Draft of: 8/29/76 11:00 p. m.

PHILADELPHIA - O. I. C.
SPEECH

August 31, 1976

Reverend Sullivan, distinguished guests, friends:

I am proud that I have been asked to speak before such a remarkable group that so well embodies the American tradition of humane concern combined with practical action. And I want to add my voice to the tribute you will be paying to two great Americans when you present the A. Philip Randolph award to Roy Wilkins. No two Americans have demonstrated more vividly the qualities of courage and vision which have built this country and made it a champion of democratic principles to which all peoples aspire and which we must constantly strive to uphold.

I intend to talk today about one of the compelling concerns of our time, Africa, for it is a matter much on our minds these days.

- 2 -

When we read of young African students killed in riots,
of guerrilla raids on farms, or refugee camps attacked in reprisal,
the reality is far more than the cold statistics that the media
means lies not in.
the death of men,
report. In Africa, it is/women and children; it is hopes forever
extinguished and dreams shattered, of black and white alike.

As long as these conflicts fester, Africans of all races will be
caught up in a widening and escalating cycle of violence.

The grand issues of strategy or the complexity of negotiations
are no consolation to the innocent, brutalized victims. As until
long as these conflicts persist, Africa faces a future of danger,
the wars are ended.
and pain, instead of hope and dignity; it confronts the constant peril
that its already great anguish will be multiplied by the

- 5 -

involvement in a tragic aspect of Africa's past. Twenty-three

million black citizens testify to this heritage and all our people

have been profoundly affected by it. In this generation, the

affirmation of equality and black dignity in America has coincided

with the assertion of black nationhood in Africa. Both represent a

great human struggle for freedom; both compel our support

if America's principles are to have any meaning.

The United States is the only country which can speak to

all sides in southern Africa's current conflicts. We seek

no special place

nothing for ourselves, and thus have an influence that can perhaps

be crucial for a peaceful solution. We are proud to be in that

we must act

the position; but with it comes a great responsibility to promote fair

and lasting solutions.

- 6 -

America's ability to contribute to peace and progress in
~~cann~~ Africa does not depend on goodwill and good intentions alone.

Nor can our policy be confined to one continent. Our ability
to act effectively in Africa reflects in large measure our standing
~~in the world -- our strength, and our reputation for reliability~~
*our vision,*
and steadfastness.

It is with great satisfaction, therefore, that I can tell you
that America's foreign relations are prospering and dynamic;
that the American people are clearly prepared to do their part
in helping shape a better and freer world.

-- Today we are at peace for the first time in over
a decade. No American is in combat anywhere
in the world.

-7-

-- We have come through an unprecedented political
crisis at home with our institutions thriving and
our confidence in ourselves restored.

-- We have maintained the strongest and technologically
most advanced military establishment in the world.

-- Our relations with our allies in North America,
Western Europe and Japan have never been better.

Our
We have added close cooperation on a wide range
of political and economic issues to our traditional
concern with collective security.

-- We have established durable new relations with
China, the world's most populous nation. This
relationship will hold great significance for global

- 8 -

stability and progress as we continue to
broaden it in the years to come.

-- We are on the road to bringing peace to the Middle East after unprecedented progress in recent years.

-- We have reduced the levels of tension and acrimony

resolved some conflicts
with the Soviet Union, and begun to push back the
spectre of nuclear war. We have eased
existing tensions, slowed the strategic arms race,
and there is hope that we may soon, for the first
time in history, set a firm ceiling on the total
number of strategic nuclear weapons held by

major powers.
the nuclear superpowers.

-- And we have begun a comprehensive and promising dialogue with the nations of the Third World in

- 9 -

Latin America, Asia, and Africa on the fundamental questions of economic equity and progress.

In short, America has come through a decade and more of travail with unmatched strength and resiliency, and with a reinforced dedication to the cause of freedom. America with its vast strength remains the hope of the world; America with its optimism and energy remains the tide of the future.

And we ourselves have much at stake. Never before has the well-being of Americans been so affected by events abroad.

