Endgame Page #4

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in any negotiations with

the Government...

you've seen to it that

all chance of that is off the table.

Frankly...

so are these talks.

- Time to turn up the heat.

- Alright.

Hello, Mr Mandela. Please.

Let's talk about Roodeport.

It needed saying.

There was no getting round it.

Perhaps.

But, box a man into a corner and...

The President is running out

of patience, Mr Mandela.

Either, you denounce the communist

links with the ANC...

condemn the violence...

or, frankly, you and I?

We have nothing further to discuss.

When political movements are forced

underground...

they inevitably are thrown together...

and, no man of honour would desert

a lifelong friend...

at the request of a common enemy.

Gentlemen, excuse us.

You're not the only game

in town, Mr Mandela.

Don't you see?

This is your chance to seize

the initiative.

The ANC think they can bomb

their way into power...

but a few words from you,

condemning the violence...

will not only secure your freedom...

but will ensure that you alone...

will be the man the Government

deals with.

You, alone, can lead us all out

of this impasse.

Haven't your years of sacrifice

earned you that right?

This is the situation.

All ANC bombing operations...

fall under the command and

control structure in Lusaka.

But, some of our cadres,

believing force to be the only way...

sometimes act without authority.

Operations can get bungled.

Innocent people...

get killed.

But, you have my word...

that I will do everything

in my power...

to ensure that civilians no longer

suffer from our inadequacies.

Are you telling us that you are unable

to control some of your...

renegade cadres, Mr Mbeki?

If you know the truth

of our situation, Professor...

you will see that the issue

of violence...

is irrevocably connected to

the other issues we wrestle with.

Only when we can participate

in a truly democratic process...

will our armed struggle

become obsolete.

Only then will the conflict

between us end.

- How did you sleep?

- Not too bad. You?

Alright, except for terrible

dreams about lawyers.

Oh, yes. That is a nightmare.

So, anyway, Thatcher is in Moscow...

the crowds in Red Square are all

over her, mobbing her...

She's getting quite queasy with all

this adulation...

so, she says to her interpreter,

'I'm not a communist, you know? '

And, they shout back,

'Neither are we! '

I came here believing what happened

at Roodeport had derailed everything...

you changed that.

What you said in that room

will go no further.

- Safe home, Willie.

- May I tell you...

how truly sorry

I am about your son.

Thank you.

Thabo?

Come off the road.

There was an incident on the way

from the airport.

They were not security agents.

Word is out about your talks.

Some of the militants will

use any tactics to halt them.

For two decades we've said only

force will crush the enemy.

Instead of force,

we now preach talks.

They see that as a betrayal.

And when you pressed him

on the violence issue...

did he admit the ANC high command

now sanction civilian targets?

He made the same point

he has made from the beginning...

cessation of violence...

is contingent on the Government

committing to a democratic process.

You told him there can be no question

of that while the violence continues?

Tell me, Doctor,

should they agree to...

give up the armed struggle and

negotiate with the government...

what would you give them in return?

You cannot go into negotiation without

bringing something to the table.

Yet you send me in empty handed.

Don't be surprised if I come

back empty handed.

You are not empowered

to negotiate, Professor.

You're wrong. Doctor.

Talk is not cheap.

It's all we have left.

Mr Esterhuyse takes the view that...

before formal negotiations

can take place...

concessions, must be made

on both sides.

If we make a gesture by

releasing Mandela...

I said nothing about making

concessions to Mandela's freedom.

This is no longer a matter

of political survival, sir.

Your policy of buying us time

has created a...

a vacuum of uncertainty

that is only fuelling the violence.

You know what I think?

This is about your own survival,

covering your own sorry arse.

If you are seen to take

the initiative with the ANC...

history will always acknowledge it was

you who had the statesmanship...

and vision to pull this country back,

from the brink of civil war.

You alone averted that catastrophe.

History might also say I took

my hand off the tiller too soon.

I give way on Mandela's freedom now,

I give away our trump card.

He's a man like any other.

The more he gets of it,

the more he'll want it.

Mandela is the key.

- Where to today?

- A surprise.

Control, confirm

subject arrival.

Everything is alright,

no problems.

I hope you like your

new quarters, Mr Mandela?

This is Warrant Officer Swart.

He'll look after you.

Do your cooking and so on.

We've met before, at Robben Island.

I used to drive you to the quarry.

I hope you are a better cook

than you were a driver.

Give him the tour.

I'll leave you to settle in.

There's three bedrooms.

This is the largest.

I'm sure you'll find the bed more

comfortable than you're used to.

The departmental conference

is postponed, professor.

We know exactly what's going on

in the UK...

between you and

the ANC thugs professor.

Think carefully before going next time

or learn to sleep with your eyes open.

This is Michael Young.

Please leave a message.

This is Esterhuyse.

I suggest...

that you make a date for

the next meeting as soon as possible.

- I missed you.

- It's nice to see you back.

Marigolds.

Pansies.

This one is in the wrong place.

It needs more light.

You pick a spot.

I'll fetch a shovel.

Mr President?

Mr President, are you alright?

We need an ambulance now.

Hip, hip, hooray!

Bye bye, Tata.

My dear friend.

At best, Botha regarded my gilded cage

as a way to seduce me into submission.

But I have had twenty years

to prepare me for this moment.

Talking to Barnard was

a high risk strategy...

but you can trust in one thing.

That I am not negotiating terms

with the government...

but facilitating the process

for the ANC to do so.

Surely, you and I have come too far

to let them divide us now.

The election of the new

State President F. W. De Klerk...

has sparked a wave

of violence across the country.

And sensitivity about

his commitment to reform...

seems to be fuelling the violence.

Mr De Klerk's position

to the right of the National Party...

have left some observers

to question his appetite for change.

Botha's mistake was his reliance

on his security apparatus...

at the expense of protecting

his power base in Parliament.

I must tell you, that is a mistake

I do not intend to repeat.

My mistake was accommodating his

plan to try and divide Mandela...

from the ANC in a futile attempt

to cling on to power.

My discussions with Mr Mandela have

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