Botha trial ends without his own evidence

The trial of the former South African President, Mr P.W

The trial of the former South African President, Mr P.W. Botha, for ignoring subpoenas to appear before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) drew to a close yesterday, without the last but one of South Africa's former Afrikaner heads of government uttering a word in his defence.

As Mr Botha's style as an active politician was to confront and face down his adversaries, he was presumably acting on the advice of his lawyers - and possibly his doctors - when he opted not to give evidence in his own defence.

His deputy attorney, Mr George Morrison, contended in his closing argument that Mr Botha (82) had neither a valid legal reason nor a cogent reason for refusing to testify before the TRC.

If he had strong objections, he should have either raised them directly with the TRC or applied to the High Court to set them aside, Mr Morrison told the Regional Court in the small town of George.

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He "deliberately" rejected both courses and chose to ignore the subpoenas, Mr Morrison said, adding: "Subpoenas cannot simply be flouted. They must be set aside by a court on review."

Mr Botha, who labelled the TRC "a circus" and accused it of bias against the Afrikaner people in the verbal skirmishes before the start of the trial, was head of South Africa's State Security Council or SSC during the 1980s, when the African National Congress-led rebellion against white rule intensified markedly. During that time, counter-insurgency strategy was planned in the SSC.

The TRC wanted to question Mr Botha to establish whether as SSC chairman he had approved of, or connived at the murder, of anti-apartheid activists.

During Mr Botha's trial, evidence was presented of the assassination of political foes by a succession of witnesses Those witnesses included Eugene de Kock, a former commander of a dreaded police "death squad", who is serving a 212 year prison sentence on multiple charges including murder.

In written submissions to the TRC before the court Mr Botha denied that he, as an Afrikaner and a Christian, had ever sanctioned the wilful murder of political adversaries, as distinct from pre-emptive cross-border raids against ANC guerrillas planning attacks of their own.

The last TRC witness told the trial court yesterday that of the 7,060 applications for amnesty, nearly 350 had come from former security force members. They had detailed their involvement in 2,500 episodes for which they sought indemnity.

The figures were cited to demonstrate how pervasive of human rights by the security forces was and, by extension, to substantiate the argument that it was sanctioned, directly or indirectly, by the higher authority.

Mr Botha's lawyers counted that the 350 security force amnesty applicants represented only a minute proportion of the total forces at the then government's disposal and proved Mr Botha's point that gross abuse of human rights by the security forces was the work of an aberrant minority rather than a deliberate policy.

The trial was adjourned until August 17th, when Mr Botha's counsel will complete their final argument. The expectation yesterday was that judgment might be delivered the next day.