Nelson Mandela will officially be removed from the U.S. terrorism watch lists. On Tuesday, President George Bush signed a bill - H.R. 5690 - enabling this to happen.
How on earth did Mandela get on these lists in the first place?
Well, during the time that the South African government enforced racial segregation (between 1948 and 1994), the government chose to classify the African National Congress (ANC) as a terrorist group because of the ANC's continual protest against the country's system of white-only rule. The U.S. followed suit and deemed Mr. Mandela and other members of the ANC as potential terrorists, denying them access to U.S. visas without special permission.
Years, and years later, a bill has been signed to reverse this decision. Now, the U.S. State and Homeland Security Departments are able to waive restrictions against ANC members. Specifically, the bill, "authorizes the Departments of State and Homeland Security to determine that provisions in the Immigration and Nationality Act that render aliens inadmissible due to terrorist or criminal activities would not apply with respect to activities undertaken in association with the African National Congress in opposition to apartheid rule in South Africa."
I guess the legal process really does take time. I wonder what the great freedom fighter/27-year prison veteran/Nobel Peace Prize Winner/former President, Mr. Nelson Mandela, now 90-years old, thinks about all of this.
Source: CNN
1 comment:
and deserts ...oops
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