groups such as the banned African National Congress and the multiracial United Democratic Front, which insist on black majority rule rather than power sharing, heaped scorn on the Durban deliberations. Two far-right white groups, the Conservative Party and the Herstigte National Party, which oppose political concessions to blacks, de clined invitations to attend.

Despite the condemnation of the Natal proposals by the local leader of the ruling National Party, South African State President P.W. Botha, the party head, has been careful not to take a formal position. The recommendations go further than he would wish, but his government is reluctant to reject them outright for fear of setting off more racial unrest. Said John Kane-Berman, conference deputy chairman: "I have no illusions about the difficulties of persuading the government to accept the plan." The Indaba's proposal for Natal may be dead for the moment, but the idea of some form of power sharing in South Africa will undoubtedly keep coming back again and again.