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President FW de Klerk announces the dismantling of the laws behind apartheid, such as the Land Acts of 1930 and 1936, which reserved the best land for white people. The biggest repeal was that of the Population Registration Act, which had introduced the compulsory classification of all babies by racial group at birth. Right-wing MPs walked out in protest but, outside the building, campaigners against apartheid welcomed the repeals and called for more reforms.

This declaration effectively scrapped the system of apartheid and dismantled racially discriminatory laws dating back to the British colonial period in South Africa. Two days later, President De Klerk held talks with Nelson Mandela and other opposition leaders and announced the beginning of the release of all political prisoners.

Â鶹ԼÅÄ Archive: Originally broadcast 1 February 1991.