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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 27, 1990                   TAG: 9006270106
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Cox News Service
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

CONGRESS CHEERS MANDELA

Nelson Mandela brought Congress to its feet again and again Tuesday as he called for continued economic sanctions against white-run South Africa and outlined a vision of his country transformed into an oasis free from racism "where the black shall to the white be sister and brother, a fellow South African, an equal human being, both citizens of the world."

Cheering broke out in the packed House chamber as the 71-year-old deputy president of the African National Congress spoke of being inspired during his 27-year imprisonment by former U.S. presidents.

"We could not have made an acquaintance through literature with human giants such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson, and not been moved to act as they were moved to act."

The cheering grew as he added the names of American black leaders to the litany.

"John Brown, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. DuBois, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr., and others - we could not have heard of these and not be moved to act as they were moved to act."

One of several standing ovations came as he compared blacks' struggle in South Africa to the revolution by American colonists.

Mandela was careful to include reassurances for South African whites. He said the rule of law would be "entrenched" in a bill of rights, an independent judiciary and a multiparty political system.

He also had calming words for nervous American investors, saying South Africa will need a strong and growing economy, which he said could come about only if foreign investors enjoy a stable political and business climate.

Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., who opposes sanctions on South Africa, and Rep. French Slaughter, R-Va., who objected to Mandela's failure to rule out violence, were among the few members of Congress who boycotted the speech.

by CNB