It’s time to drop the travel restrictions against former South African president Nelson Mandela and other members of the African National Congress (ANC), Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice said yesterday.

“I really do hope we can remove these restrictions on the ANC. This is a country with which we now have excellent relations — South Africa,” said Rice, who gave no timeline for the move.

“It is frankly a rather embarrassing matter that I still have to waive in my own counterparts — the foreign minister of South Africa, not to mention the great leader, Nelson Mandela,” she added.

— Reuters

The restrictions date back to the days when the USA was sucking up to the apartheid regime of South Africa, which had banned the ANC in 1960 and had imprisoned Mandela for terroristic activities for 27 years. Mandela was released and the ban lifted in February 1990, when President F. W. DeKlerk indicated apartheid would soon be dismantled.

Mandela and DeKlerk shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Mandela was elected president of South Africa in the first fully democratic elections in that country.

Despite the now-legitimate status of Mandela and the ANC, the old State Department restrictions on their travel to the US are still in place. Legislation is pending in the House to correct the injustice.
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Madiba is a honorific title used by elders in the Mandela clan. Most South Africans, however, refer to Nelson Mandela as “Madiba.”

April 15th, 2008 | Category: Commentary, General stuff | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL