WORLD : Departing Envoy Salutes Blacks

Edward Perkins, the first black U.S. ambassador to South Africa, ended his tour of duty today with a salute to the country’s blacks.

“It’s pretty difficult to stifle the desire of people to be free,” he said. Perkins gave his first news conference in 2 1/2 years in South Africa just before boarding a plane to the United States, where he is expected to become director-general of the Foreign Service.

“The most encouraging (thing) has been to see the reaction of the black majority to the efforts of the government to stifle overt unhappiness with the status quo,” he said. “I think the black majority seem even more determined, even stronger in making a difference.”