Speech #1020058354

By accepting this claim. the Bush administration is endorsing one of the worst aspects of apartheidthe banishment of black South Africans to socalled independent homelands. The condition calling for political freedom in South Africa will also not be met until the 40.000 exiles are permitted to return without fear of imprisonment. and the security laws are amended to deny the South African Government the legal right to detain people incommunicado and intimidate political opponents. Particularly disturbing is the South African Governments continuing refusal to accept a standard agreement with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to assist in the repatriation of the exiles. Last summer. the South African Government agreed with the African National Congress that these issues must be resolved before negotiations can begin. It is wrong for the Bush administration to maintain that the South African Government has agreed to negotiations. when these recognized obstacles have obviously not been fairly resolved.