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
Lesotho–South Africa relations between the two countries. In September 1998, South Africa led a military intervention in Lesotho in the name of SADC, after post-election rioting and rumours of a possible coup. SADC troops withdrew from Lesotho in May of the following year. South Africa held its first democratic elections in 1994. Since then, South Africa's influence in Lesotho has grown. It is involved with the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, an ongoing water supply and hydro-power project. In August 2010, South African President Jacob Zuma led a group of investors and politicians to Lesotho, where they discussed bilateral cooperation as well as regional