"On 2 February 1990, in an address to the country's parliament, he introduced plans for sweeping reforms of the political system.A number of banned political parties, including the ANC and Communist Party of South Africa, would be legalised, although he emphasized that this did not constitute an endorsement of their socialist economic policies nor of violent actions carried out by their members, and the Separate Amenities Act of 1953, which governed the segregation of public facilities, would be lifted and all of those who were imprisoned solely for belonging to a banned organisation would be freed, including Nelson Mandela; the latter was released a week later.