Botha Offers Reconciliation to Mandela

President Pieter W. Botha, sounding more conciliatory than ever on the prospects for Nelson R. Mandela’s freedom, again Thursday urged the jailed black leader to renounce violence and “make it possible for me to act in a humane way so we can have peace in South Africa.”

Botha’s remarks came amid increasing signs of government concern about the health of the 70-year-old prisoner, who has become an international symbol of the anti-apartheid struggle during his 26 years in prison.

Mandela was taken from his cell to a Cape Town hospital last week, where he is being treated for tuberculosis. Doctors say his chances for a full recovery are good.

In a rare personal comment on the country’s most famous prisoner, Justice Minister Kobie Coetsee said Thursday that he visited Mandela in the Tygerberg Hospital and found him to be “almost his old self . . . already enjoying jokes. He appears to have taken the first steps toward recovery.”

Botha brought up Mandela’s freedom during a provincial meeting of the ruling white National Party in the port city of Durban. The 72-year-old president recalled Mandela’s trial and 1964 life sentence on charges of sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the government.

“Now comes the question,” Botha said, “am I prepared to release him?

“Personally, I don’t think that at his age and condition it would be wise for him to choose to go back to prison,” the president said. “I hope he will make it possible for me to act in a humane way so we can have peace in South Africa instead of violence.”

It was the first time Botha has indicated that Mandela’s release could help bring peace to South Africa.

On several occasions, Botha has offered to free Mandela, leader of the outlawed African National Congress, if he disavowed violence and agreed not to campaign for violent upheaval in South Africa. Mandela has always turned down those conditions flatly, saying the government must first legalize the ANC, free its political prisoners and end apartheid.

Main Guerrilla Group

The ANC is the principal guerrilla group fighting the white minority-led government. From its headquarters in exile, it has been responsible for bombing hundreds of civilian as well as military targets inside South Africa, from shopping malls to courthouses.

Stoffel van der Merwe, the South African information minister, said at a news conference later Thursday that the government did not necessarily expect Mandela to sign a document opposing violence or even to publicly disavow ANC policies. It might be enough for Mandela to agree not to participate in or promote violent activities, Van der Merwe said.

Most political analysts say Mandela will refuse any government deals, but they say Botha’s remarks this week could signal changes in the government’s handling of Mandela’s case. The government believes Mandela’s release could touch off widespread violence in South Africa, but it worries that his death in jail would touch off nationwide unrest as well.

The government also is worried about the effect of releasing Mandela on the October municipal elections. Botha’s National Party is facing a strong challenge from right-wing whites in those elections, and freeing such a prominent prisoner or renewed violence could help the government’s conservative opposition.

World Please Rejected

Botha has rejected worldwide pleas for Mandela’s release, including some from the government’s own supporters, such as the Afrikaans-language Beeld newspaper.

But in a letter to the Mandela family this week, Botha said he was concerned about Mandela’s welfare, considered him a special prisoner and wanted him to receive the best medical treatment available. Botha also wished the ANC leader “a speedy recovery.”