PW Botha in 1985
Photo: Greg English/APThere is the odd line about wishing his family well but, in the main, bloggers have few good things to say about the former South African president PW Botha, who died at the age of 90 yesterday.
Nelson Mandela, whilst recognising that Mr Botha was a "symbol of apartheid", paid tribute to steps he took towards an "eventually peacefully negotiated settlement".
But the reaction of Jonty, of Cape Town, is typical of that of bloggers. He says there are only "crocodile tears for the Groot Krokodil" - the great crocodile, as Mr Botha was named for his tough stance against an international community angered by apartheid.
On his blog, Fishbowl, Jonty writes:
"It's difficult to have sympathy for PW Botha through the later years of his life, given his complete lack of any hint of remorse about the violent excesses he presided over.
He refused to take any responsibility for his actions in the oppression of the majority of our population, denied any appearance in front of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and remained a bitter soul until he took his last breath.
Being the last true apartheid president, however, it closes a significant door on our history. Farewell Groot Krokodil, but few tears."
Fellow South African blogger Muhammad Karim goes even further, saying "good riddance". He adds that Mr Botha was one of the most "brutal and arrogant leaders of the apartheid regime" and is "making his way to hell".
Karim says the former president began his political career "by clearing District 6 of Johannesburg, causing 50,000 'coloureds' to lose their homes, just for being too close the centre of the capital".
He adds that Mr Botha ended his days "in his little cosy house by the lake in Wilderness, while still most of the black South African population still live in abject poverty".
Mr Botha's widow, Barbara, has told reporters the former president would not have wanted a state funeral, as is his constitutional right, and there is opposition to such a funeral in the South African blogosphere.
But there are other views. In one post on BBC Online's news forum, David Owen, of Newport, asks:
"Let's be honest, is South Africa really a better place today than it was in the days of apartheid? Problems associated with crime, poverty, health, housing, unemployment, and the economy have all got catastrophically worse since Mandela et al came to power.
South Africa was once a flourishing nation. Now, it's just another failing African state, and anyone with any get-up-and-go is getting-up-and-going. Was black political freedom really worth the price?"
Well, yes, many would argue.
The Guardian's David Beresford writes that the number of deaths for which Mr Botha carried "command" responsibility will never be known.
But he says that under the Botha government, the security forces killed more than 2,000 people, and an estimated 25,000 were detained without trial and often tortured.
Another blogger, Mike, writing on alchemi.livejournal.com says Mr Botha "worked like hell to keep apartheid alive, died" and "it is likely that he actively engaged in or [at minimum] passively supported state sanctioned torture".
