YouSaid · the spoken record

Botha

lines on the record: 45
first: 1992-07-16
most recent: 1992-07-16
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“My Government's constitutional proposals are fully in line with the best traditions of free societies and successful modern democracies. The same should apply to the economy. My Government is committed to a”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“It has also been alleged that my Government is aiming at a transitional government which would be permanent and which would make it permanently impossible to change the transitional constitution. This is not true. If the transitional constitution has not been replaced within three years - and I say this on record in this Council today - a general election will held. So it is not open-ended. There can be no justification for the claim that our constitutional proposals constitute a desire to cling to power or to entrench a white veto. The whites are not the majority in any of the regions in South Africa, and, as I said earlier, the book on apartheid was closed in the referendum which my Government won on 17 March.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“I have heard no one say that the federal system in Nigeria is not democratic; I have heard no one say that the federal system in the United States is not democratic. Our proposal is that agreement must be reached regarding the powers, functions and boundaries of regions and regional Governments prior to the coming into operation of the transitional constitution, There are an important number of African Heads of State who agreed with me personally when I visited them in their capitals that our proposals are acceptable to them. They told me that in their experience, if you do not allow autonomy to certain regions, you are creating a recipe for bloodshed.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“Such a Government, of course, cannot come about in a constitutional void. A transitional Government requires a transitional constitution. This was and remains our primary objective at CODESA. As regards the concept of a constituent assembly, my Government has proposed that the final constitution be drawn up by a transitional National Assembly, to be elected on the basis of universal suffrage. During CODESA 2, the Government and various other parties made a major concession to the ANC Communist Party alliance by agreeing that the Senate, the second chamber we have in mind of the transitional parliament, need not participate in the drafting of the final constitution. However, the Government and various other parties strongly support a regional government system based on the concept of federalism, as in countries in Africa.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“Hence, my Government's constitutional proposals are specifically designed to ensure that in the new South Africa, government will be by the consent of the governed; government will be accountable through free and regular elections ina multi-party system on the basis of one person, one vote; and government will be brought closer to the people through the devolution of power to autonomous regions. Human rights will be entrenched in the constitution and be protected by an independent judiciary. The impression has been created that my Government is opposed to an interim government and that it favours the writing of a constitution by a body which is not democratically elected. This is not true. My Government, in fact, favours the expeditious establishment of a transitional Government.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“It includes the right to work when others wish to strike; the right to educate children when others wish to burn down the schools; the right to medical care when others wish to shut down the hospitals; and, most importantly in the current context, the right to say no to violence without becoming yet another victim of that violence. If we are to have peace, we shall have to respect the right of others to differ. This is equally true if we are to have a democracy.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“As we differ ideologically, so do our visions of peace and democracy. My Government also pursues peace and democracy; but more than that, it also pursues prosperity. Peace, in my Government's view, is more than the absence of violence and war, It includes the right of citizens to live in an environment of tolerance, free from the fear of intimidation, necklacing, murder and other forms of township tyranny. It includes the right to differ from those who preach revolution, armed struggle and mass action and the right to have their views and choices suitably respected.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“I can also report a further potentially positive development that emerged on 14 July 1992 from a series of meetings which the International Panel on Mass Demonstrations, Marches and Picketing has held with representatives of the South African Police, the African National Congress, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the Department of Justice and the Inkatha Freedom Party. This development offers an opportunity for opposing parties and the South African Police to act jointly in preventing violence and become an example of what can be achieved if we in South Africa realize that the solutions are in our hands and minds. While most people and most political parties support peace and democracy, it is a problem that they do not mean the same things and they do not use the same words.