
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, June 26, 1990                   TAG: 9006260125
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

MANDELA REJECTS BUSH'S PLEA TO AVOID VIOLENCE

Barely masking his considerable differences with President Bush, black South African leader Nelson Mandela bluntly told the president Monday that he will not renounce the use of violence to end white domination of his racially torn nation.

Mandela delivered an extemporaneous lecture of about 10 minutes to Bush in what, for most visiting dignitaries, is a brief welcoming ceremony at which differences are seldom aired, no matter how politely.

Mandela, released in February after serving 27 years in prison, rejected a Bush plea that all parties in South Africa "renounce the use of violence." He also encouraged Bush to maintain U.S. economic sanctions against South Africa. And he nearly ordered the president to consult with the African National Congress, of which he is deputy president, before taking any steps affecting South Africa.

After the meeting with Bush, Mandela and Herman J. Cohen, assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said that the two leaders narrowed their differences. But neither pointed to major signs of progress and there was no indication that Mandela would return to South Africa with pledges of financial support from the U.S. government.

Bush twice invoked the memory of the late Martin Luther King Jr. in urging Mandela to avoid violent means to achieve his goal of a non-racial society in South Africa.

"All parties must seize the opportunity to move ahead in a spirit of compromise and tolerance, flexibility and patience," Bush said. "I call on all elements in South African society to renounce the use of violence in armed struggle, break free from the cycle of repression and violent reaction that breeds nothing but more fear and suffering.

"As Martin Luther King said on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, we cannot walk alone. Sir, we here in America walk in solidarity with all the South Africans who seek through non-violent means democracy, human rights and freedom."

Mandela, in response, referred wryly to Bush's plea for non-violence. "The remarks he has made here are due to the fact that he has not as yet got a proper briefing from me," the South African said.

Mandela also pressured Bush to maintain the sanctions limiting U.S. economic activity in South Africa. "It is because of sanctions that such enormous progress has been made in the attempt to address the problems of our country," he told the president.

by CNB