Break in the Sanctions Impasse? : Mandela’s eyebrow-raising letter suggests a change toward South Africa

A much needed palliative to the fractured peace process in South Africa: Nelson Mandela has given a sign that a once intractable issue between black and white leaders may no longer be so.

The deputy president of the African National Congress has written to the European Community asking leaders to postpone their review of economic sanctions and hold the line on the restrictions--but only for a few months.

That request has been interpreted as a new willingness by the ANC to accept the relaxation of sanctions in the coming months, if progress is made as anticipated in South Africa.

Mandela’s letter to the European leaders asks the group to put off until February or March a discussion scheduled for this week. The request is significant because it is the first indication of a possible shift in ANC strategy on sanctions, despite the stalemate on negotiations with the white minority government.

Sanctions have been sacred to the ANC. As recently as three weeks ago, ANC leaders rejected any attempts to weaken the punishing restrictions, which have proven an effective prod for change in the racially divided nation. But, in what may be a nod toward growing international sentiment, the ANC seems ready to change its stance.

The ANC is talking with the influential black trade unionists, religious leaders and other black groups; its new strategy would seem to downsize the sanction weapon--linking it to specific goals, such as the anticipated repeal of two legal pillars of apartheid.

The South African Parliament, at the urging of President Frederik W. de Klerk, is expected when it opens in February to repeal the Group Areas Act, which imposes harsh residential segregation, and the Land Act, which reserves the vast majority of land for the white minority.

The repeal of those heinous laws would go a long way toward satisfying U.S. conditions for the repeal of American sanctions. The political hurdles may prove formidable. But if Washington lifts sanctions, the restrictions will fall worldwide.

Given the growing European sentiment for that, the ANC can retain control of the international debate only if it sets a timetable for the lifting of sanctions before the economic barriers are relaxed.

The sanction issue is only one of the topics the ANC is expected to discuss at its consultative conference next week. The ANC must nurture its international allies, encourage peace among warring black factions, get negotiations back on track with the government and address the aspirations of an impatient black majority. That is a full agenda indeed.

In the midst of the uncertainty on the future of South Africa, Mandela’s letter to the EC indicates that the time to lift sanctions--a real measure of progress--may be drawing nigh.