De Klerk Urges New Look at Sanctions

South African President Frederik W. de Klerk, a day after winning support from President Bush for lifting international sanctions imposed to combat apartheid, urged other Western leaders Tuesday to re-evaluate their positions. The restrictions are undermining efforts at political reform, he said, by taking a “heavy toll” on his country’s economy.

“For the international community, it is no longer necessary to kick down the door,” De Klerk said. “The door is open. The international community must also walk through that open door and realize that political development is dependent upon basic stability of the country.”

That stability, he said, is undermined not only by factional and political fighting but also by a depressed economy caused to a great extent by the sanctions.

De Klerk was interviewed at a breakfast session by a small group of journalists at Blair House, the official residence for visiting heads of state. Later in the day he met with members of Congress.

On Monday, Bush pledged support for an early end to U.S. sanctions against South Africa and declared that the process of change in the country is “irreversible.” His position put him at odds with most other Western leaders and anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela, who favors keeping the sanctions until political reforms eliminating racial separation are in place.

De Klerk said Tuesday that he and Mandela, deputy president of the African National Congress, have developed “a very open relationship.” He said they conferred in person or on the telephone four or five times in the two weeks before he came to the United States.

But he said Mandela “seems to believe that my hands are somehow or other tied behind my back by some sinister force that I’m not admitting to, and that I’m afraid of a coup or something, or the security forces overthrowing me.”

“It’s just not true,” he said.