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“As regards the hostels, President De Klerk reconfirmed two days ago the policy decisions which we have already taken in this regard, including the provision of substantial funds for the upgrading and conversion of this type of accommodation, and urgent consultation directly with the inhabitants, neighbouring townships and local authorities. Further consideration is being given to the specific recommendations of the Goldstone Commission in this regard and, where appropriate, certain aspects will be referred back to the Commission for further investigation of this very complex issue. What I am saying to the Council is that a meeting under the chairmanship of President De Klerk himself took place. This is how serious we consider these matters.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“In response President de Klerk announced two days ago that 32 Battalion is to be disbanded and its members absorbed into other existing units of the Defence Force; that the special Crime Investigation Support Unit in which former Koevoet members were serving was to be disbanded and its members who wished to join the South African Police on a permanent basis be allowed to do so. They are to be employed mainly in the combating of livestock theft on a decentralized basis; furthermore, that the carrying of all dangerous weapons in public places in areas of unrest is to be prohibited.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“Incidents are reported in these newspapers which trace the root cause of the tragedy to the conflict between Inkatha on the one hand, and the ANC/Communist Party alliance on the other, thus endorsing the findings of the Goldstone Commission on the issue of violence in general. In the course of its investigations into the causes of violence, the Goldstone Commission made several recommendations. These included criticism of the deployment of 32 Battalion by the South African Defence Force and the former Koevoet unit by the South African Police. The Commission also criticized the carrying of traditional weapons and certain aspects affecting the accommodation of single migrant workers in hostels. The Government regards the criticism of the Goldstone Commission in a serious "light.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“The Council will wish to note that important reports and commentaries have appeared in some of the most influential newspapers in a number of countries over the past few days and weeks. I can refer the Council to The Daily Express (London), 23 June 1992; the Saudi Gazette, 25 June 1992; The Sunday Times (Johannesburg), 28 June 1992; The Wall Street Journal, 7 and 10 July 1992; The Times (London), 14 July 1992; The Daily Telegraph (London), 14 July 1992; The Washington Post, 13 and 15 July; De Telegraaf (Netherlands), 14 July 1992; Newsweek, 6 July, 1992; The Guardian (London), 30 June, 1992: and Neue Zurcher Zeitung (Switzerland), 25 June 1992. The general tone of all these reports and commentaries is that the causes of the killings should be properly investigated before any blame can be apportioned, and these are responsible newspapers.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“Eighty-two residents of the Kwa-~Madala Hostel have been arrested on suspicion of murder; more than 1,000 sworn statements have been taken and a large number of weapons have been submitted for forensic testing. The police have also recovered personal belongings claimed by the residents of Boipatong, which were allegedly stolen on the night of the incident. It is therefore clear that the law-enforcement authorities are doing everything within their power to see that justice prevails. They must, however, proceed within the framework legal procedures. There is no longer a state of emergency in South Africa. The tragedy of Boipatong has been extensively covered by the news media throughout the world.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“He says, "No evidence was submitted to the Commission which in any way justifies allegations of any direct complicity in the planning of current violence by the State President, any member of the Cabinet or any highly placed officer in the South African Police or Defence Force. 'In the absence of such evidence the Commission considers that allegations to the effect that Government and Security Force leaders are themselves directly responsible for the commission of violence are unwise, unfair and dangerous. "They are dangerous particularly because they are likely to exacerbate the climate of violence and frustrate and retard attempts to curb violence." I can also report that the police have worked round the clock, making every conceivable effort to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“In spite of this, I can now report to the Council that the police and the Goldstone Commission made good progress with their investigation into the Boipatong events. The Commission, at the State President's suggestion, coopted Mr. Justice Baghwati, former Chief Justice of India, for this task. Professor Wadddington, a professor of criminal law at Reading University in the United Kingdom, and two senior British police officers joined the police investigation. Knowing full well that aspects of Judge Goldstone's report are critical ef the Government, I wish nevertheless to read out to members an extract from his Interim Report on Boipatong.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“If we are to curb this violence, then all our efforts must be harnessed in creating the means of doing so." We respect Judge Goldstone's findings, and also those which are critical of official conduct. I urge the ANC/Communist Party alliance to do likewise. Painful revelations may come to the fore, painful revelations as regards excesses and irregular actions of individuals in official agencies. But that is precisely the purpose of an open society. We do not claim perfection. Our duty is to assure openness and prosecution of irregularities. The Boipatong tragedy was immediately and maximally exploited without waiting for the facts to be established by proper investigation. Furthermore, witnesses were instructed not to cooperate with the police investigation.