South Africa Quiet Sting

A diplomat makes his mark

I sense a growing realization that a valid political system here must be one that correlates with the demographics of the country -- not merely black participation or black cooperation, but a government which truly represents the majority of South Africans.

Strip away the diplomatic jargon and that statement is pure dynamite. Its author? U.S. Ambassador Edward J. Perkins, writing in the influential South African bimonthly Leadership, whose latest issue appeared last week. The U.S. State Department insisted that it was entirely consistent with previously stated U.S. policy condemning the South African practice of racial apartheid. As departmental officials noted, Secretary...

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