“We do not force people to move to new homes, we coerce them. [Some believe he meant to say "convince"]”

—  P. W. Botha

Press conference in Switzerland on 2 June 1984, as cited by Andrew Donaldson, Sunday Times, 5 November 2006

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 9, 2022. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "We do not force people to move to new homes, we coerce them. [Some believe he meant to say "convince"]" by P. W. Botha?
P. W. Botha photo
P. W. Botha 52
South African prime minister 1916–2006

Related quotes

Robert Mugabe photo

“We cannot have a situation where people decide to sit in places not allowed and when police remove them they say no. We can’t have that. That is a revolt to the system. Some are crying that they were beaten. Yes you will be thoroughly beaten. When the police say move you move. If you don’t move, you invite the police to use force.”

Robert Mugabe (1924–2019) former President of Zimbabwe

Addressing delegates at the Zimbabwe embassy in Cairo, Egypt, on the arrest, torture and mistreatment of 15 trade union activists in Zimbabwe, 23 September 2006.
2000s, 2005 - 2009

Hillary Clinton photo
Theodoret photo

“I have often come across convinced adepts of Greek mythology who mock our faith under the pretext that we do not say anything else to those whom we instruct in divine things, but merely command them to believe.”

Theodoret (393–458) Syrian bishop

A Cure of Greek Maladies, Preface
In Theodoret of Cyrus (The Early Church Fathers), 2006, István Pásztori-Kupán, Routledge, p. 86 http://books.google.com/books?id=kRfnFbYsxekC&pg=PA86&dq=%22they+say+that+the+cult+of+martyrs+is+ridiculous%22&hl=en&ei=05LPTb3LDcLr0QGEo5CFDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22they%20say%20that%20the%20cult%20of%20martyrs%20is%20ridiculous%22&f=false
Alternate translation: I have often encountered certain people still attached to the fables of pagan mythology who ridicule our belief and assert that faith is all we require of those whom we give religious instruction. They also point with scorn at the Apostles' lack of education and stigmatize these men as uncouth and ignorant of the niceties of cultivated speech. They further say that the veneration shown to the martyrs is absurd. And as for the living seeking to obtain the intercession of the dead, this, they declare, is the utmost folly.
In Patrology, Johannes Quasten, Volume 1, p. 543. http://books.google.com/books?id=j3fYAAAAMAAJ&q=%22as+for+the+living+seeking+to+obtain+the+intercession+of+the+dead%22&dq=%22as+for+the+living+seeking+to+obtain+the+intercession+of+the+dead%22&hl=en&ei=8jrSTbKcMYbi0QGJv7XfCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAQ
Context: I have often come across convinced adepts of Greek mythology who mock our faith under the pretext that we do not say anything else to those whom we instruct in divine things, but merely command them to believe.
They accuse the apostles of ignorance, labelling them barbarians, because they do not have the subtlety of eloquence; and they say that the cult of martyrs is ridiculous, considering it completely absurd for the living to seek assistance from the dead.

Henry David Thoreau photo
Bertrand Russell photo

“We have moved from an age in which government leaders sought to do what was best for the people to one in which the political leadership is convinced it knows what is best for the people, whether they like it or not.”

Ralph Peters (1952) American military officer, writer, pundit

Source: 2000s, Beyond Terror: Strategy in a Changing World (2002), p. 133

Heber C. Kimball photo
Robert Mugabe photo

“We are now being coerced to accept and believe that a new political-cum-religious doctrine has arisen, namely that there is but one political God, George W Bush, and Tony Blair is his prophet.”

Robert Mugabe (1924–2019) former President of Zimbabwe

Accusing President Bush and Tony Blair at the UN General Assembly in New York on the US-led Invasion of Iraq. 2004-09-23 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3682352.stm
2000s, 2000-2004

Related topics