Shackled by a national state of emergency and pinned under the bullying, finger-wagging rule of State President P.W. Botha, South Africa has long lain at the edge of despotism. Last week Botha pushed it over the line. Declaring himself fully recovered from the stroke he suffered in January, he reclaimed his position as head of state, in defiance of resolutions by the National Party's parliamentary and provincial organizations. Since he resigned as leader of the party last month and is not a member of Parliament or the . Cabinet, the chief executive is now accountable to no one.
Botha, 73, had...
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