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South Africa: Ex-President FW de Klerk laid to rest in private funeral

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ALESSANDRO IOVINO/AFP or licensors

South Africa

South Africa's last white president during Apartheid, F.W. de Klerk, has been laid to rest. De Klerk was laid to rest in a private funeral service on Sunday.

It was relatively quiet outside the family home with only friends and family in attendance.

A convoy of two vehicles, one with the former President's wife Elita Georgiades, made its way to the Durbansville Memorial Park, in Cape Town.

De Klerk's death on the 11th of November intesified an ongoing debate among South Africans over his role as President during the apartheid era.

After his death, his foundation published a video in which he apologised for crimes against other ethnic groups during decades of white minority rule in South Africa.

He had previously refused to apologise which prompted backlash as recently as last year when he said he did not believe apartheid was a crime against humanity.

On the other hand, he is reported to have angered right wing Afrikaners who viewed him as a traitor to their causes of white supremacy and nationalism by leading the process that ended apartheid.

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