Our prosperity at home depends on a flourishing global economy; our own peace and safety depend on global security;

Nowhere is the contemporary drama more urgent than in Africa. Only a few short months ago, southern Africa faced an

- 10 -

imminent and, seemingly inescapable prospect of widening violence, economic disarray and decline, and a new and virulent form of colonialism. Foreign powers, most particularly the Soviet Union and its Cuban surrogate, took upon themselves the right of massive military intervention. Time was fast running out for negotiated solutions -- the only alternative to a course of violence which could embitter and burden the region for generations to come.

Our initiatives over the last several months have been designed to give new hope to Africa that it will be able to overcome its problems free of foreign interference and without escalating bloodshed.

- 12 -

seeks to achieve three goals; self-determination and racial justice in southern Africa; economic development and progress for all of Africa; and the preservation of Africa's unity and integrity against outside interference and great-power rivalry.

Change has come to Africa with astounding swiftness.

Thirty years ago, much of Africa was the dominion of European powers; today we see a continent of (GIVE CORRECT NUMBER) independent new nations struggling against time, against the elements, and against the forces of instability, to consolidate their nationhood.

The pace of change has accelerated in the last two years in every dimension.

- 14 -

The forces for moderation in black Africa risked
a slide into irrelevance. The peoples of southern
spiral
Africa were menaced by a mounting cycle of
action and reprisal. A widening spiral of
course
warfare and killing had been set in motion from
which no nation was safe, spreading violence
throughout the region, and tempting outside intervention.

-- Worldwide recession and the sharp rise in oil
prices had a drastic impact on the poorest nations,
many of them African. Development plans were
crippled by the fall of export earnings and by the
surge of prices for fuel, fertilizer, and other key
imports. New cycles of drought and famine

- 14a -

halted economic progress and intensified the
suffering of hundreds of thousands of people.

Therefore, last April, President Ford decided on a new
American initiative in search of peace, racial justice,
prosperity and independence for Africa. Our decision to offer

- 16 -

by a single government -- not even by neighboring South Africa. Its unilateral declaration of independence from Britain in November 1965 is regarded as illegal by every member of the world community. Three United States Administrations have supported Britain throughout its long effort to restore its constitutional authority; Britain was -- and remains -- committed to grant independence only under conditions of majority rule.

-17-

Early this year, negotiations between the illegal white minority regime and moderate black nationalist leaders broke down. Guerrilla action intensified; <u>widening</u> violence threatened to engulf the region.

While Rhodesia is the most immediately dangerous problem of southern Africa, Namibia is also of urgent concern.

From 1920, South Africa administered the former German colony of South West Africa under a League of Nations mandate.

In 1966, because of South African violations of important <u>obligations</u>, as determined by the International Court of Justice, the United States, with the support of the United Nations, terminated South Africa's mandate, and the UN assumed direct responsibility for the territory.

South Africa, however, stayed on. In 1971 the <u>International Court of Justice</u> concluded that South Africa's occupation was illegal, <u>no country should</u> that it must immediately withdraw, and that states must not-

-18-

recognize, support or assist South Africa in Namibia. The United States supported the conclusions of the Court and the resolutions of the Security Council, the latest of which was unanimously passed last January and calls on South Africa to comply with the Court's conclusions; to declare its acceptance of free elections under U.N. supervision and control; and to respect the rights of Namibians and the responsibility of the United Nations.

The Security Council decided to review South Africa's compliance on or before today, August 31, 1976.

Namibia, like Rhodesia, contains the seeds of greater conflict. There, too, time is running out. With thousands of foreign troops north of the Namibian border and with intensifying warfare in Rhodesia, a volatile situation is emerging.

And in South Africa itself, the recent outbreaks of racial violence have underscored the inevitable instability of a system

that has sought to institutionalize human inequality and injustice in a way congruent to the world's conscience.

Therefore, I put forward in Lusaka, Zambia in April, on behalf of President Ford an American initiative for all southern

Africa:

We gave strong support to British Prime Minister

Callaghan's proposal for majority rule in Rhodesia in two years or less. We urged the African parties involved to pursue a negotiated settlement in which black and white could coexist and cooperate. We stated our readiness to assist a new Rhodesia -- Zimbabwe -- to overcome economic dislocations so that it could more easily take its place in the community of nations.

