P. W. Botha Quotes

No Prime Minister before me has been attacked more viciously than I am today.

We are a strong country in a rather sick world. … Our problems are not so much racial as radicals wish to make them.

The white people who came here lived at a very much higher standard than the indigenous peoples, and with a very rich tradition which they brought with them from Europe.

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

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.

... I am not prepared to build the type of wall you built in Berlin. In South Africa we only build walls for houses.

Our enemies latched unto the word "apartheid" and in a very sly manner transformed it into the strongest weapon in the onslaught against freedom and civilization in our country.

Half a century ago in this court I was sworn in as the Member of Parliament for George. And here I am today … I am not better than General De Wet. I am not better than President Steyn. Like them I stand firm in my principles. I can do no different. So help me God.

The separation of races happened long before the Nationalist Government. God separated the races.

There is only one element that can break the Afrikaner … and that is the Afrikaner himself.

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

I feel more welcome among the black communities than I do among Coloureds

The fact is that the Westminster system has not worked anywhere in Africa – not even in England because the Scots and Welsh are moving away from it.

I have come to the realisation and conviction that the struggle in South Africa is not between White, Black and Brown, but between Christian civilized standards and the powers of chaos.

We do not want chaos in South Africa.