    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book II)]
    [November 23, 1993]
    [Pages 2060-2061]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Signing the South African Democratic Transition Support Act
    of 1993
    November 23, 1993

        Thank you all for joining us this afternoon. It's a great honor to
    have so many people in the White House to celebrate the signing of
    legislation that marks the realization of a great dream, the transition
    of South Africa to a nonracial democracy and the end of apartheid.
        So many of you have contributed mightily to the realization of that
    dream, and I thank you all for being here. But I want to especially
    recognize the presence here of the family of Amy Biehl, who herself did
    so much to further that cause. Thank you so much for coming.
        For generations the people of South Africa lived under the crushing
    burden of an immoral system which exacted a terrible toll and ultimately
    could not endure. Over many years, you and many others have shown
    courage and determination in joining with South Africa's oppressed
    majority to hasten apartheid's demise. This ceremony is, in large
    measure, a salute to the work you have done.
        In 1986, after years of effort and despite a Presidential veto,
    Congress imposed strict economic sanctions on South Africa. Our Nation
    vowed those sanctions would be lifted only on the day when South Africa
    was irreversibly on the road to a nonracial democracy. Last week that
    day for which millions have worked and prayed and suffered finally
    arrived. Nelson Mandela, F.W. de Klerk and other leaders formally
    endorsed the transitional constitution, a bill of rights, and other
    agreements achieved during nearly 2 years of hard negotiations. And this
    April, the people of South Africa, all races together, will go to the
    polls for the first time in three centuries. We urge those who are not

    [[Page 2061]]

    participating in this historic process to do so.
        This is a moment of great hope for South Africa and its supporters
    around the world but also a moment of great uncertainty. Decades of
    institutionalized segregation in South Africa have left a bitter legacy
    of division, of poverty, of illiteracy, of unemployment. For South
    Africa's democratic transition to succeed, the first post-apartheid
    government will need the resources to combat those conditions. The South
    African people have declared their determination to confront the
    challenge of change in order to pursue a better future. I am determined
    that our Nation will stand by them as they face the difficult challenges
    ahead. The bill I'm about to sign will help to ensure that those
    resources are available. It lifts our remaining economic sanctions and
    gives South Africa access to the resources of the international
    financial institutions. It urges all our State and local governments and
    private entities to end their economic restrictions on South Africa as
    well.
        Through these and other steps, this bill will help South Africa
    expand the prosperity of its entire population, but removing sanctions
    will not be enough. Americans who have been so active in toppling the
    pillars of apartheid must remain committed to building South Africa's
    nonracial market democracy.
        For this reason, I've asked Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown to lead
    a mission to South Africa to explore trade and investment opportunities,
    particularly with South Africa's black private sector. I am pleased that
    Ruth Harkin, our President and CEO of the Overseas Private Investment
    Corporation, along with many private sector leaders, will be going as a
    part of the delegation. I deeply appreciate the bipartisan support this
    bill received, and I appreciate Congress' cooperation in passing it so
    quickly so that Secretary Brown and the delegation could carry the
    message of hope and commitment as they travel to Johannesburg, Soweto,
    Cape Town, and Durban.
        And now, with great pleasure, I sign into law this act celebrating
    the triumph of the human spirit, the perseverance of the South African
    people, the dream of freedom's new dawn, and the commitment of the
    American people to see that dream come true. Nkosi Sikelel, i' Afrika.
    God bless Africa, and God bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:18 p.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the
    White House. In his remarks, he referred to Amy Biehl, American
    Fulbright scholar slain in South Africa in August; South African
    President Frederik Willem de Klerk; and African National Congress
    President Nelson Mandela. H.R. 3225, approved November 23, was assigned
    Public Law No. 103-149.