Apartheid Minister Kobie Coetsee on the Mandela-Botha Meeting
On 8 July 1989, three days after the meeting between apartheid President P.W. Botha and Nelson Mandela, Kobie Coetsee, the apartheid Minister of Justice, issued a statement, with Mandela’s permission, about the meeting. The statement was interestingly compiled by Mike Louw, Deputy Director-General of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), which explained that no policy matters were discussed and that no negotiations took place. However, both Mandela and Botha confirmed their support for “peaceful development in South Africa”.
Subsequently, the news bothered the African National Congress (ANC) and its revolutionary allies, as they were unaware of the developments happening between Mandela and the apartheid government. In Orlando, Soweto, at a news conference held at the Mandela house, Winnie Mandela and the General-Secretary of the South African Council of Churches (SACC), Reverend Frank Chikane, dismissed the meeting as a political ploy to mislead the masses and the international community.
In addition, the Spokesperson of the ANC in Lusaka, Tom Sebina, maintained that the meeting was not to be regarded as the beginning of the negotiation process, but a mere gimmick by the Botha regime to gain an upper hand on the then pending white elections. The ANC office in London also did not believe the news, and accordingly issued a statement declaring that Mandela was outmanoeuvred by the racist regime and
