SOUTH AFRICA: There was no outpouring of emotion, little bitterness and less sorrow. Instead, the death of PW Botha - the hardline former president of apartheid South Africa - was predominantly met with a shrug of indifference yesterday.
There will be no state funeral for the former president which was offered by the South African government but declined by his wife, Barbara, and family. Instead, national flags will be flown at half mast from today until the eve of the funeral - a family-only event scheduled for November 8th.
The African National Congress (ANC), former arch-foe of the man who revelled in his reputation as the Groot Krokodil (Afrikaans for "The Big Crocodile"), extended its condolences to Mr Botha's family and friends.
Nelson Mandela, the country's first black president, accentuated the positives, saying Mr Botha took steps "to pave the way towards the eventual peacefully negotiated settlement in our country".
FW de Klerk, who succeeded Mr Botha as president in a cabinet rebellion in 1989, recalled his "overbearing leadership style" as well as difficult personality.
But for many South Africans, Mr Botha's relevance has long since past, his prime legacy being his failure to adapt to his loss of power. Having banished himself to the town of Wilderness in the Western Cape, the former president lived out his years in the so-called "Rainbow Nation" in unrepentant obscurity.
Alex Boraine, the former Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) deputy chair, said Mr Botha's death was "almost irrelevant" because he was stuck in the past.
Kader Asmal, a former ANC government minister who was exiled in Ireland during the apartheid era, said Mr Botha had "abused the TRC, which was a mark of the man.
"He had no redeeming features. He was thick-skinned, abusive and unrepentant. He was known by his own people as a thug."
Prof Asmal said that were there to have been a state funeral he would not have attended. "De Valera signed the book of condolences after Hitler died as a matter of protocol. But I don't have to follow protocol," he said.
Mr Mandela said: "The passing of Mr Botha should serve to remind us not only of our horribly divided past but also of how South Africans from all persuasions ultimately came together to save our country from self-destruction." He added: "Our correspondence with Mr Botha while we were in prison was an important part of those initial stages" of dialogue, a point echoed by the president and ANC leader Thabo Mbeki.
"It stands to his credit that when he realised the futility of fighting against what was right and inevitable, he, in his own way, realised that South Africans had no alternative but to reach out to one another," he said
Mr de Klerk said Mr Botha had been keenly aware of the need for reform. "He allowed free trade union activity and presided over the repeal of almost 100 discriminatory laws."
Another political veteran, former opposition MP Helen Suzman, said Mr Botha was "a bad-tempered, irate debater and a bully, and often very personal in his attacks" but expressed her condolences to his family.
The Broederbond, the secretive Afrikaner organisation that Mr Botha once led and which in effect ruled South Africa, said many facets of his life were controversial but it wanted to express its great appreciation for the former president's contribution. "History will judge him as a man who with great energy made a vital contribution to placing South Africa on a course that made a better life possible for all its people," the group said.
