Mandela tells Clinton trade bill is unacceptable President Nelson Mandela mops his brow as President Bill Clinton answers questions during news conference in Cape Town. Photo by Win McNamee By Steve Holland CAPE TOWN - South African President Nelson Mandela on Friday bluntly rejected U.S. President Bill Clinton's free trade prescription for Africa and strongly defended his government's friendly relations with Cuba, Libya and Iran. Mandela let simmering differences with the United States over trade and foreign policy break into the open during a joint news conference with Clinton in the garden of his Cape Town office. Of a trade bill that Clinton is trying to get passed by the U.S. Congress, Mandela said: "This is a matter over which we have serious reservations... To us this is not acceptable." Vehicle to create jobs Clinton defended the proposed Growth and Opportunity Act as a chance to use increased trade between the United States and Africa as a vehicle to create jobs in the sub-Saharan continent. "If you actually go read the bill, the first and most important thing is if the bill becomes law, it will increase the access of all African nations to the American economy," Clinton said. But Mandela reflected a view prevalent among many Africans who worry the United States simply wants to open up African markets for its own gain while at the same time reducing direct assistance. Mandela, the 79-year-old leader who emerged from 27 years as a political prisoner to become South Africa's first democratically elected president in 1994, made clear that South Africa's relations with the United States are strong and friendly. "This is one of our proudest moments," he said. After the news conference he and Clinton headed for a tour of Robben Island, where Mandela spent 18 years as a political prisoner. But Mandela opened up the news conference in this windy city by saying he would not be bullied by America's continuing campaign to isolate three of its enemies, Cuba, Libya and Iran. Struggle against apartheid He said these nations had supported the African National Congress during its struggle against apartheid policies of South Africa's previous white-minority government. "Our moral authority dictates that we should not abandon those who helped us in the darkest hour in the history of the country," he said, saying Cuban President Fidel Castro was the first head of state he had received. He referred to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi as "brother Gaddafi." <Picture>Hillary Clinton and Nelson Mandela's partner Graca Machel applaud President Clinton's address to South African Parliament on Thursday. Photo by Rick T. Wilking "They gave us the resources so as to conduct a struggle and win, and those South Africans who have berated me for being loyal to our friends, literally, they can go and throw themselves into a pool," he said. He said the United States should "call upon its enemies, 'let's sit down and talk peace'" as a way of eliminating tensions. "I have no doubt that the role of the United States as the world leader would be tremendously enhanced" if it were to do so, he said. The United States has long maintained economic sanctions against Cuba, Libya and Iran and pressures other countries to do so as well. Clinton did not respond to Mandela's lecture and was not asked about it. One example of U.S.-South African disagreements over Cuba is in Dow Chemical Co.'s purchase of a South African chemical company, Sentrachem, which once sold much fertiliser and other chemicals to Cuba but is now barred from doing so as the subsidiary of a U.S. company. Clinton, asked about Dow, said "the law is the law" but added that Pope John Paul II's recent visit to Cuba could pave the way for America to do more to help Cuba. Last week he lifted a ban on direct flights for humanitarian purposes. 12-day dash Clinton, looking weary from the pace of his 12-day dash across six African countries, defended his decision not to make a direct apology to African Americans for slavery, even though he came close to apologising to Africans for it during a speech in Uganda on Tuesday. He said most members of the African-American community wanted him to keep his racial policies "looking to the future" although no one was proud of slavery's awful legacy. Asked about the possibility of debt relief for depressed African countries, Clinton said he had discussed it with Mandela and wanted more debt relief as long as more countries moved towards market reforms. He said relief without sound policies would make investors reluctant to lend money "because nobody would be sure they'd get their money back." He said the issue would be discussed at a May summit in England of the Group of Eight leading industrial nations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ c1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.
