Flag of South Africa (1928–1994) also be the subject of public burnings during anti-apartheid protests. After 1989, F. W. de Klerk became state president and immediately unbanned the African National Congress (ANC) and released their leader Nelson Mandela from prison. De Klerk instigated negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa with Mandela's ANC. One of the ANC's demands was that the flag gradually decrease in usage in South African life and that a new flag be created, as black South Africans associated the current one with apartheid and Afrikaner nationalism. The negotiations led to the South African apartheid referendum, 1992 where voters approved the ending
Flag of South Africa (1928–1994) the old flag on 20 April, seven days before the 1994 South African general election on 27 April 1994. When the flag was lowered for the last time at the parliament building in Cape Town, onlookers approvingly shouted "Down, down!" as it was removed. Following its official retirement as the flag of South Africa, the flag was adopted by some white South Africans as being a symbol of Afrikaner heritage and history. Many South Africans still view it as a symbol of apartheid, and therefore have strongly discouraged its use. Despite the negative associations, it was never banned by the