De Klerk Deserved to Be Heard : But Congress will rightly insist on more moves from his government

Frederik W. de Klerk can take great pride in becoming the first South African president to be welcomed at the White House in 42 years. But he needs to realize that his chief political problem in America is not with President Bush, who extended a warm welcome to the head of state, but with Congress. Many legislators are unconvinced that it’s anywhere near time to modify or suspend economic sanctions.

Perhaps the President was playing good cop to the “bad cops” that are sure to dominate any debate in Congress over prematurely relaxing the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986. That law requires South Africa to meet five conditions to gain relief from economic penalties. It also gives the President the discretion to relax sanctions if fewer conditions are met, but only if South Africa demonstrates substantial progress toward dismantling apartheid.

De Klerk does deserve great encouragement for releasing Nelson Mandela, unbanning the African National Congress and other political parties, freeing some political prisoners, allowing exiles to return home and lifting the oppressive state of emergency in all but the troubled Natal province. Those actions satisfy two of the terms imposed by Congress, but more must be done to trigger the easing of economic penalties.

Thirty million black South Africans are still legally classified--and pervasively penalized--by race from cradle to grave. The pillars of apartheid, such as the Group Areas Act and the Population Registration Act, remain on the books. These and other laws restrict voting rights, education and even where a person can live on the unfair basis of race or color.

To satisfy the spirit and the letter of the anti-apartheid act, the South African government must rescind all racially restrictive laws, free all political prisoners and guarantee every adult a full voice in the government. That level of change will demonstrate irreversible progress toward a nonracial democracy. That level of progress will merit the lifting of sanctions.