...the people fighting an oppressive government were labelled as terrorist...
Not surprising at all.
Dig into the history of the ANC a little. Specifically, look for Umkhonto we Sizwe after the Sharpeville massacre in 1960.
While in no way [edit] trivialising the abhorrent and often vicious apartheid regime of the time, the ANC (and Mandela) haven't exactly been angles, either.
"Umkhonto we Sizwe" Do you understand how this group came about, what principles it was created on? You should read Nelson Mandela's biography. Also read the essays on pbs from people in the struggle which is very truthful and raw interview scripts. To be honest when Mandela's talks about how he planned stuff and the books he read, kind of reminded me in a way of a startup. He was taking a dying organisation revamping it and positioning it for a win. His elder found him reckless and too arrogant.... honestly you should just read the interviews on the pbs link below, very entertaining, especially for history buffs like me.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/mandela/
Hey, just an FYI, to denigrate means "to criticize," so although I understood what you meant, you might want to reword that (not to be pedantic, I just know that if I misused a word, I'd want someone to tell me).
Not surprising at all.
Dig into the history of the ANC a little. Specifically, look for Umkhonto we Sizwe after the Sharpeville massacre in 1960.
While in no way [edit] trivialising the abhorrent and often vicious apartheid regime of the time, the ANC (and Mandela) haven't exactly been angles, either.