Jesse Comes Calling

The Rev. Jesse Jackson likes to be where the action is, and so he was in South Africa just in time for the release of Nelson Mandela. "It's a bold and courageous act," said Jackson, lauding State President F.W. de Klerk's announcement. De Klerk looked less kindly on Jackson's visit. Asked if the arrival of the American politician had any bearing on the timing of Mandela's release, De Klerk replied tersely, "His presence is totally irrelevant."

In his first trip to the country in nearly eleven years, Jackson has not exactly been welcomed by the white establishment in South Africa. Even before his plane touched down, Foreign Minister Roelof ("Pik") Botha accused him of doing some double-talking in getting his visa. At a stopover in London, Jackson repeated his strong support for sanctions against the South African government. Said Botha: "It is a pity he made these remarks about sanctions, because he made exactly the opposite remarks to my Ambassador ((in Washington)) when they had private talks."

But what really galled Botha was Jackson's apparent desire to share in the glow of Mandela's release. "The government's decisions ((on Mandela)) were taken before the arrival of Mr. Jackson," Botha said. "He can come and enjoy the aftermath, but he can certainly not claim any credit for having been a player on the field."

Jackson was in the country for a twelve-day visit as a guest of the South African Council of Churches and Walter Sisulu, an African National Congress leader who was released last year after 26 years in prison. Jackson has been repeatedly denied visas since his last trip in 1979, when he labeled the government a "terroristic dictatorship."

This time he avoided stirring up controversy. He declined to respond to Botha's charges, and he turned down a request to lead a protest against a visiting English cricket team. Still, black South Africans were unrestrained in their welcome for the American cleric. In Soweto, where he visited Sisulu, Jackson was followed by scores of singing and dancing people who, in addition to their traditional paeans to Mandela and the A.N.C., chanted "Long live Jesse Jackson!"