P. W. Botha

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

"With the with­drawal of Britain east of the Suez and the consequent vacuum caused in the Middle East, and the stocking of arsenals in some African states by Russia and China, the dangers threatening South Africa today are greater than ever before."

"It should be noted that refugees are crossing the border from southern Angola to South-West Africa – not the other way round. There is no aggression from our side."

"The United States needs a man at the helm who knows some psychology, who would know that you can't try to dictate to a people from abroad without stiffening their resistance."

"The Cubans are not in Africa out of love."

"No more mine-laying. No more murder. No more abduction of women and children. No more attacks on headmen. No more raids across the border. So long as these conditions do not exist there will be no withdrawal [from South-West Africa] of South African troops."

"I have been to Switzerland before but not to this [Paul Kruger's] house or to a Swiss bank."

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

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

"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."

"Many refugees – White, Brown and Black – flee to South Africa. Why? Here they know they have safety."

"Where in the whole wide world today can you find a more just society than South Africa has?"

"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."

"It's a psychological onslaught, an economic one, a diplomatic one, a military onslaught – a total onslaught."

"There is not an Indian community in the world that is better off than the Indians in South Africa. That is the type of apartheid that I stand for. That is the type of apartheid that is not dead."

"Accept where I am going or I will not lead you."

"I hate no black man. I hate no brown man. The same God that made me put them there too. My God is not only for Afrikaners."

"Adapt or die."

"Mandela has overstepped the mark. He has broken the law. The judiciary of this country has put him where he belongs according to the rules of democracy."

"We do not know what tomorrow will bring. We are not prophets. This is a step in the dark. We can only proceed into the future with faith."

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

"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."

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

"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."

"We dare not see ourselves as a chosen people. We are called people - called to a particular task, just as every nation is a called people."

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

"The Republic of South Africa has a new formula under the National Party's leadership: black nations can get freedom without firing shots or revolution."

"We do not force people to move to new homes, we coerce them. [Some believe he meant to say "convince"]"

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

"I am tired of constantly hearing how guilty the Afrikaner and the National Party are and the time has come that this myth be crushed."

"I believe we are today crossing the Rubicon, Mr Chairman. In South Africa there can be no turning back. I have a manifesto for the future of our country and we must engage in positive action in the months and years that lie ahead."

"Lord Milner had, in the forced Peace of Vereeniging ensured that there was to be no franchise for black people after the introduction of self-government – which was never intended. It was only after half a century that an Afrikaner government started doing something about black rights."

"Knowing [Mandela] will start up with violence again, I, as a responsible head of state, must release him so that he can carry on with his violence, and then arrest him? What a nonsensical argument."

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

"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."

"Unfortunately [South Africa] has been badly repaid for her loyalty because the West has expelled her from the family circle while befriending the most dictatorial regimes on Earth."

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

"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."

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

"Never in the history of this country have so few people done so much for so many without acknowledgement by the international community."

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

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

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

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

"Because you could not translate the word apartheid into the more universal language of English, the wrong connotation was given to it."

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

"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 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."

"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."