Editing Bophuthatswana (section)

===Independence and international reaction===

The territory became nominally independent on 6 December 1977. Bophuthatswana's independence was not recognized by any government other than those of South Africa and [[Transkei]], the first homeland to gain nominal independence. In addition, it was later internally recognized by the two additional countries within the [[Bantustan|TBVC]]-system, [[Ciskei]] and [[Venda]].

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  | quote  = <small>[A]t last we are no longer helplessly at the mercy of the arbitrary arrogance of those who until this hour trampled our human dignity into the dust.</small>
  | source = <small>- [[Lucas Mangope]]<ref name=time>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,945848,00.html |title=The Birth of BophuthaTswana |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=19 December 1977 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081215121824/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,945848,00.html |archive-date=15 December 2008}}</ref></small>
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  | quote  = <small>The General Assembly denounces the declaration of the so-called "independence"&nbsp;... of Bophuthatswana&nbsp;... and declares [it] totally invalid.</small>
  | source = <small>- [[United Nations General Assembly]]<ref name=un>[https://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/32/ares32.htm Resolution A/RES/32/105 N, General Assembly of the United Nations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628063850/http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/32/ares32.htm |date=28 June 2017 }}, 102nd plenary meeting, 14 December 1977</ref></small>
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Arguing in favour of independence, President Mangope claimed that the move would enable its population to negotiate with South Africa from a stronger position: "We would rather face the difficulties of administering a fragmented territory, the wrath of the outside world, and accusations of ill-informed people. It's the price we are prepared to pay for being masters of our own destiny."<ref name=time />

[[United Nations Secretary-General]] [[Kurt Waldheim]] stated that he "strongly deplored" the establishment of "another so-called independent tribal homeland in pursuance of the discredited policies of apartheid",<ref name=time /> and in resolution A/RES/32/105N, passed on 14 December 1977, the [[United Nations General Assembly]] linked Bophuthatswana's "so-called 'independence{{'"}} to South Africa's "stubborn pursuit" of its policies, and called upon all governments to "deny any form of recognition to the so-called 'independent' bantustans".<ref name=un />

During a parliamentary debate in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] on 6 December 1977, Foreign Secretary [[David Owen]] replied in the negative when asked "whether Her Majesty's Government intend to recognise [[passport|travel documents]] issued by the authorities of&nbsp;... Bophuthatswana for the purpose of admitting visitors to the United Kingdom".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1977/dec/06/transkei-and-bophuthatswana-travel |title=Hasgard HC Deb vol 940 c621W |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |date=6 December 1977 |access-date=18 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090713002959/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1977/dec/06/transkei-and-bophuthatswana-travel |archive-date=13 July 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref>

While the majority of news reports echoed these official declarations, there were others which opined that Western critics should "suspend judgment for a time",<ref>Kilpatrick, James. "Give new nations a chance". ''Prescott Courier'', 5 January 1978</ref> and despite its generally critical stance on South Africa's policies, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine wrote that Bophuthatswana had "considerable economic potential" with an expected $30 million a year coming from mining revenues.<ref name=time />

Despite its official isolation, however, the government in Mmabatho managed to set up a trade mission in [[Tel Aviv]], [[Israel]],<ref>Peters, Joel. ''Israel and Africa''. The British Academic Press. London:1992. p161</ref> and conducted some business with neighbouring [[Botswana]] in an effort to sway attitudes; furthermore, Botswana agreed on "informal arrangements" short of official recognition in order to facilitate cross-border travel.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dale|first=Richard|title=Botswana's search for autonomy in southern Africa|publisher=Greenwood Press|year=1995|isbn=9780313295713|location=Westport, Conn.|pages=6, 15}}</ref>

Bophuthatswana maintained an unofficial embassy in Israel during the 1980s, located next to the British embassy in Tel Aviv. The [[Israeli Foreign Ministry]] objected to the embassy's presence, as Israel did not recognize Bophuthatswana as a country. The Bantustan's president, Lucas Mangope, was nevertheless able to meet with prominent figures such as [[Moshe Dayan]] during visits to Israel.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=5CVeyhyEJ_4C&q=Mangope&pg=PA157 ''The Unspoken Alliance: Israel's Secret Relationship with Apartheid South Africa''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208014928/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5CVeyhyEJ_4C&lpg=PA157&vq=Mangope&pg=PA157#v=snippet&q=Mangope&f=false |date=8 February 2016 }}, Sasha Polakow-Suransky, Pantheon Books, New York, 2010, page 157.</ref>

In the [[Bophuthatswanan parliamentary election, 1982|1982 elections]], the [[Bophuthatswana Democratic Party|Democratic Party]] won all 72 elected seats. It also won a large majority in the [[Bophuthatswanan parliamentary election, 1987|1987 elections]].