[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 47 (Tuesday, April 26, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 26, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                       ELECTIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Madam President, this week the people of South Africa 
will go to the polls to elect new leaders who, at long last, will 
represent all the people of that country.
  The South African elections mark the formal end of the racist 
apartheid regime and the rule of oppression. They mark the beginning of 
a new multiracial government in South Africa and an opportunity for the 
black majority to play a role in charting their own future.
  The road to democracy for the black majority in South Africa has been 
filled with pain. It has been marked by oppression and injustice, 
violence, and suffering. In a profound demonstration of the resilience 
of the human spirit, the black majority has persevered in their pursuit 
of fairness and democracy. That they will go to the polls for the first 
time this week is testament to their tenacity and determination to 
ensure that their voice will be heard in government.
  South Africa now stands in the crossroads of change and opportunity 
as a new nation, one nation for all people. Breaking down the racist 
apartheid regime of the past has been a long and difficult task for the 
people of South Africa. I believe economic sanctions were the one tool 
that had the effect of influencing that country to live up to its 
responsibility to all of its citizens. The victory of democracy in 
South Africa is for those who supported the sanctions which made the 
very movement toward democracy possible.

  We must never be afraid to use our economic power to promote justice 
and freedom. New Jersey was not. In the New Jersey State Legislature, 
Willie Brown led the charge many years ago to write the law requiring 
divestment. The Federal Government played an important role as well. 
Despite intense opposition, Federal legislation to impose tough 
sanctions against South Africa was approved in the Congress. I 
supported those sanctions as one way to influence the end of abuses 
under the apartheid regime.
  In my own visit to South Africa many years ago, I witnessed 
firsthand, the injustice and oppression of the apartheid system. As I 
walked the streets of Soweto, I saw people living in squalor, barred by 
law from having equal educational or professional opportunity. Those 
that protested were imprisoned, tortured, or killed.
  Now, as we look to a new future in South Africa, we must look to 
economic programs which will have a meaningful impact on education, 
health, and business development in the townships. For the first time, 
blacks will vote and ensure their part in crafting that agenda.
  The outbreak of violence must not derail this historic process and 
prevent the black majority from participating in the democratic 
process. It must not stand as an obstacle to democratic reform in a 
country desperate to embrace that very theme. The people of South 
Africa have waited too long for the apartheid regime to come crumbling 
down. The United States must play a constructive role in promoting and 
facilitating the move to democracy and work to ensure that South Africa 
has the economic ability to make the transition to democracy.
  Madam President, I am inspired by these elections and by the 
opportunity they provide for the majority of people in South Africa. 
They are long over-due. For too long, the international community 
supported a system which mandated that a majority of its citizenry had 
no voice in government. This week that system will come crumbling down. 
This week, the black majority in South Africa, at long last, will 
officially be given a voice. In America, we will never forget the long 
road they were forced to travel to gain that right to vote.

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