South Africa Commandments Without Moses

By William E. Smith

He preaches regularly from the pulpit of a Philadelphia church, but his most noted sermon is a code of conduct for Americans doing business in South Africa. A decade ago, the Rev. Leon Sullivan, a Baptist clergyman and civil rights leader, formulated a set of antiapartheid principles that came to be adopted by a majority of U.S. companies operating in that troubled land. Last week Sullivan called a press conference in Washington to announce a dramatic change in strategy. Because the so-called Sullivan Principles had failed to bring an end to apartheid, he declared, he had concluded that all American firms should leave South Africa and that the Reagan Administration should break its remaining trade and diplomatic ties with that country.

Sullivan's original view had been that U.S. firms were justified in remaining if they stressed desegregation in the workplace, strengthened the training and promotion of black employees and pressed for improvement in black health care, housing and education. Today 127 of the nearly 200 U.S. companies still in business in South Africa subscribe to the Sullivan Principles, and many U.S. executives believe those guidelines have had a major influence on South African society.

Sullivan does not. Discouraged by the results of the recent whites-only elections that produced a sharp turn to the right, he concluded that more drastic measures were needed. In addition to demanding the withdrawal of U.S. firms, Sullivan maintained that American companies should stop supplying South Africa with components and should end licensing agreements in that country. The only exceptions, he continued, should be for the news media, philanthropic and education programs and black-owned businesses.

In Pretoria, Foreign Minister Roelof ("Pik") Botha declared that South Africa could not "allow itself to be threatened in this way." The Reagan Administration took milder exception to Sullivan's announcement, saying that "it is now more important than ever for U.S. firms to stay and work for an end of apartheid." Several U.S. companies suggested they would continue to follow the Sullivan Principles. Asked whether the guidelines could endure without Sullivan, the clergyman quipped, "Well, they kept the Ten Commandments without Moses."

Sullivan is convinced the government of State President P.W. Botha is "pushing back even the reforms that have been made." But last week Botha made a symbolic effort to gain black support by visiting the district of Lekoa, whose precincts include the township of Sharpeville. In 1960 police gunned down 69 blacks in Sharpeville when they staged a peaceful demonstration against the pass laws, which were repealed last year. The mayor of Lekoa, Esau Mahlatsi, urged Botha to allow blacks to enter Parliament, while the President in turn asked townspeople to resist "the influence of radicals and fanatics." Though Botha drew cheers from black crowds during his visit, other blacks were furious at Mahlatsi for letting the white leader in the door. Referring to the mayor's presentation of "the freedom of Lekoa" to his distinguished visitor, the Sowetan demanded in an editorial, "Does it not strike you as odd that black councilors should be giving away something they do not have -- freedom?"

With reporting by Ricardo Chavira/Washington and Bruce W. Nelan/Sharpeville