P. W. Botha refutes possibility of Black majority rule

At the height of mass revolt in the country and world condemnation, President P.W. Botha rules out any possibility of a Black majority government in South Africa at the National Party's Annual Congress in Durban. The principle was rejected despite the fact that it was a pillar of democratic rule in many countries of the world. It was a principle which was fully accepted in the White politics of this country. Only now that the stark reality has dawned that apartheid has failed, and that Blacks will one day have an effective voice in government, they are told by Whites here, and by their Western friends, that majority rule was a disaster to be avoided at all costs. Majority rule was acceptable to Whites as long as it was considered within the context of White politics. If Black political aspirations are to be accommodated, then some other formula must be found provided that formula does not raise Blacks to a position of equality with Whites. It was precisely because of its denial that the government has become the enemy of practically every Black man. It was that denial that has sparked off the current civil strife.