Botha Given Apology for Beach Invasion
The leader of the mixed-race House of Parliament today apologized to President Pieter W. Botha for swimming at a “whites only” beach.
The apology by Labor Party leader Alan Hendrickse averted a crisis that Botha said could have led to the dissolution of Parliament.
Botha made the letter public at a news conference. The president said he had told Hendrickse he must apologize or be dismissed as a Cabinet member and head of the council of ministers in the House of Representatives.
The president said dismissing Hendrickse would have forced him to dissolve Parliament, apparently requiring new elections for all three houses. Elections for the white chamber of Parliament are planned for sometime this year.
Blacks Not Represented
The Parliament created in the 1984 constitution has chambers for whites, Asians, and people of mixed race. Blacks are not represented.
The apology stemmed from a controversy over blacks and people of mixed race swimming at beaches designated for whites. On Jan. 4, Hendrickse led about 30 supporters into the surf at King’s Beach in Port Elizabeth, declaring opposition to the Group Areas Act and saying: “This is God’s beach.”
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