[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 51 (Tuesday, May 3, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 3, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                   DEMOCRACY ARRIVES IN SOUTH AFRICA

  Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, few of us will ever forget the day, more 
than 4 years ago, that Nelson Mandela walked into this very room, and 
spoke before a joint session of the U.S. Congress.
  He spoke of the promise of a free and equal South Africa--the promise 
of a prosperity and peace that had been deferred, but could not be 
denied.
  Today, that powerful promise has been redeemed. Nelson Mandela--a man 
who emerged from 27 years of political imprisonment, a living 
embodiment of South Africa's struggle for justice--has now been elected 
President of his people.
  For those of us who heeded Nelson Mandela's words, and shared his 
dream of democracy, there is no doubt that his personal struggle--his 
thirst for freedom and justice--planted the seeds of equality and 
legitimacy which now flower on South Africa's political landscape.
  And there is no doubt that President-elect Mandela will be a leader 
for all of South Africa.
  This is truly a day of celebration and reconciliation for people all 
over the world.
  And it is further proof that human rights is the most powerful idea 
in human history.
  I am proud that the United States supported South Africa's struggle.
  We understood that the promise of justice can never be measured in 
dollars and cents--that our economic interests can never be separated 
from our fundamental human interests. That is the principle which fuels 
America's democracy--and I see that same basic dignity and humanity in 
South Africa's fledgling democracy.
  Now we all have a lot of hard work to do to make real the promise of 
South Africa's democracy, to lift the promise of justice and equality 
from the pages of a newly inked constitution to the people of a newly 
freed nation.
  It will not be easy. But on behalf of the American people, I look 
forward to building on today's triumph--for the people of South Africa, 
and for all who cherish this victory that the world has won.

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