We urged South Africa to set a specific date for Namibian independence, and to broaden the political

-23-

the differing objectives of the multitude of nations and groups
involved. There is common ground. But all parties must overcome
the legacy of generations of mistrust; all must keep in mind that the
desire to achieve everything at once may frustrate the unprecedented
steps forward which may be attainable.

We shall be carrying this message to all the parties.

-- The white populations of Rhodesia and Namibia must recognize that majority rule is inevitable. The only issue is what form it will take and how it will come about. Will it be through protracted and bloody conflict that will leave a heritage of bitterness and destruction for generations? Or will it come rapidly through the peaceful means which offer hope for a just and cooperative future for all races?

-- South Africa has taken positive steps with respect

-24-

to Rhodesia and Namibia. We hope that it will remain
continue
be seen that now is the time
conscious of its crucial opportunity to make a
constructive contribution to Africa by committing itself
to rapid progress towards independence in Rhodesia
and Namibia.

-- Black African leaders in the states neighboring Rhodesia and Namibia have perhaps the most difficult challenge.

They feel in their hearts the suffering of their brothers;

they have themselves experienced the oppression of
and they have seen past efforts of settlements
colonial rule. All their instincts are for rapid
solutions without the tedious give-and-take of
negotiations. And yet violence will only escalate
and lengthen, rather than shorten,
bloodshed without bringing a solution nearer. The
it is hard to see how The
wisdom and moderating influence of black African

-28-

In Lusaka in April I pointed out that South African assistance in bringing about rapid negotiated solutions in Rhodesia and Namibia would be viewed positively by the community of nations as well as by the rest of Africa. And I must reiterate here that since then South Africa's role -- with respect to these two problems -- has been constructive.

As for conditions within South Africa, the world, and most black African leaders, recognize South Africa as an African country. Its white settlers have lived on African soil for centuries. No one, including the responsible leaders of black Africa, challenges their right to remain there. Unlike the minority regimes in Rhodesia and Namibia, they cannot be regarded as an outside colonial power.

But South Africa's internal structure is incompatible with

any concept of human dignity. The recent and continuing clashes in
black urban townships, universities and schools throughout South
Africa, are dramatic evidence of the frustration of black South
Africans toward a system which denies them status, equality,

and political rights. No system can last that leads to the periodic

killing of innocents can possibly be called just or acceptable. -- man

We urge South Africa to take account of the conscience of humanity.

We urge South Africa to move energetically for a peaceful end to
apartheid -- a goal which is in the interest of all South Africans,

of all of Africa and indeed of all the world.

The United States must be true to its own beliefs. We will
continue to use all our influence to bring about peaceful change,
equality of opportunity, and basic human rights in South Africa.

Our policy is based upon the premise that within a reasonable

-31-

politician said recently, that "it's no good being able to join the
country club if you haven't got the money to buy a drink."

And you are taking action.

Africa's development needs are massive and your OIC
programs~~ striking~~ at the heart of them: vocational training to
teach the skills that Africa needs to realize its potential. A
~~regardless of existing~~ political circumstances,

mechanic's skill cannot be taken away by a coup d'état; a
~~carpenter's trade can be practiced in the most turbulent times;~~
individually,
and political upheavals cannot diminish the sense of worth which

your training instills. We give you concrete support through

the Agency for International Development and will continue to do so.

(while it is being restored)
But it is your initiative and energy which make that support into
something vital and alive.

Beyond its need for skilled manpower, Africa's economic
aspirations confront a wide range of other challenges.

-32-

Africa is blessed with immense natural wealth. The ratio of population to resources is as favorable as that of any region of the developing world. And there is great margin for improving agricultural productivity despite the challenges.

But no continent suffers so cruelly when crops fail for lack of rain. No continent's natural economic regions are so fragmented by borders drawn up -- often arbitrarily -- in the colonial era. And no continent bears such a crushing burden of poverty and illiteracy.

Africa is doubly challenged -- by recurrent economic catastrophes, and by the need for steady and long-term growth. The United States is dealing with the various dimensions of the task:

- To provide relief from natural disasters, drought

-33-

and famine, we have, in the past five years, more than
quadrupled emergency aid to African nations.

