When Mandela was imprisoned and struggling to end apartheid, the Republican Party — through the policies of the Reagan administration and the work of party activists — opposed U.S. sanctions against the white supremacist regime. Though they didn’t support apartheid by any means, they turned a blind eye towards the cruelty of the system and failed to support Mandela in his time of greatest need. Today, Republicans will cheer on Mandela, but the Republican Party’s historical relationship with South Africa, and Mandela in particular, exposes a sad chapter in the history of the American right.
lostmotherland on December 6, 2013 at 8:54 AM
The ANC was designated as a terrorist group (there was no ‘Terrorist Watch List' at the time) by the United States in 1961…by Democrat John F Kennedy.
The African National Congress, WHICH WAS A TERRORIST GROUP AND COMMITTED MANY ACTS OF TERROR AND CRIME – AS NELSON MANDELA REPEATEDLY ADMITTED. The ANC was strongly associated with the Soviet Union and openly COMMUNIST. This was during the Cold War and the West was attempting to stop Communism and the spread of the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence.
According to John Kerry, in the 1970s, the U.S. government placed the members and representatives of the ANC, including its leaders like Mandela, Walter Sisulu, and Govan Mbeki – the father of South African President Thabo Mbeki – on the U.S. Terrorist Watch List.
Mandela’s record was cleared in 2008…by Republican George W Bush. Bush signed the bill in time for the Nobel Peace Prize winner’s 90th birthday on 18 July 2008.
And, some folks eventually admit what they did…
I will never defend South Africa’s Apartheid state or the atrocities committed by the white government, but I also will not canonise Nelson Mandela. He was a great, but not perfect man. We must keep history in context. For example, Reagan didn’t support the Apartheid state. He was against the ANC, which was strongly-aligned with the Soviet Union. Preventing the spread of communism, especially in Africa, was of manifest importance to the West in the 1970s and 1980s.
Mandela had every reason to be an angry man before, during, and after his imprisonment. He chose reconciliation and to abandon violence, anger, and resentment. He easily could have become another Mugabe and destroyed his country with racial violence and ‘black empowerment’ economic schemes. He didn’t. For all of that, he should be enormously commended.
Now, allow me to make another observation about the statements of both of you concerning the bad, old Republican Party - of which I have never been a member:
You know, it’s weird. Bill Clinton was President for 8 years and he never ‘came around.’ He never cleared Nelson Mandela's record.
Of course, you shouldn’t really be surprised. You see, in the Democratic Party, you can be a Southern Governor like Billy Jeff and never take one act in your 12 years to remove the confederate flag from your capitol and sign Act 985 making the birthdays of Martin Luther King, Jr, the preeminent leader of the civil-rights movement, and Robert E Lee, the general who led the Confederate army, a state holiday – TO BE OBSERVED ON THE SAME DAY – AND STILL GET ELECTED President of the United States of America.
Yes, you can!
Then, as POTUS, you can award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to a staunch segregationist like William J Fullbright.
Yes, you can!
And, you can do all of this and STILL be the putative first black President of the United States of America.
Why? Because in the Democratic Party, the Bobby Byrds never cooooommmmmme hoooooommmmme tooooooooo rooooooooossssttttt!
Of course, if you are a Republican, don’t try this at home. ‘Cuz, if you do, that would make you a RAAAAAAAAAAAAACIST!
The African National Congress, WHICH WAS A TERRORIST GROUP AND COMMITTED MANY ACTS OF TERROR AND CRIME – AS NELSON MANDELA REPEATEDLY ADMITTED. The ANC was strongly associated with the Soviet Union and openly COMMUNIST. This was during the Cold War and the West was attempting to stop Communism and the spread of the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence.
According to John Kerry, in the 1970s, the U.S. government placed the members and representatives of the ANC, including its leaders like Mandela, Walter Sisulu, and Govan Mbeki – the father of South African President Thabo Mbeki – on the U.S. Terrorist Watch List.
A full-page advertisement appeared in the January 28, 1987 issue of the Washington Times with a picture of Oliver Tambo, leader of the South African Marxist terrorist group known as the African National Congress (ANC), standing next to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Next to it was a composite photograph of Tambo standing next to U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz. The headlines of the ad, which was sponsored by a coalition of conservative groups, asked: “Which Bothers You More?”
…
The purpose of the demonstration and the full-page advertisement was to protest against the profoundly significant meeting — held that same day — between George Shultz and Oliver Tambo. Many political observers regarded this meeting as an official Reagan Administration stamp of approval on a Communist terrorist group that not only has the blood of thousands of innocent human beings on its hands but is also bent on violently overthrowing a government friendly to the United States.
It was bad enough that the U.S. Secretary of State would take the unprecedented step of meeting with the leader of a terrorist organization that seeks the overthrow of a legitimate government. Even worse, the Shultz-Tambo meeting exceeded the exchange of official viewpoints and represented an astonishing “meeting of minds” between the two men. This startling fact came to light in the form of a revelation by Oliver Tambo himself.
