'PW understood the futility of fighting'

2006-11-01 11:34

Johannesburg - In his own way, former state president PW Botha realised South Africans had no alternative but to reach out to one another, President Thabo Mbeki said on Wednesday.

Botha took over the reigns of the government at a difficult time in the country's history, he said.

It stood to his credit that he understood the futility of fighting against what was right and inevitable.

Botha died at his home, Die Anker, near the Wilderness in the Western Cape, at 20:00 on Tuesday night.

"On behalf of the government and people of South Africa we express our heartfelt condolences to his wife and the rest of the family, who have lost a husband, father and grandfather," said Mbeki.

"In this hour of need our thoughts and prayers go to his family. May his soul rest in peace."

A symbol of apartheid

In his tribute, former president Nelson Mandela said Botha's death should serve as a reminder of the country's "horribly divided past".

However, it should also serve to remind South Africans of how citizens of all persuasions ultimately came together to save the country from destruction, he said.

"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," said Mandela.

His correspondence with Botha while in prison was an important part of the initial stages of the process, as was his agreement to a personal meeting in Tuynhuys, he said.

Mandela expressed his sincere condolences to Botha's wife, Barbara, and the rest of his family.

In his reaction, Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon on Wednesday expressed sympathy and extended his condolences to Botha's wife and children.

A reformer without results

Leon said Botha's legacy will be remembered for many years.

"On the one hand, he presided over a South Africa which was increasingly fractured and engulfed by an incipient civil war. He placed great reliance on the state security apparatus to suppress unrest.

"On the other hand it was under Mr Botha that the National Party started to turn its back on Verwoerdian apartheid," Leon said.

He said Botha was, in many ways, described as a reformer without results.

His "Adapt or Die" call to his own party started a process which proved to be irreversible, Leon added.

"Unfortunately he was not able to see the very process he had started through to its logical and necessary conclusion.

"He was undoubtedly an impassioned champion of the area which had served as his parliamentary constituency for 40 years. He will not be forgotten," said Leon.

- SAPA