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Have You Heard from Johannesburg?

26/06/2010 GMT

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BBC World News - Have You Heard from Johannesburg?, Free at Last

The campaign to free Mandela ignites a worldwide crusade which brings apartheid to an end.

Diving into the heart of the conflict, South Africans tell the story of the most important effort in the anti-apartheid campaign of the 80's.

Ten years in the making, this series explores how a violent and racist government was destroyed by the concerted efforts of men and women working on multiple fronts inside and outside South Africa for more than three decades. Featuring archive of the struggle never seen before on television and interviews with the major players, it is one of the most fascinating stories of the last century. In this final episode, the campaign to free Nelson Mandela ignites a worldwide crusade which brings apartheid to an end.

Faced with growing international isolation, the apartheid government tries to convince the world of the merit of its piecemeal reforms even as it savagely struggles to suppress open revolt. Three generations join together as the United Demographic Front, mounting a fierce campaign of defiance, demand the freedom of ANC leader Nelson Mandela. Caught between an unstoppable internal mass movement and ongoing international pressure, the apartheid regime is finally forced to the negotiating table and at last lifts the decades-long ban on the ANC. After 27 years in prison Mandela is released, sparking a global celebration as he tours the world to thank all. After 30 years in exile Oliver Tambo is finally able to return to South Africa, but the struggle has taken a heavy toll on him and he will die one year before his comrade Nelson Mandela is elected the first black president of a democratic South Africa.

BBC World News

BBC  World News

Series of documentaries covering the struggle against South Africa's apartheid system.

Exploring how a violent and racist government was destroyed by the efforts of men and women working on multiple fronts inside and outside South Africa for more than three decades.

Series exploring how a violent and racist government was destroyed by the concerted efforts of men and women working on multiple fronts inside and outside South Africa for more than three decades.

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