On January 28, 1987, the same day as the meeting, Tambo made a guest appearance on the television program Nightline. The very first question Ted Koppel asked his guest was: “Dr. Tambo, I get the impression that you said what you were ready to say to Secretary Shultz, and Secretary Shultz said what he was ready to say to you. But in terms of a meeting of minds, that really didn’t happen today, did it?”
Tambo’s response surprised even Ted Koppel: “Well, to some extent it did.” The ANC leader went on to explain that the government of the United States and the Marxist-oriented African National Congress share a common objective or goal for South Africa.
This revelation is of profound significance, for the ANC’s objective for South Africa was long ago spelled out in detail in a document known as the Freedom Charter. This document, written and prepared for the ANC by the South African Communist Party, calls for the confiscation of private property and the establishment of a Soviet-style dictatorship of the proletariat. Tambo himself admitted on July 30, 1986, some six months prior to the meeting with Shultz: “The ANC and the SA Communist Party have common objectives….”
Mandela’s record was cleared in 2008…by Republican George W Bush. Bush signed the bill in time for the Nobel Peace Prize winner’s 90th birthday on 18 July 2008.
Yea, some folks eventually came around. But I think Dick Cheney’s still gritting his teeth over all of it.
verbaluce on December 6, 2013 at 12:39 PM
And, some folks eventually admit what they did…
New York Times: Party Led By Mandela Now Owns Up To Atrocities
13 May 1997
South Africa’s governing party admitted today that it used torture, executions, and land mines during its fight against apartheid, opening a new chapter in this country’s efforts to come to terms with its past.
Senior officials of the African National Congress also said they could have done far more to stop the gruesome practice in the black townships of ”necklacing” people suspected of cooperating with the South African security forces. Such people were pinned inside a car tire, doused in gasoline, set on fire and left to die.
Party officials had long resisted appearing before the commission, saying their actions were excusable because they had been fighting a ”just war.” Today’s testimony before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission represented a major step toward holding the winners in the struggle against the white apartheid Government accountable for their share of atrocities.
The testimony came after more than 300 members of the Congress, including most Cabinet ministers and Deputy President Thabo Mbeki, who has been designated by the Congress to succeed Nelson Mandela as President, submitted amnesty applications in time to meet a Saturday midnight deadline.
…
Last year Archbishop Tutu told President Mandela that he would resign unless A.N.C. members recognized that they had committed gross violations of human rights and needed to apply for amnesty.
The Congress appeared before the commission last August, but at that time it made only a formal written submission. This time, the party also submitted another 139 pages of written testimony before answering questions. The testimony includes 33 pages of responses and requests for elaboration by the Truth Commission, including more details on deaths at the Congress’s bases in Angola, the use of land mines in border areas and details about 15 Congress members who were executed for spying and mutiny.
In submitting testimony to the commission, the Congress said it would take responsibility for 500 bombings over 11 years, and perhaps for another 95, but it could not be sure of the precise number.
I will never defend South Africa’s Apartheid state or the atrocities committed by the white government, but I also will not canonise Nelson Mandela. He was a great, but not perfect man. We must keep history in context. For example, Reagan didn’t support the Apartheid state. He was against the ANC, which was strongly-aligned with the Soviet Union. Preventing the spread of communism, especially in Africa, was of manifest importance to the West in the 1970s and 1980s.
Mandela had every reason to be an angry man before, during, and after his imprisonment. He chose reconciliation and to abandon violence, anger, and resentment. He easily could have become another Mugabe and destroyed his country with racial violence and ‘black empowerment’ economic schemes. He didn’t. For all of that, he should be enormously commended.
Now, allow me to make another observation about the statements of both of you concerning the bad, old Republican Party - of which I have never been a member:
You know, it’s weird. Bill Clinton was President for 8 years and he never ‘came around.’ He never cleared Nelson Mandela's record.
Of course, you shouldn’t really be surprised. You see, in the Democratic Party, you can be a Southern Governor like Billy Jeff and never take one act in your 12 years to remove the confederate flag from your capitol and sign Act 985 making the birthdays of Martin Luther King, Jr, the preeminent leader of the civil-rights movement, and Robert E Lee, the general who led the Confederate army, a state holiday – TO BE OBSERVED ON THE SAME DAY – AND STILL GET ELECTED President of the United States of America.
Yes, you can!
Then, as POTUS, you can award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to a staunch segregationist like William J Fullbright.
Yes, you can!
And, you can do all of this and STILL be the putative first black President of the United States of America.
Why? Because in the Democratic Party, the Bobby Byrds never cooooommmmmme hoooooommmmme tooooooooo rooooooooossssttttt!
Of course, if you are a Republican, don’t try this at home. ‘Cuz, if you do, that would make you a RAAAAAAAAAAAAACIST!
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