The Botha Debate
Pieter Willem Botha (January 12, 1916 – October 31, 2006), commonly known as "PW" and Die Groot Krokodil (Afrikaans for "The Big Crocodile"), was the prime minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and the first executive state president from 1984 to 1989. Botha was a long-time leader of South Africa's National Party and a staunch advocate of racial segregation and the apartheid system. Even under great domestic and international pressure in the later years of his career, he only minimally loosened some of the government's most stringent racial policies directed towards South Africa's majority black population and remained unrepentant till his death.
Botha died of a heart attack at his home in Wilderness on 31 October 2006, aged 90. Botha's death has swept the South African headlines and has afforded South Africans with an opportunity to demonstrate the magnanimity of spirit that prevented South Africa from collapsing in the 1990s.
Former President Nelson Mandela was reported as saying "while to many Mr Botha will remain a symbol of apartheid, we also remember him for the steps he took to pave the way towards the eventual peacefully negotiated settlement in our country."
President Thabo Mbeki announced that flags would be flown at half mast until the eve of the funeral, to mark the death of a former head of state. The offer of a state funeral was declined by Botha's family. A private funeral was held on 8 November, in the town of George where Botha was buried. Mbeki attended the funeral.
Cosatu spoke out in vehement opposition to the stance of former President Nelson Mandela on the life and death of PW Botha. The union federation said Botha was a “brutal dictator” whose hands “were stained with the blood of hundreds murdered during the struggle for democracy”.
Botha died of a heart attack at his home in Wilderness on 31 October 2006, aged 90. Botha's death has swept the South African headlines and has afforded South Africans with an opportunity to demonstrate the magnanimity of spirit that prevented South Africa from collapsing in the 1990s.
Former President Nelson Mandela was reported as saying "while to many Mr Botha will remain a symbol of apartheid, we also remember him for the steps he took to pave the way towards the eventual peacefully negotiated settlement in our country."
President Thabo Mbeki announced that flags would be flown at half mast until the eve of the funeral, to mark the death of a former head of state. The offer of a state funeral was declined by Botha's family. A private funeral was held on 8 November, in the town of George where Botha was buried. Mbeki attended the funeral.
Cosatu spoke out in vehement opposition to the stance of former President Nelson Mandela on the life and death of PW Botha. The union federation said Botha was a “brutal dictator” whose hands “were stained with the blood of hundreds murdered during the struggle for democracy”.
How do you feel about Botha, his death and the public reactions to it???Our PW Botha Biography
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