Sid, yes it seemed like that to us at the time... But the old man sometimes pull surprises out of the hat. Apparently he met with one of the long-term jailed leaders during the visit last week, and yesterday he had a session with the president of Portugal where they publicly demanded amnesty for political prisoners and a peace process. But it's pretty murky. Talk of arms sales from SA to repressive regimes continues apace. And one of the leading SACP strategists (now SA ambassador to Sweden) made the comment that SA could have greater influence over undemocratic conditions in Indonesia and East Timor through "constructive engagement" (not toungue in cheek). Oh, and sorry about recently posting what I thought was a personal reply to a personal note from Marc at D&S; got to watch those addresses on the screen... Ciao! Patrick > Date: 28 Jul 1997 17:44:08 > Subject: mandela's silence on suharto genocide > To: Recipients of conference <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > As quoted in agitprop news 7/27/97: > > Mandela was silent on the Suharto regime's brutal suppression > of political dissent and trade unionism at home, as well as its > coercive labour policies. Asked for comments on the > Indonesian regime's occupation of East Timor, he stated that > it was an internal affair that should be resolved through > discussions. > > Did mandela get a lobotomy? ... Perhaps apartheid was an "internal > affair" that should have been "resolved through discussions."