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“Yet there are those who continue to make the charge that my Government instigates violence. I repeat my Government's invitation to anybody who believes he has evidence to that effect to come forward in order that such cliaims can be tested. Judge Goldstone stated in his Second Interim Report, "The Commission has at all times been convinced, and remains so, that factual findings cannot be made against individuals, groups or organizations on the basis of untested evidence." He also said, "No good purpose will be served by merely conducting further inquiries in order to apportion the blame for past violence. It must be accepted that the individual policemen, African National Congress supporters and Inkatha Freedom Party supporters have been guilty of serious criminal conduct in this regard.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“We have up to 2 million foreign workers from our neighbouring States taking jobs from our own people, but we cannot send them back because they feed back home perhaps 6 million to 7 million members of their families. Boipatong and ail the other instances of wanton killing give us as much pain as they do any other party. That is precisely why President De Kierk visited Boipatong: to share in the grief of the bereaved. He was greeted with goodwill on his way there but as soon as some demonstrators appeared, it became clear that his visit was being used as an excuse by certain parties to further their political aims. Nevertheless, I assure the Council that we will continue our efforts.to demonstrate to our people, all our people, that we care and that we shall not deviate from our firm resolve to end violence.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“All the leaders must act jointly and they must agree to cooperate unconditionally in the existing mechanisms designed to control and reduce the violence or we must consider additional structures and steps if the existing ones are found to be ineffective. Another dimension of the violence - I said it is multidimentional - is the role played by the radicals on the far left and the far right. They have one common objective: the failure of negotiations towards a new constitution in which they do not wish to participate. They do not want a democratic constitution. Yet another factor that contributes towards the violence is the high crime rate due in large measure to the growing unemployment in the country.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“It is trusted that the ANC/Communist Party alliance would reconsider their attitude on this important matter and join the Government in its resolve to curb violence. In other efforts to put an end to the violence, the Government has increased the police force and the police budget. The police budget increased by nearly 90 per cent between 1990-1991 and 1992-1993, from some R3 billion to over R5.6 billion. A recruitment drive from 1 July 1990 to 30 June 1991 led to an increase in the police force of 20,500. A new campaign is aimed at expanding it by a further 11,000, while its logistic capability is being improved by the acquisition of modern equipment.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“The agenda for such a meeting could be to consider - I want to emphasize that this meeting can still take place, and I invite here today, in this Council, the ANC and Inkatha to come to this meeting - the following agenda: (a) an active full-time monitoring mechanism on the adequacy, efficacy and performance of all the instruments and processes already in place to combat violence and intimidation; and (b) the advisability of a joint monitoring body through which the three parties could act to defuse and solve problems that could give rise to violence. The role of the international community, including this Council, in an observer or other acceptable capacity could be considered, especially in relation to this item. To date Mr. Mandela has responded negatively.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“As recently as 2 July President De Klerk again proposed to Mr. Mandela an urgent meeting with himself, Mr. Mandela and Mr. Buthelezi, because it is a fact that most of the violence occurs between the supporters of the ANC/Communist Party alliance, on the one hand, and the Inkatha Freedom Party, on the other hand.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“It makes no sense ~ no sense whatsoever. The truth is that President De Klerk has taken initiative upon initiative to combat the violence, often without the support of other parties. It was as a result of his initiative that the National Peace Accord came into being on 14 September last year. It was his initiative that led to the appointment of the Goldstone Commission, with the consent of the ANC and Inkatha, and I can testify to this. President De Klerk has made many attempts to arrange a joint meeting between himself and Mr. Mandela and Mr. Buthelezi in order to create a firm impression in the minds of our people that the leaders of the three main parties are ad idem, are together, on the issue of violence and that they would act jointly to reduce it. So far it has not been possible to arrange such a meeting.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“That would be against everything my Government stands for; it would violate every principle and every policy objective which we pursue. Not only are the killings reprehensible but they run counter to South Africa's urgent need for investment, economic growth and job creation. Furthermore - and who should know it better than I? - we have as a result of the removal of apartheid succeeded in persuading important countries all over the world to lift Sanctions in some form or another. How can it be argued that we, as a Government, foment violence, knowing what the result would be, both at home and abroad? It is beyond my comprehension that I can be Minister of Foreign Affairs, who fought so hard to get sanctions removed, and then be part of some scheme in my country to destroy the very objectives that I have pursued all my life.