REACTION TO BOTHA'S DEATH SUBDUED

C O N F I D E N T I A L PRETORIA 004661 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/08/2016 TAGS: PGOV SF SUBJECT: REACTION TO BOTHA'S DEATH SUBDUED Classified By: Political Counselor Raymond L. Brown. Reasons 1.4(b) an d (d). ¶1. (U) Official South African Government responses to the 31 October death of former South African President P.W. Botha -- whose temper, ruthlessness, and overbearing leadership style earned him the nickname the "Big Crocodile" -- have been overwhelmingly magnanimous, illustrating how far South Africa has come in terms of reconciliation and race relations. In his weekly ANC column, President Mbeki said the Government and the ANC had decided to honor all leaders equally, including architects of apartheid, because of a commitment to national reconciliation. He also added that South Africa needs "unqualified respect for the principle and practice of forgiveness." Mbeki even attended Botha's funeral on 08 November. Former President Nelson Mandela, who was imprisoned during Botha's entire tenure, said that Botha's death should remind South Africans of their "horribly divided past," but also that they should remember Botha for the steps he took to pave the way toward eventual peacefully negotiated settlement in the country. Even Reverend Frank Chikane, who narrowly escaped death in 1989 when his clothes were laced with pesticides by the apartheid regime, rushed to Botha's house to pay the Government's condolences soon after his death. ¶2. (SBU) Not everyone, however, has been as willing to forgive and forget. COSATU, for example, rejected Government statements crediting Botha with taking steps to transform South Africa into a democracy, instead labeling Botha "a brutal dictator who would be remembered with disgust and hatred." (NOTE: Botha created separate parliamentary chambers for Indians and coloreds (1982),but never included blacks. He also lifted restrictions on interracial sex and marriage. END NOTE.) The Pan-African Congress said that flying the flag at half-mast and the state's offer of a state funeral -- which Botha's family declined -- was "an insult to African people." The Young Communist League pointed out that the "racist" Botha "dehumanized a majority of the black South Africans" and "destabilized Southern Africa." One demonstrator at the funeral told SaFM radio that she hoped Both would be met "on the other side" by murdered ANC leader Chris Hani "with a pitchfork" and Steve Biko, the Black Power proponent who died in police custody, "with a shovel." ¶3. (C) Though Government figures clearly have given Botha more credit than he deserves for South Africa's democratic transition, there has been no debate about what Botha represented. No one has publicly defended his policies or brutality. Coming closest were remarks from Koos van der Merwe, the Inkatha Freedom Party chief whip, who questioned why Botha should have apologized for doing what he so strongly believed in. Van der Merwe was referring to Botha's steadfast refusal to appear before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, believing he had nothing to repent. ¶4. (C) While many blacks are outraged by the Government's generous response, whites have been pleased and surprised, which has garnered Mbeki political goodwill from the white community, according to Ivor Jenkins, Deputy Director of the Institute of Democracy in South Africa. Jenkins also believes that Mbeki's reaction was a conscious decision to reach out to the Afrikaaner community and may reflect his desire to shape his legacy (perhaps adding conciliator to his attributes) during his last two years in office. ¶5. (C) COMMENT: Reactions to Botha's death have been more muted than one would have expected and signify Botha's irrelevance to today's South Africa. They also show that the country's wounds, while perhaps not completely healed, are closing and that South Africans are coming to terms with their brutal history. Most telling was Botha's funeral, attended mostly by elderly whites, which was briefly marred not by large political protests or celebrations, but rather by the arrest of two men who stole someone's cell phone. END COMMENT. BOST