‘As German chancellor I do not have any intention of interfering in the internal affairs of this country,” said Helmut Kohl in Johannesburg this week.
On the first visit to South Africa by a German chancellor, Kohl was at pains to avoid political controversy, concentrating on trade and economic co-operation between the two countries.
But, during a 30-minute meeting with President Nelson Mandela, he urged him to consider a more federal constitution for South Africa. A long-standing friend of Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Kohl’s advice to the president was seen as supportive of the IFP’s demands for greater autonomy in KwaZulu-Natal.
President Mandela reacted diplomatically to the chancellor’s advice, saying a high- level delegation would be sent to Germany to examine its federal system of government. “They will give us a report and we will examine it,” he said. “If further conferment of power to provinces will bring about peace and stability we are prepared to consider that.”
At a subsequent press conference in Johannesburg, the Mail & Guardian asked Chancellor Kohl for details of German funding of the IFP through the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. He failed to answer the question.
Instead, he made his broad statement of non-interference. He also disclosed that, in a meeting with the IFP leader, he had told the chief “that this was not the time to stand apart, but that one should try to stand together and work together”.
The chancellor added: “As regards the foundations — the Konrad Adenauer Foundation for one — I think they will also work together with all the forces in this
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