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“I urge the Council to accept once and for all that my Party is not a white party any longer. We offer a political home to every South African subscribing to the Party's principles. Not only do we reject racism; we are committed to a Constitution that will make it impossible to allocate any rights on the basis of race or colour. We reject the notion that moral norms are the prerogative of any racial or ethnic group. We want to build a new nation with shared values as the only binding force. A perception has been created, particularly after the tragic event at Boipatong on 17 June that the South African Government is somehow or another involved in either fomenting violence or acquiescing in violence. To accuse the Government of fostering violence is an insult.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“Their historical, natural differences have come to the fore; differences which, among other things, include both ideological and ethnic differences. It hurts me to be accused of fomenting violence between ethnic groups in my country when we have at last removed ourselves from apartheid. What interest would I have when my Party's membership is open and when we are recruiting black members, because it is only with the sufficient support of black members can we become a majority party. We have every intention of making the National Party a majority party. That can only be done if we succeed in gaining a substantial number of votes from every section of our people. To entrench a white veto would alienate voters, deny us a majority and repudiate the referendum result. Surely that must be clear to every member of the Council.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“It is my responsibility and duty, and we owe it to each other, to discuss these matters with each other. 'This is the only way to remove suspicion. And this is our duty. These developments illustrate how difficult the task of creating a climate conducive to peaceful negotiations has become. My Government has been reminded throughout this debate that it bears the primary responsibility for maintaining order. Yes, correct. My Government accepts that responsibility but that does not mean that the other parties to the National Peace Accord are absolved from their commitments. All of us signed that Accord. All of us undertook certain firm categoric commitments. In the days of apartheid, a variety of differing political groups were united in their opposition to the policies of the day. Now that apartheid has gone, they are no longer united.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“These weapons included automatic assault rifles and grenade launchers and would be transported with the assistance of the Zimbabwean army. These reports should be seen against the background of the admission by an ANC National Executive Committee member, Mr. Joe Modise. He admitted that there was an ANC arsenal located outside Luanda. The arsenal comprises some 27,000 tons of armaments, including over 2,000 AK-47 rifles and 2 million rounds of ammunition. If these reports are correct, it is cause for grave concern. However, there is therefore all the more reason for us to discuss these matters rather than simply walking away from the negotiating process, and I cannot, as I am now talking to you, allege here that the ANC leadership was aware of these reports.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“In fact, this decision was part of an agreement reached with my Government and embodied in the Pretoria Minute of 6 August 1990. I know: I was personally present at the meeting. In practice, substantial evidence reveals that the major cause of death in incidents of violence in South Africa is the use of AK-47 assault rifles. Only two days ago, the ANC/Communist Party alliance, in a public statement, admitted to the existence of arms caches inside South Africa. It is not me telling the story: Tney said so. On the very day of my departure for New York last Sunday to attend this meeting, information reached us that the ANC/Communist Party alliance had issued instructions to its representative in Harare to transfer weapons stored at Mashvinga in Zimbabwe to the northern border of the Transvaal for infiltration into South Africa.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“Sadly, violence emerged in the wake of the dismantling of apartheid. It could perhaps be argued that no society could attempt so fundamental a change without discord and turbulence, without violence and instability. But for a Government, however, and for all people of good will, that is not acceptable. Every life lost, every person injured, is a cause for grief and sorrow, not only for the pain it inflicts, but also for the damage it does to us as a nation and the delays which it brings to our transformation process. It leaves an indelible stain on our national conscience. We cannot heal as a nation when so many of our countrymen are bleeding. The violence must end. The ANC/Communist Party alliance claims to be the only victim of violence. It bases its claim on what it describes as its unilateral decision to suspend violence.