PW Botha: The Interviews / Die Onderhoude (DVD)

P.W. BOTHA (1916/01/12 - 2006/11/01)

At the age of 90 PW Botha is the most controversial living leader out of the apartheid era. Ten years ago he announced that he would be granting no more in-depth interviews to the media. Mark Williams of Thuthuka Productions decided that history would be well served if PW Botha changed his mind. He asked veteran TV journalist Cliff Saunders to approach PW and make an interview request. The answer was "yes" - and he was willing to be interviewed in both English and Afrikaans. The unhappy history of the interviews is well known: All television stations found" excuses" not to screen the Botha interviews. The only option left was to make copies available to a public that had indicated that it refused to be subjected to such" censorship".

Op 90 jarige leeftyd is PW Botha vandag die mees omstrede leier uit die Apartheid era. Tien jaar gelede het hy aangekondig dat hy glad nie meer in-diepte onderhoude aan die media sou toestaan nie. Mark Williams van Thuthuka Productions het besluit dat sonder so 'n onderhoud sou die geskiedenis armer wees. Hy het veteraan joernalis Cliff Saunders gevra om PW te nader vir 'n onderhoud. Die antwoord was "ja" - en hy was gewillig om beide in Engels en Afrikaans te praat. Die ongelukkige geskiedens van die onderhoude is goed bekend: Al die televisie stasies het "verskonings" gehad om nie die onderhoude uit te saai nice. Die enigste alternatief was om kopiee beskikbaar te stel aan 'n publiek wat aangedui het dat hulle nie te vinde is vir sulke "sensorskap" nie.

The DVD contains both interviews conducted on 4 November 2005. This would've been PW's last interview.

Duration: Afrikaans 65.33 mins; English 49.41