August 12, 1969
Page 23379
CONGRESSIONAL GROUP PROTESTS ACTION OF SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT RESTRICTING VISAS FOR TWO MEMBERS OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
(Mr. CULVER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. CULVER. Mr. Speaker, the South African Government has recently refused to grant visas to two of our colleagues, Mr. REID of New York and Mr. DIGGS of Michigan, unless they agree to make no speeches while in the country. Understandably, under the circumstances, both have found it necessary to cancel plans to go to South Africa.
As chairman of an informal bipartisan group in Congress interested in African-American relations, I include at this point in the RECORD a statement of protest which has been signed by 28 Members of the House and Senate, as an indication to the Government of South Africa of the depth of concern in this country about the restrictions which it has imposed, not only on our colleagues in the House, but upon communication and contact between the people of our two nations:
STATEMENT OF PROTEST AGAINST SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT DENYING VISAS TO MEMBERS OF U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
As a bipartisan group of members of the House and Senate who have long been concerned about United States relations with Africa, we are disturbed to learn that the South African Government has refused to grant visas to two of our colleagues, Rep. Ogden Reid of New York and Rep. Charles Diggs of Michigan, without serious restrictions on their activity during the time they would be in that country.
Congressman Reid had been invited by the National Union of South African Students to deliver the address on the occasion of the Annual Day of Affirmation of Academic and Human Freedom on August 18th in the Great Hall of the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. He has been informed that the South African Government will grant him a visa only on the condition that he make no speeches while in the country.
Congressman Diggs is the Chairman of the Africa Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and had intended to include South Africa in a special study mission of a number of nations on the African continent. His visa, too, was granted only with certain conditions attached.
Both Mr. Reid and Mr. Diggs have found, as we do, that these conditions are unacceptable for them as Members of Congress and they have, regretfully, cancelled their plans to go to South Africa. This is particularly unfortunate in the light of their deep concern for human rights and the rule of law.
We very much share our colleagues' concern in this matter and feel that it is a cause for genuine regret that, at a time when our world grows smaller, any nation should act to restrict communication between peoples.
Most particularly, we take an extremely dim view of the practice of granting conditional visas to Members of Congress. As far as we can determine, this procedure is unprecedented, and we wish to point out that the United States has imposed no restrictions on South African Members of Parliament visiting this country.
There is no question but that the granting of conditional visas to Mr. Reid and Mr. Diggs will have an effect on relations between South Africa and the United States, and could signal to the world further South African withdrawal into isolation. This is a point which our government has made clear at the highest levels in both Washington and Pretoria, and one with which we agree most strongly.
The decision of the South African Government is an insult to our colleagues and, beyond that, it constitutes a devastating attack on the principles of freedom and mutual understanding to which all men of good will are devoted. We wish to make clear to the South African Government that their decisions in the cases of Rep. Reid and Rep. Diggs will surely affect any plans we may have, as individuals or as a group, to visit South Africa in the future.
SIGNERS
Congressman Allard Lowenstein (New York).
Congressman Jonathan Bingham (New York).
Congressman John Brademas (Indiana).
Congressman John Conyers (Michigan).
Congressman John Culver (Iowa).
Congressman Donald Fraser (Minnesota).
Congressman Peter Frelinghuysen (New Jersey).
Congressman Frank Horton (New York).
Congressman Paul McCloskey (California).
Congressman Brad Morse (Massachusetts).
Congressman Charles Mosher (Ohio).
Congressman Thomas O'Neill (Massachusetts).
Congressman Richard Ottinger (New York).
Congressman Benjamin Rosenthal (New York).
Congressman Fred Schwengel (Iowa).
Congressman John Tunney (California).
Congressman Don Edwards (California).
Congressman Richard McCarthy (New York).
Senator Edward Brooke (Massachusetts).
Senator Clifford Case (New Jersey).
Senator Thomas Eagleton (Missouri).
Senator Gale McGee (Wyoming).
Senator Frank Moss (Utah).
Senator Edmund Muskie (Maine).
Senator Edward Kennedy (Massachusetts).
Senator Charles Mathias (Maryland).
Senator James Pearson (Kansas).
Senator Mark Hatfield (Oregon).