Because we need to foster economic progress where Africa's needs are transcended, we must transcend the limits of national boundaries, and we are now directing much of our effort to assist in developing the areas where cooperation in transportation, agricultural development, health programs, and in collecting information by satellite on crops, weather, water resources, land use, and mineral extraction.

American trade and investment are crucial to help Africa develop. They are rapidly expanding, but they are not enough, especially for the poorest countries. We plan to increase our development assistance for Africa, and we are planned to grow substantially over the coming years -- especially for the least-developed countries.

-34-

-- To help develop human resources, we have requested additional funds from Congress to train administrators and technicians.

For example, the Sahel, the chronically drought-ridden region on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert, has been a major recipient of international relief assistance. The monumental suffering in that area has prompted the generous contributions of many individual Americans, as well as large-scale government relief efforts.

But the disasters which afflict the Sahel come in recurrent cycles. They are altering the ecology across central and western Africa; the desert is encroaching upon once-fertile lands.

The time has come to go beyond periodic measures of relief

and to take comprehensive steps. To this end the United States,
seeking
together with an international group of donor countries is cooperating
in an effort to reverse the economic and ecological decline of the
Sahel and lay the foundations for future growth. We have proposed
Brachet
only in
reducing
copy.

developing major river basins to improve water supply; increasing
crop acreage by modern agricultural methods; improving food
storage facilities; and enhancing the transportation network of the
area.

The effort in the Sahel, and others needed elsewhere in Africa,
intensified
will require cooperation among the industrial democracies of
North America, Western Europe, and Japan. This is why the
United States has endorsed the imaginative proposal of President
Giscard of France for a fund to organize and coordinate Western
assistance efforts for Africa. And we are seeking within the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development a more

-36-

general coordination of development efforts among the industrial democracies.

Africa is heavily dependent upon the world economy.

No African nation can plan its future effectively if its efforts in times of economic crisis are hampered by the domineering economic forces of other nations, and if the economic conditions of many African economies are notITUed upon global market conditions for a single commodity. And higher energy prices or inflation abroad can raise the price of imports that Africa desperately needs, to prohibitive levels.

One year ago, at the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly, the United States presented a comprehensive series of proposals for the world community to respond in a cooperative spirit to the needs of the developing countries.

We have followed up these initiatives with major efforts at the

Paris Conference on International Economic Cooperation, at the
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in Nairobi,
in many <u>institutional</u> and at numerous <u>other international forums</u>. Many of our proposals have been implemented and have had a direct impact on Africa.

Substantial progress has been made in the past year in
shaping the long-term economic relationship between the nations
of the northern and southern hemispheres. The initiatives
which now form the agenda for discussion are, by and large,
proposals made by the United States. But much work remains to
be done. The United States is prepared to move forward in areas
of great importance to the nations of Africa. For example:

-- We are prepared to address the crushing <u>debt burden</u>,
which many poor African nations suffer as a result
of high oil prices <u>and</u> global inflation, and the recession-
related downturn in export earnings.

-38-

-- We are prepared to join with producers and consumers of key commodities to explore measures to improve and stabilize markets. We are ready to participate in producer-consumer forums in ways that will benefit Africa.

-- We will seek satisfactory international arrangements to foster the investment necessary for Africa's growth -- arrangements which both respect national sovereignty and assure predictability and fair treatment for foreign investors;

-- We have proposed in multilateral negotiations to reduce tariffs for tropical products which are of special interest to Africa.

-- To foster industrialization, we are seeking authorization from Congress to make an initial contribution of $15 million

-39-

to the African Development Bank's Development Fund

-- And we will make major efforts to stimulate the flow
in the spirit of the Fund
of modern technology to Africa, to promote growth
and diversify economies now excessively dependent
on a single commodity.

Economic development is a long-term process. There are no
shortcuts. Manifestos and rhetorical assaults are not the answer.
Development depends above all on a sustained and substantial
effort by the countries concerned. It cannot be imposed or extorted.

The United States is committed to work cooperatively with the
nations of Africa and with other developing nations to help them
achieve economic advance and participation in the global economic
system.
But we must be frank to say that rhetorical assaults and
one-sided declarations undermine the conditions for such
cooperation. They weaken public support for development in

-40-

the industrial democracies whose effective cooperation is crucial.

