    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
    [October 8, 1994]
    [Pages 1724-1725]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address With President Nelson Mandela of
    South Africa
    October 8, 1994

        President Clinton. Good morning. This week I'm honored to be joined
    by President Nelson Mandela of South Africa, a man who has been a hero
    for people in every corner of the world. For a long time, the name
    ``Nelson Mandela'' has stood for the quest for freedom. His spirit never
    bent before the injustice of his 27 years of imprisonment. Apartheid
    could not silence him. And when he was freed, Americans all across this
    country who had fought for justice in South Africa rejoiced.
        After his long struggle, Nelson Mandela found in himself the
    strength to reach out to others, to build up instead of tear down. He
    led his country forward, always choosing reconciliation over division.
    This is the miracle of the new South Africa. Time and again, President
    Mandela showed real wisdom and rose above bitterness. President Mandela
    and the South African people, both black and white, have inspired others
    around the world.
        In our own hemisphere today, the people of Haiti are emerging out of
    fear into freedom. Now Haitians have the chance to do what South
    Africans have done, to bring together a country where there have been
    deep and bloody divisions. It can be done, and the United States stands
    ready to help.
        We must do all we can to help civil societies free themselves from
    the shackles of repression, to sustain their fragile democracies, and to
    defeat the forces of destruction that threaten all of us. That's why
    America stands with Nelson Mandela and the South African people through
    economic assistance, through trade and investment to help them to build
    the thriving democracy they so richly deserve, and why we're working to
    help the Haitian people stand up and reclaim their freedom and their
    future, too.
        Now I'd like to ask President Mandela to speak with you.

    [At this point, President Mandela discussed his visit to the United
    States and thanked the American people for their friendship.]

        President Clinton. Thank you, Mr. President. This week I pledged to
    President Mandela that the United States will continue to support his
    nation just as we have since before his election. And I want to
    encourage all of our citizens and especially our businesses to accept
    the President's invitation to invest, to build in his country, to visit
    his country. A flourishing South Africa involved in the rest of the
    world is in our interest.
        President Mandela was right the other day when he called the
    transformation of his country an achievement of all humanity. The kind
    of peaceful development we're seeing in South Africa will inspire
    progress all around the world. Now South Africa is a model for building
    the open, tolerant societies that share our values. And when we look
    around the world at the stirring changes in Russia, the moving
    developments in Northern Ireland, the stunning achievements of the peace
    initiatives in the Middle East, we see the prospects for democracy and
    peace growing. Our mission is to build a new world for our children,
    more democratic, more prosperous, more free of ancient hatreds and
    modern means of destruction. This is no easy task. But more nations than
    ever are choosing democracy, and more are embracing the values of
    tolerance that allow each of us to make the most of our God-given
    potential. Freedom

    [[Page 1725]]

    is on the march, and that is good news for all of us.
        Once again, let me thank the symbol of freedom for the world,
    President Mandela, for visiting us here in the United States. And thank
    you all for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 4:53 p.m. on October 7 in the East
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on October 8.