[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 14 (Monday, April 6, 1998)]
[Pages 525-526]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Dinner Hosted by President Nelson Mandela in Somerset West, 
South Africa

March 27, 1998

    Thank you very much. Mr. President, Mr. Deputy President, Ministers, 
Members of Parliament, members of the Judiciary, Your Majesties, Your 
Excellencies, Archbishop Tutu, ladies and gentlemen. First let me thank 
you for your hospitality to Hillary and me and our delegation. We have 
had a wonderful time in South Africa. And I thank you, Mr. President, 
for the power of your leadership and the power of your example.
    Today, when we toured Robben Island, I was reminded again that 
though you were locked in prison for a long time, you opened others' 
minds and hearts; you helped to educate your fellow inmates; you kindled 
the flame of humanity in your jailers; you planted a garden in the 
courtyard of Robben Island because of your faith in renewal. I can't 
imagine anyone I would rather receive an Order of Good Hope from than 
you.
    And when, after 10,000 days of captivity, the gates of prison were 
opened, you emerged to face your nation unbitter and unbroken. That is 
the condition I hope the tent will maintain. [Laughter]
    And truly you have built a new South Africa where all its people 
have a stake in the future. The symbols of that new South Africa are all 
around us. From your multiracial Parliament where I was honored to speak 
yesterday, to flourishing businesses where all races work side by side, 
to the very banquet we attend tonight, the people who work, the people 
who are seated, all of us here together, South Africa is a monument to 
the power of reconciliation.
    Tonight we celebrate all you have accomplished. We pledge the 
partnership and friendship of the United States for the daunting work 
ahead, for seizing the challenges and the opportunities that face you 
today and in the century just around the corner.
    I remember when we hosted the Olympic games in Atlanta in 1996. On 
the final day, the first black South African ever to win a gold medal in 
Olympic competition, Josiah Tungwane, dedicated his victory to his 
country and to President Mandela. I think it is worth recalling that his 
victory came in the marathon.

[[Page 526]]

    President Mandela has won a great victory in what is the longest 
marathon of the 20th century. But now it is important that you not lose 
the conviction, the energy, the sheer joy of daily living which 
accompanied your freedom. For the challenges you face also require a 
marathon.
    One of our country's most eloquent political leaders, Mario Cuomo, 
whose son now serves in my Cabinet, once said that ``in democracies we 
campaign in poetry, but we govern in prose.'' It is a marathon.
    I come to say that the United States admires not only the leader but 
the people of South Africa, and we look forward to running that marathon 
with you. Let us not grow weary; let us never lose heart. Let us have 
confidence that the people can find the way.
    Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in a toast to the President and 
the people of South Africa.

Note: The President spoke at approximately 8:15 p.m. at the Vergelegen 
Estates. In his remarks, he referred to Deputy President Thabo Mbeki and 
Episcopal Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa. A tape was not 
available for verification of the content of these remarks. This item 
was not received in time for publication in the appropriate issue.