African Activist Archive

The mailing says the Export Administration Act died when Congress adjourned on October 12, 1984, along with a provision for U.S. economic sanctions against South Africa. The two-year campaign for these sanctions has strengthened the U.S. anti-apartheid movement, with several victories along the way. The Reagan Administration and Senate Republicans tried to remove the sanctions from the bill, but organizing by the anti-apartheid movement stopped them. Grassroots pressure on Senator John Heinz forced him to change his position and join the Democrats to vote for a compromise which included a "no bank loans" sanction despite administration and Republican leadership opposition. The strength of grassroots support for sanctions made the House stand up and demand sanctions, leading Senator Garn and the administration to kill the bill. This repeated show of strength has placed the anti-apartheid movement in an excellent position for another campaign to pass sanctions in the 99th Congress; the Democratic Presidential candidates and the Democratic Platform now endorse the provisions.

African Activist Archive

[Dear Friend, On behalf of the Washington Office on Africa, I would like to thank you for the work which you did to promote the South Africa provisions of the Export Administration Act.]

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