Date: 1986-06-18
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself such time as I miay consume. Mr. Chairman. Americas strength around the world rests on its moral leadership. It is derived not from our arsenal of weapons. but from the worlds belief that we. as a people. stand for human dignity and that we will use ohr leadership to oppose those who stifle human rights. This week. the House of Representatives will take up H.R. 4868. legislation which would place broad economic sanctions on South Africasanctions designed to force that government to enter meaningful negotiations leading to a sharing of political and economic power with that nations black majority. Last week. the Banking. Finance and Urban Affairs Committee. along with three other House Committees. gave its endorsement to the legislation. Mr. Chairman. this weeks vote on H.R. 4868 will be an opportunity for this House to renew and reaffirm Americas moral leadership. H.R. 4868. the AntiApartheid Act of 1986. stands in sharp contrast to the timid policy of the Reagan administration. a policy clearly based more on wishful thinking than on the harsh realities of South Africa. The administrations insistence on quiet diplomacythe socalled constructive engagementcreates no real pressure for change in South Africa. For that repressive regime. quiet diplomacy translates into "business as usual." Cruel repressive regimes down through history have existed because other nations and other peoples turned the other cheek in the face of evil. If we repeat that mistake in South Africa. we must share in the responsibility for the bloodbath that appears likely if change does not come about through pressure on the Pretoria government. In 1972. the then South African Prime Minister. John Vorster. boldly stated: Each trade agreement. each bank loan. each new investment is another brick in the wall of our continued existence. H.R. 4868 would make certain that we do not add new bricks to the wall protecting apartheid. Mr. Chairman. some oppose the sanctions on the grounds that they would work economic hardships on the blacks in South Africa. But the evidence coming out of South Africa suggests the black majority is more than willing to accept this risk if it means a chance of pushing back apartheid. Bishop Desmond Tutu. writing in the New York Times this past Sunday. describes the consensus among the black majority as saying: We are suffering already. To end it. we will support sanctions even if we have. to take on additional suffering. Bishop Tutu went on to say: I would be more impressed with those who made no bones about the reason they remain in South Africa and said. honestly. "We are concerned for our profits." instead of the baloney that the businesses are there for our benefit. We dont want you there. Please do us a favor: get out and come back when we have a democratic and Just South Africa. There are others. Mr. Chairman. who say economic sanctions dont work. that they will not have great impact on the Pretoria government. Such arguments ignore both the realities of the South African economy and the impact of world opinion. Those who denigrate the moral and economic forces unleashed by H.R. 4868 should be reminded of Robert Kennedys speech in Capetown. South Africa. in 1965: It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal. or acts to improve the lot of others. or strikes out against injustice. he sends a tiny ripple of hope. and crossing each other from a million different centres of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest wallp of oppression and resistance. Mr. Chairman. the Banking. Finance and Urban Affairs Committee has a long record of supporting efforts to apply economic pressure on South Africa. As far back as 1978before sanctions were headline newsthe Banking Committee included language in the ExportImport Bank Act prohibiting the Bank from granting credits or guarantees for any export which would help the South African Government maintain apartheid. The committee further required that assistance for exports to South African purchasers be granted only to those who had subscribed to the "Sullivan principles" designed to end segregation and inequality among the Nations work force. In 1983. the committee insisted that legislation authorizing new U.S. contributions to the International Monetary Fund include language that would require the representative to the IMP to oppose assistance to any country practicing apartheid. In addition. in 1983 and again in 1985. the committee endorsed other efforts to enact antiapartheid legislation. Mr. Chairman. I hope this latest effortH.R. 4868is overwhelmingly approved in the House this week. Our colleague from Pennsylvania. the Honorable BILL GRAY. is to be commended for introducing and pushing this legislation. The Gray bill sends a clear message to South Africa and the world. It mobilizes Americas greatest strength. moral leadership in the arena of human rights.