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“Perhaps nothing illustrates this point more dramatically than the overwhelming support which President de Klerk received in March this year, when, in a referendum among white voters, nearly 70 per cent chose the path of negotiation for a future of power-sharing among all our people. More than that, it represents a clear and definitive break with the past and signals the irreversibility of changes initiated by President de Klerk. In short, the referendum closed the book on apartheid finally. It struck me that our African friends display a greater satisfaction as the result of the referendum than the rest of the world. I am grateful that our African friends saw in the referendum a final break with apartheid. The causes of the violence in South Africa are complex and multidimensional.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“Obstacles to negotiations arose not only because of deep-rooted differences between my Government and the ANC/Communist Party alliance but also because of fundamental differences between the alliance and other parties in South Africa. These differences will arise throughout the process of negotiation, but whenever they occur they should form the agenda of discussions in which we stand ready to participate. For months the world has witnessed the major parties in South Africa negotiating a new future. This Council will know that much has been achieved. It has been a tough learning process for all of us. I am encouraged by the fact that, despite our differences, the capacity of South Africans for reconciliation and compromise has been and continues to be in ample evidence.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“A watershed in South Africa's political history was reached when the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) met for the first time in December 1991 to discuss my country's political future. The fact that CODESA has twice been convened proves that my Government honoured its undertaking to move as speedily as possible towards agreement on a new constitution for South Africa. We shall not waver from this course. I would urge here today that others stay the course with us. Negotiation is not the best alternative: It is the only alternative. Withdrawal from discussion will not bring about a solution. Neither will threats.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“However, the fundamental purpose of President de Klerk's initiatives since his assumption of office, and every legislative and policy decision of the Government has exactly, precisely, been to rectify that position. This is what it is about. It is no longer in question. It is not an issue. The issue is the negotiation of a new constitution to give effect to the changed situation. But with all respect to my friends in the ANC/Communist Party alliance, there is a comparable question which they ought to answer: have you shed the doctrines which the South African Communist Party insists on including in a new constitution? Have you shed those doctrines? Are you prepared to reveal the names of the members of the South African Communist Party - one of the oldest communist parties in the world - serving in the ANC Executive? Why keep it secret?”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“Subsequently, the alliance has expressed reservations and claimed that there were still people in prison who qualified for politicai-prisoner status. This, I may say, is not in terms of the Norgaard principles. However, my Government is prepared to discuss a package deal with the ANC/Communist Party alliance to dispose of a number of outstanding matters, which could include the dispute on the question of political prisoners. This is one of the matters which should he addressed in bilateral talks between the Government and the ANC/Communist Party alliance. We still hear the complaint that all South Africans are not represented in the current Parliament.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“All of these actions were followed by the following landmark steps taken by my Government in 1991: the abolition of the Group Areas Act, the Land Acts of 1913 and 1936 and the Population Registration Act, thus removing the three main pillars of apartheid; President de Klerk's initiative led to a Peace Summit and the signing of the National Peace Accord; and then there was the establishment of a permanent commission on public violence and intimidation under the chairmanship of Judge Goldstone. It is my Government's view that all political prisoners have been released. The ANC/Communist Party alliance, however, seemed to forget that in terms of an agreement signed by one of its senior representatives on 30 June 1991, they agreed that the matter was disposed of.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“In these documents my Government and the ANC/Communist Party alliance agreed on a common commitment towards the resolution of the climate of violence and intimidation, as well as a commitment to stability and the peaceful process of negotiation. Further measures taken by my Government in 1990 were: the abolition of the Separate Amenities Act; the lifting of the state of emergency throughout South Africa.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“This was what the State President committed the South African Government to achieving. It is beyond dispute that the measures taken by President de Klerk since then prove not only his resolve, but also his commitment to fulfil what he pledged to do. He did what he promised. On 2 February 1990, at the opening of Parliament, President de Klerk announced: the lifting of prohibitions on the African National Congress (ANC), the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC), the South African Communist Party and their subsidiary organizations; he announced that all political prisoners would be released; that existing security legislation would be drastically revised. The dedication of my Government to its goals was further illustrated by the signing in 1990 of the Groote Schuur and Pretoria Minutes.