[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

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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.