The World - News from Feb. 20, 1986

South African President Pieter W. Botha was criticized by liberal and conservative politicians for secretly recording a conversation with Frederik van Zyl Slabbert, an opposition party leader who later resigned his seat in Parliament, citing disillusionment with apartheid. “I strongly disapprove of any such treatment of an interview, especially when it was not stated beforehand,” right-wing legislator Andries Treurnicht said. Botha said, “It is normal and accepted international practice that there should at times be a record of certain important discussions.”