[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 58 (Thursday, May 12, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 12, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                            MORNING BUSINESS

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                  THE END OF APARTHEID IN SOUTH AFRICA

  Mr. BRADLEY. Mr. President, on May 10, the world witnessed an event 
that was little short of a miracle. Nelson Mandela was inaugurated 
President of South Africa, marking the peaceful end of white rule in 
South Africa. As President Mandela stated, this day marks ``a victory 
for all the people of South Africa.''
  The cold war taught us to expect vicious United States-Soviet proxy 
wars in far flung corners of the world, including southern Africa. Our 
experience since the dissolution of the Soviet Union has shown us that 
ancient enmities die hard. Even the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, 
relaunched with such hope last September, has been slowed by violence 
and terror.
  Given this sorry litany of the obstacles to democratization and 
reconciliation, I must admit I was not certain that the journey begun 
by F.W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela in February 1990, when the latter 
stepped from prison a free man, would end in success. The obstacles 
they faced were daunting: extremists who did not accept reconciliation 
in thought or deed; the legacy of white oppression of South Africa's 
black, coloured, and Indian population; and the cycle of poverty and 
violence that has wracked so much of Africa.
  The road has been long and difficult, costing thousands of lives. 
Indeed, even as the elections began, rejectionists continued to spread 
terror and spill innocent blood. But the people of South Africa, 
individually and through their leaders, have chosen peace over 
violence, reconciliation over hatred, and hope over despair. The 
leaders--Mandela, de Klerk, finally Buthelezi, and others--took the 
courageous path of compromise and negotiation. Then the people of South 
Africa set aside centuries of tragic history and voted for their new 
South Africa.
  As I mentioned, a number of leaders made this peaceful transition to 
majority rule possible. However, among these leaders one man stands 
out--Nelson Mandela. Mr. President, I believe history will record 
Nelson Mandela as one of the great figures of the 20th century. After 
27 years in prison--10,000 days--Nelson Mandela had every reason to 
emerge angry, bitter, and vengeful. Instead, upon his release from 
prison he transformed himself from symbol to statesman. Preaching peace 
and reconciliation, he held the ANC and most of its supporters to the 
path of political negotiation. He condemned black-on-black violence 
with the same vigor as he did white-on-black. He turned the ANC from 
the outdated statist economic policies advocated in the 1955 Freedom 
Charter to the New Deal for South Africa contained in the ANC's 5-year 
economic plan. Working up to the eve of the elections, along with 
President de Klerk, Mandela succeeded in bringing Chief Buthelezi and 
the Inkatha Freedom Party into the electoral process.
  Given the chance, the people of South Africa have spoken. By doing 
so, they have sent a signal of hope and issued a challenge for the 
future. By their courageous example, they have shown that the end of 
the cold war does not necessarily mean more Bosnias and Rwandas. They 
have rekindled the hope of the peace-loving people of all continents 
that reasonable people can look forward rather than backward and choose 
peace over violence.
  At the same time, the people of South Africa have issued a challenge. 
For elections were only the first step. If the journey to 
reconciliation and prosperity is to continue, the international 
community must welcome South Africa with more than kind words, it must 
welcome South Africa with aid, investment, and open markets. And the 
people of South Africa must persevere through the inevitable setbacks 
and disappointments ahead.
  This challenge extends to us in the United States as we continue our 
efforts here at home to heal our racial divisions and social problems.
  The people of South Africa and their leaders have proved that they 
accept the challenge. We must now do the same.

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