Word: botha
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...thus unfortunate that the Crimson in their Thursday feature on the South African Internship scheme sought to describe such people as "moderate," when in fact they represent some of the most dangerous elements in South Africa. Their role in sustaining Botha's rule is reminiscent of that of the German liberals towards Bismarck's regime: they are a "loyal opposition" which is unwilling to risk the loss of its social privilege by making real alliances for democracy with the majority. By being willing to participate in Botha's sick charade of democracy, they undermine the possibility of creating the South...
...last-minute addition to Botha's 27-minute speech, the proposal was dismissed by critics as a bit of charlatanry aimed at emphasizing South Africa's solidarity with the West against Soviet Communism. Declared Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu, the winner of the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize: "What has Nelson's release to do with Sakharov? I can't see why they are linked. It looks like a ploy that a politician has thought up, that will sound good to ears in the West (and show) that he is concerned about prisoners of conscience --when he's got so many prisoners...
...Botha confined the remainder of his speech to summarizing the government's plans for racial reform. He promised to restore South African citizenship to blacks who live within South Africa but whose citizenship previously had been assigned to one of four "independent" tribal homelands. He also proposed extending to blacks in urban townships the right to buy, instead of merely rent, their own homes. He affirmed that the government will issue an identity document to South Africans of all races, replacing the "passes" that blacks are currently required to carry at all times...
...high point of the speech came when Botha declared apartheid "outdated," causing many M.P.s to chorus "Hoor, hoor! " (Hear, hear!). White businessmen were generally encouraged, though many probably agreed with the opposition member who complained that Botha's ideas merely added up to "apartheid with a smiling face." Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert, the leader of the white opposition Progressive Federal Party, said the President's approach was "welcome," but wanted to see whether "substance will follow rhetoric...
...same evening, Botha appeared on television channels that broadcast in the Sotho, Tswana, Xhosa and Zulu languages and told their predominantly black viewers, "The time has come for us South Africans to join together to negotiate the structures that we want." From its headquarters in neighboring Zambia, however, the A.N.C. dismissed Botha's overtures, which it said demonstrated that he was "committed to the maintenance of white-minority domination...