I had a ringside seat to the 1987 Vancouver Commonwealth summit in which the two leaders went toe-to-toe over the issue. Mulroney quickly became my favourite politician.

You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.

In the heady days of the anti-apartheid struggle in the 1980s, the “West,” embodied by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and U.S. President Ronald Reagan, was the “enemy” that stood in the way of freedom for South Africa.

The antipathy towards the West by most young activists on university campuses and elsewhere came from western support for the oppressive regime of President P.W. Botha, whom Thatcher provocatively invited to the United Kingdom in 1984. And among us young activists at the time, we could not understand how the “freedom-loving” West didn’t support the African National Congress’ (ANC) fight for liberation in the face of everything South African Blacks were being subjected to.

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

And then, out........

© Ottawa Citizen