Congressmen Angered by Crackdown : Tougher U.S. Curbs on S. Africa Sought

Voicing outrage over the South African government’s latest crackdown on opponents of apartheid, a bipartisan group of House members pledged Thursday to push for legislation mandating tough new U.S. sanctions against Pretoria that could be ready for a vote by early April.

The House members also blasted President Reagan’s comment during his Wednesday press conference that the South African struggle focuses on a “tribal policy more than . . . a racial policy,” calling the remark historically inaccurate and insulting to black Americans.

Reagan’s statement, which came in response to a question about blacks fighting to end the South African policy of apartheid, or racial separation, was “very insensitive and really lacking in any sense of history,” said Rep. Jim Leach (R-Iowa).

‘New Life’ for Campaign

The latest actions by the South African government, coupled with Reagan’s comment, have breathed “new life” into a campaign for tougher U.S. sanctions and are likely to trigger a renewed congressional debate over the next few months, he said.

Meanwhile, amid mounting controversy, White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater declined to elaborate on Reagan’s comment. While the Administration has registered concern over the South African situation, it remains firmly opposed to U.S. sanctions, he said.

“We do not believe sanctions are an effective way of doing it (changing South African policy), or that they’re effective,” Fitzwater said.

Proponents of new sanctions indicated that the legislation they are putting on a “fast track” will call for mandatory divestiture by American corporations of all business ties in South Africa and a total trade embargo, exempting only strategic minerals.

Existing U.S. restrictions against the South African regime prohibit imports of certain products, limit American investment except in black-run businesses and restrict high-technology exports to the country. Last year, Congress also passed a law denying certain tax advantages to U.S. corporations doing business in South Africa.

Leach, who joined 11 colleagues in a Capitol Hill press conference, predicted that there will be Republican support for proposed new sanctions against South Africa, adding that “the Reagan Administration has to stand up on this issue; it can’t just slough it off.”

The issue was reignited by an announcement Wednesday that the South African government had banned political activity by 18 anti-apartheid organizations, including the United Democratic Front coalition, and the nation’s largest trade union group.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Charles Redman called the action a “giant step backward” and conveyed the nation’s “shock and distress” to South African Ambassador Piet G.J. Koornhof. But critics said that was not enough and demanded that the Reagan Administration take stronger steps.

“This represents just one more step toward the imposition of totalitarian government control over the nonwhite majority in South Africa,” said Rep. Howard Wolpe (D-Mich.), who chairs the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Africa.

‘We Cannot Do Nothing’

“We in Congress cannot watch this repression mount and do nothing. New sanctions are the only means to raise the costs the South African government must bear if it is to continue on this tragic and bloody course.”

Sponsors conceded that it may be difficult to impose tougher U.S. sanctions, noting that House members who voted for harsh regulations two years ago were eventually forced to accept a less restrictive proposal approved by the Republican-controlled Senate.