The anniversary of June 28, 1991: How did the most dangerous apartheid laws in South Africa fall?
South Africa is reliving a historic moment that saw the repeal of the racial segregation law.
Written by: Mohammed Omran
June 28th is still associated with African history The contemporary period marks one of the most important milestones in the dismantling of the apartheid system in South Africa, as it witnessed the entry into force of the decision to abolish the law that imposed the racial classification of the population.
The anniversary of June 28, 1991: How did the most dangerous apartheid laws in South Africa fall?
June 28, 1991, was not just a passing date in the annals of South Africa, but rather a pivotal turning point in the country's journey towards freedom and equality. On this day, one of the most important stages of dismantling the apartheid system began, after the repeal of the Population Registration Act, which for decades had imposed the classification of citizens on the basis of race and established a system of discrimination and exclusion. With the fall of this legislation, the legal foundations of the apartheid system began to crumble, heralding a new stage that paved the way for democracy and the end of one of the most controversial racist regimes in modern history.
Parliament passed the law on June 17, 1991, before it was signed by President Frederik Willem de Klerk and declared into force. This measure constituted an important step in the process of dismantling apartheid legislation that began in the early 1990s. Although some transitional provisions continued until the adoption of the provisional constitution in 1994, the repeal of this law officially ended the principle of mandatory racial classification in the country.
On the same day, the head of state issued another law repealing measures relating to land based on racial grounds, which led to the repeal of a number of the most prominent pieces of legislation that supported the apartheid system, including the Native Lands Act of 1913, the Development and Land Fund Act of 1936, and the Collective Areas Act.
Although the actual implementation of some of these measures did not begin until June 30, 1991, they represented a collapse of the most important legislative pillars on which the apartheid system had been based for decades.
June 28, 1991, is a pivotal day in the political transformation that South Africa witnessed, which accelerated after the release of the late leader Nelson Mandela, and paved the way towards building a democratic state based on equality and ending decades of racial discrimination.