No other group of countries -- least of all the Socialist countries --
is able to provide the technology, the managerial expertise, or the
resources.

- 41 -

Many of the recent resolutions of the non-aligned conference in Colombo were clearly not non-aligned either in content or in phraseology. We reject one-sided proclamations and warn that they can only weaken our hopes for cooperative progress. Non-alignment must be true to its name. It cannot -- indeed it will not -- be taken seriously if it becomes nothing more than a rigid alignment aimed at producing automatic majorities and rhetorical denunciations against the industrial democracies.

The choice that all nations face is between cooperation and chaos. America has made its decision for cooperation. We invite others to join us in the same spirit.

- 42 -

African Independence: Precondition for Progress

Africa's development will be impossible if the independence
and integrity of the continent are not maintained. Africa must
not again become an arena in which outside powers contest
for spheres of influence.

This is why the United States accepts and supports the
non-alignment of groups and nations in Africa. This is why

we agreed with the Presidents of Botswana, Mozambique,
Tanzania, and Zambia that they rather than any non-African

nation should deal directly with the liberation movements of

southern Africa -- thereby hopefully avoiding the competition

which led to the tragedies of the Angolan civil war. We oppose

all those who would subject the African people to forms of

- 43 -

external domination. Western colonialism in Africa is

dying, it must not now be replaced by a new form of colonialism

which it may take generations to remove.

The United States seeks to form no African bloc of its
own, no paramount influence in Africa. We will oppose

all those who would fragment the continent between nations

or factions. For this would turn Africa's energies away from
economic progress, dissipate its independence in strife, foreclose

African hopes for stability and replace one form of injustice with

another. Africa's destiny is for Africa to determine. The

United States calls on all nations to affirm this principle.

There is no better guarantee against foreign intervention
than the determination of African nations to defend their own

- 44 -

independence and unity. Let us, therefore, not minimize the
importance of the security problems that some African nations
face. Economic development is certainly a priority; but
by itself it cannot prevent outside pressure or threats to
African sovereignty. So let us not accept the facile proposition
that black African nations do not have the same need as other
nations to defend themselves against recognized dangers --
especially when they perceive serious and imminent threats from
nearby nations which have been heavily armed by the Soviet Union.
We are determined to avoid unnecessary arms races. But when
friendly and moderate nations like Kenya and Zaire make modest
and responsible requests for assistance to protect themselves
against belligerent neighbors possessing substantial quantities

-30-

period of time we will see a clear evolution toward just internal
arrangements. In my talks with the South African Prime Minister,
and in our diplomatic efforts, we will impress upon South Africa
the need to make this premise a reality.

One fact is clear: a time of change has come again to
all
Africa. Let us take the opportunity before us to avoid a future
of bitterness, pain, and escalation of war; let us
all help build a peaceful and prosperous world, and just Africa and help
it take its rightful place in the world.

## Economic Progress

It is the economic progress of Africa which ultimately will
determine whether Africa can fulfill the aspirations of its peoples.

You here at this convention know that the economic dimension
is fundamental. You know full well, as a black Mississippi

- 45 -

of modern Soviet weapons, we owe them our serious consideration.

To oppose this may undermine the independence and security of Africa.

The ultimate solution is for Africa to strengthen the institutions of its unity and thereby insulate African problems from outside involvement. The United States supports this principle and will abide by it. The United States will not import great power conflict into Africa. We will expect others to do the same.

## Africa and the World

What Africa needs now from the world community is not a return to the exploitive or interventionist practices of decades past. Nor does it need exuberant promises and vapid

- 46 -

expressions of goodwill. It requires concrete commitments to
progress -- political and economic. It requires our readiness
to cooperate as sovereign equals on the basis of mutual responsibility
and mutual benefit.

In this spirit, and with a determination to persevere in
a common effort the United States can do much to influence
for good the great drama that inevitably will be played out on the
African continent. Let there be no mistake: Africa will take
its destiny firmly into its own hands, whether we like it or not.
It will make its contribution to the world community in its own
way, whether we cooperate or not. But the cause of freedom,
not only for ourselves, but for all mankind will be vitally
affected by the part America plays. We can turn our backs on one