Trying to Get Everybody on Board : In South Africa, negotiations between blacks and whites set for next month

Finally, South Africa’s white minority government and the major anti-apartheid groups led by the African National Congress and the Inkatha Freedom Party are on board. They agree to participate in the historic discussions to determine the blueprint for a post-apartheid South Africa: a new constitution.

The first round of constitutional negotiations is scheduled for Dec. 20. In preparation for that, nearly two dozen black and white political groups plan to meet next week. Even so, it’s not all sweetness and light in South Africa. The right-wing Conservative Party has not yet decided whether its representatives will participate without a guarantee of a separate white state.

That unreasonable demand would preserve the racist status quo, of course, but the conservatives’ demand cannot be dismissed: They represent 25% of the white vote. The party’s participation is obviously crucial to encourage broader white acceptance of the new constitution.

Militancy is not limited to white opponents of change. The predominantly black Azanian People’s Organization also remains undecided about participating in the formal debate. The group wants a guarantee that the white minority government will turn over absolute power to the huge black majority, although President Frederik W. de Klerk has already ruled out any form of “winner take all” government. Although the Azanian People’s Organization is much smaller than the major anti-apartheid groups, it is influential with younger and more militant blacks and also belongs at the table.

The broader the participation in the formal talks, the better the chances of a constitution that most South Africans can live with. But the broader the participation, the more arduous the process. Compromises are in order for all. De Klerk says he’s willing. In spite of deepening differences between whites and blacks, he insisted earlier this week that a divided nation can reach a consensus on a new constitution. ANC President Nelson Mandela has also indicated a willingness to compromise, telling his followers on Thursday: “The time to begin sowing the seeds of national healing and reconciliation is now.”

De Klerk, Mandela and the other true leaders face a difficult mission. They must craft a new, non-racial constitution that makes a clear and permanent break from the racist past without creating more permanent divisions in South Africa.