P. W. Botha Quotes

We do not want chaos in South Africa.

There is only one element that can break the Afrikaner, and that is the Afrikaner himself. It is when the Afrikaner, like a baboonshot in the stomach, pulls out his own intestines. We must guard against that.

You could not claim for yourself that which you were not prepared to grant others.

The idea of an Afrikaner people as a cultural entity and religious group with a special language will be retained in South Africa as long as civilisation stands.

Nelson Mandela can rot in prison until he dies or I die, whichever takes longer.

Most blacks are happy, except those who have had other ideas pushed into their ears.

I want to warn young people who lend their ears to radicals and who play around with the music from Lusaka - they will end up inside the bear's fur coat, but they will no longer be able to live.

The security and happiness of all minority groups in South Africa depend on the Afrikaner. Whether they are English- or German- or Portuguese- or Italian-speaking, or even Jewish-speaking, makes no difference.

I am one of those who believe that there is no permanent home for even a section of the Bantu in the white area of South Africa and the destiny of South Africa depends on this essential point. If the principle of permanent residence for the black man in the area of the white is accepted then it is the beginning of the end of civilisation as we know it in this country.

I never have the nagging doubt of wondering whether perhaps I am wrong.

South Africa is not a jellyfish and is in many respects a swordfish.

I am sick and tired of the hollow parrot-cry of "Apartheid!" I've said many times that the word "Apartheid" means good neighbourliness.

Our history is responsible for the differences in the South African way of life.

I am not against the provision of the necessary medical assistance to Coloured and natives, because, unless they receive that medical aid, they become a source of danger to the European community.

The people who are opposing the policy of apartheid have not the courage of their convictions. They do not marry non-Europeans.

The free world wants to feed South Africa to the Red Crocodile [communism], to appease its hunger.

The acceptance of vertical differentiation with the built-in principle of self-determination must apply on as many levels as possible.