Note – this gerrymandering (the weighting and re-drawing of constituency boundaries to create a favourable political bias) which the NP used to destroy Colin Eglin and the PFP using the ‘rural bias’ is now happily used by the ANC and this last significant footprint of Apartheid has been put to good effect keeping the DA’s ‘urban’ vote ineffectual. It mischievously draws parallels between post-1994 tragic events, which this government swiftly condemned and acted on, with the apartheid regime's deliberate brutality and institutionalised criminality against the black majority. “It was an odd and wonderful sight to see this courageous woman peering into our cells and strolling around our courtyard,” Mr. Mandela recalled in an interview when he was released in 1990 after serving 27 years. When she said that the Soviet postal authorities would not accept South African stamps, she recalled, Mr. Kruger was puzzled. Universities around the world awarded Mrs. Suzman 27 honorary doctorates, and she received numerous other honors from the United Nations and an array of religious and human rights groups around the world. It is unfortunate and regrettable that, due to reckless and mischievous political posturing of her successors, we are today forced to reflect on this painful and unfortunate part of our history. A tiny voice calling for full democracy in a sea of National Party (NP) rural ‘afrikaner-bloc’ gerrymandering which overtook him and pushed the ‘official opposition’ i.e.
She ran for Parliament in Johannesburg’s upscale Houghton district and remained the district’s legislator from 1953 to 1989. In 1976 he called an Extraordinary Parliamentary session to discuss the Soweto Uprising and call for the resignation of the Minister of Bantu Affairs, M.C. Peter was a indoors man, an introvert who just endured army life out of a sense of duty.

Her achievements have been acknowledged by numerous awards and honours, including over 25 honorary doctorates from local and international universities, two nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize, and the International Freedom Prize from Liberal International in 2002. He remained party leader until 1988, however he didn’t have the best people skills to sustain this type of leadership. Moloto Mothapo is the ANC's ­parliamentary spokesperson. The enmity was mutual. Today, because of the reckless political posturing of her successors, we are forced to reflect on this painful part of our history. Yet, not content with the role its beloved ancestor played as a lone opposition voice against the National Party for 13 years, the DA sought to exaggerate its role in history. Much has been made of Mandela's "friendship" with Suzman, including her visits to him on Robben Island and the negotiations she facilitated for his release. To Eglin – nationalism almost always meant one-upmanship of one nation over that of another, he had learned a bitter lesson in nationalism and all its inherent evils in the freezing hills of Italy in WW2. Some of the most relentless enforcers of apartheid eventually developed a grudging respect for her, even a hint of affection. A rose was also named after her later in her life. While she challenged apartheid at a time of violent protests among the black majority, she advocated peaceful change. Colin Eglin had joined ‘D Company’ of an amalgamated Cape Town Highlanders (CTH) and First City (FC) from Grahamstown unit which had formed a combined regiment for service in the 6th South African Armoured Division. He travelled extensively in Africa, Europe, America and even China. Much needed ‘Rest and Recuperation’ (R&R) came around every two weeks when ‘D Company’ members would go to nearby Castiglione dei Pepoli,  the South African 6th Division HQ was located there and they could shower, get fresh supplies and spend some time relaxing. “The qualifications, based on educational and property criteria, survived until 1978, although Helen had privately advocated universal adult suffrage well before this date.”. She was dismissive of the death threats she received by telephone and in the mail, and undaunted in her showdowns with the men she described as apartheid’s leading “bullies,” who in turn dismissed her as a “dangerous subversive” and a “sickly humanist.”.

Colin noted “In a few weeks’ time the Allied spring offensive would commence. The Torch Commando was the first anti-Apartheid mass protest movement, and it was made up of returning war veterans. In one his final speeches, Colin Eglin is nothing short of pure prophesy – consider this when he said “Ironically the (ANC) government’s Black Economic Empowerment policy has contributed to the widening of the (poverty) gap, by creating a new rich elite, often of persons with strong political connections, and by leaving the millions of impoverished out of the empowerment process.


I never have been and I never will be.

Much of South Africa’s much praised liberal constitution is due to Colin’s clear grasp of the principles of liberal democracy and the constraints and provisions of those institutions charged with protecting and advancing these.

He had been under intense mortar fire during a number of German counter-attacks, but remained resolute. The truth of the matter is that an armed struggle did not really end Apartheid, the ballot did.

There is no denying that Suzman played a particular role in opposing apartheid as a member of parliament. The Torch Commando led South Africa’s first mass anti-apartheid protests, NOT the ANC! “But I don’t see how wrecking the economy of the country will ensure a more stable and just society.”. As Joe Slovo, then chairperson of the South African Communist Party, said in 1983: "Mrs Suzman and I may both be against apartheid but we are certainly not both for liberation.".