De Klerk announces the unbanning of the ANC and other political organisations

At the opening of Parliament, De Klerk announced that the ANC, PAC, SACP, and other political organisations would be unbanned. The announcement ended a central legal instrument of apartheid repression but came after decades of organising, strikes, uprisings, armed resistance, international solidarity, and mass campaigns. Mandela’s release was promised, although he had not yet walked free.