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“I have done so on many other occasions inside and outside South Africa. Against this background I greeted President F. W. de Klerk's assumption of office in 1989. I am proud to be a member of his Government, to have participated in tearing down the pillars of apartheid and in setting my country irrevocably on a course towards freedom and democracy for all our people. In his inauguration speech on 14 September 1989 President de Klerk stated the goal of the South African Government as: a totally changed South Africa; a South Africa which has rid itself of the antagonisms of the past; a South Africa free of domination or oppression in whatever form; a South Africa within which the democratic forces - all reasonable people - align themselves behind mutually acceptable goals and against radicalism, irrespective of where it comes from.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“The emotional yearning of our people had finally brought forth a sovereign State we could call our own Republic. Now, with the benefit of hindsight, it is clear that the dream could not iast, because apartheid became the foundation. The denial of human rights to our black compatriots robbed the dream of all morality. The inevitability of economic integration completed the demolition. In a painful sense the whites of South Africa became apartheid's victims, the Afrikaner as much as anybody else. We who had fought so hard, and paid such a terrible price for our own freedom, failed to realize that we could not truly be free until every South African could share that freedom with us. I have fought against racial discrimination all my life. In 1974 I stated my position in this Council. It is on record.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“During the Anglo-Boer War our forefathers captured the imagination of the whole world, defending their freedom against the mightiest colonial Power of the day, in what became Africa's first liberation war. The Afrikaner became Africa's first liberation movement. We lost that war. We paid a heavy price. The Afrikaner dreamt of a republic in which he could be free and independent and secure, where our nationalism and aspirations could find full expression, and where we could determine our own future. Our poets expressed our visions and fears, our shortcomings and hopes, in our own language - Afrikaans. We clustered ourselves around our poverty, our language, our churches, our schools, our farms. The dream of our own republic was realized in 1961.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“I want to make use of this opportunity today in this Council to express my appreciation to my African friends for their acceptance of the irreversibility of the changes which President de Klerk has initiated. For me personally this is a great moment, a moment of hope because of the understanding of many African countries for the complexities which confront us in transforming our country to a full democracy. Like the other peoples of Africa and the world, the Afrikaner has also yearned for freedom, security and the right to govern ourselves. My people embarked on the Great Trek, choosing to embrace the dangers and uncertainties of pioneer life and the freedom it promised, rather than submit to imperial domination. We fought for that freedom through numerous battles against overwhelming odds, at a time when Africa was being colonized.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“It was then clearer than ever that apartheid would make South Africa a loser everywhere. We are all children of history. Each of us is the product of our time and place on this Earth, and we are best understood in that context. I am a South African. I am also an Afrikaner. I belong to a people that settled in the south of Africa more than 300 years ago, before the American forefathers came here. We have struggled through the centuries to survive. We have established ourselves as part of Africa. We call ourselves and our language after our continent. Africa is part of us. And now that apartheid is going we are accepted as part of Africa.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“I am struck by the even-handedness of the Council's approach. We appreciate it. Before proceeding to address the main issue of violence, which is the central theme of this debate, I feel that it is incumbent on me to share with the Council my feelings as I walked through the passages of the United Nations building as well as the ruins of apartheid. The first time that I attended a United Nations session was in 1966. Some members here were a little younger. The International Court of Justice had just delivered its judgement in the case which Ethiopia and Liberia had brought against South Africa. The dismissal of the claims of Ethiopia and Liberia resulted in a political storm in the General Assembly. We won our legal case, but we lost the political case.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source
“As the representative of an African country I welcome the fact that this meeting is being held under the presidency of a fellow African. It is also the first occasion on which my Government has had the honour to address the Council while the Secretariat is under the stewardship of another distinguished African, Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali. My Government acknowledges the significant contributions of the President and Secretary-General and wishes them well in the execution of their responsibilities. With a few exceptions, the debate thus far has been characterized by a sincere desire to encourage South African leaders to join hands in curbing the violence in South Africa and to carry on with our task of negotiating a new constitution which would create a democratic, non-racial, united South Africa.”
1992-07-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3096 (1992) · source