COLUMN LEFT : South Africa Must Be Made To Move : Mandela is more than doing his job. It’s time for the West to reinforce his efforts.

Much has recently been written questioning the leadership abilities of African National Congress Deputy President Nelson Mandela. Articles have described him as an elderly statesman no longer in touch with the times and unable to move his organization forward. This is not the Nelson Mandela that I have talked with and observed over the past few months.

Standing in the damp, cool spring air in London’s Wembley Stadium last week, I witnessed a South African who represents more people than the president of South Africa and has more credibility in the world than that government. Yet he does not have the voting rights of an ordinary 21-year-old white person.

For 20 minutes this towering figure--who through unselfish suffering has emerged as the preeminent moral authority of our day--held spellbound more than 72,000 people in the stadium and about 1 billion others viewing this televised international tribute in 60 countries.

(The U.S. networks did a disservice in deciding not to broadcast the mega-concert, deeming it too political. A few years ago the American news media said they could not adequately cover the situation in South Africa because of the imposed state of emergency restrictions. What was the excuse this time?)

After a thunderous five-minute ovation, Mandela thanked the rock artists and the cultural community and the millions of others who, by protest and pressure on the government, aided his release from prison after 27 years. He then implored that economic pressure be maintained: “The apartheid crime against humanity remains in place,” Mandela said. “It continues to kill and maim, to oppress and exploit. Its bloodstained offspring continue to rain death and destruction on the peoples of Mozambique and Angola. Every day it produces orphans throughout southern Africa.”

It is unfair that Mandela should, as the media suggest, bear the burden of ending apartheid. That burden clearly rests with the South African government and President F. W. de Klerk. The oppressed have the burden of resisting. Millions have fought and thousands have died in that resistance. Those who instituted and profited from apartheid must end it.

The day before the concert, Mandela addressed supporters and journalists. He gave a masterful analysis on ANC leaders’ positions as they prepare to meet with the South African government early next month. He never once sounded like someone out of touch, but rather like a clear-thinking, focused individual.

I saw in him a man who spoke about negotiation instead of confrontation and one who espouses a commitment to a new constitution that calls for equal protection for all in a non-racial, free, fair and democratic South Africa. He envisions a South Africa that will one day become an oasis of hope and possibility for everyone. But in this pep-rally environment, filled with talks of hopes and dreams, a silence fell over the room when he said: “When I was sent to prison 27 years ago, I had no vote. Twenty-seven years thereafter, I have come out and I still have no vote.”

There is a profound challenge before us. Justice delayed is justice denied. It is my hope that a workable timetable will emerge from the upcoming talks, setting in motion the total dismantling of apartheid. I am optimistic, but cautious. De Klerk, in a recent speech, said that though he remains in favor of power sharing, black majority rule is unacceptable. I am hopeful that De Klerk’s regressive position will not deteriorate the emerging hope in South Africa.

This also is an opportunity and a challenge to President Bush, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and other Western leaders to help forge a visionary agenda for the entire southern African region. The region needs assistance, for example, in rebuilding the Beira corridor in Mozambique and the Benguela railroad in Angola, with a commitment to assure safe passage on these routes.

These and other major trade routes have been destroyed by the U.S.-supported Angolan guerrilla leader Jonas Savimbi as well as by South Africa and its agents, making the region dependent on South African-controlled routes.

No one person or organization should have to bear the burden of bringing about social, political and economic change for South Africa. The world must heed the call and help. Nelson Mandela represents a bright ray of hope. But he should not have to stand alone. The people of South Africa deserve hope and healing, not more platitudes and promises.