Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 28, 1990 TAG: 9006280068
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Mandela's address Tuesday to a joint session of Congress "galvanized the thinking of those people in this country who questioned whether sanctions should continue," Wilder said during an interview with African journalists.
Journalists from Lagos, Nigeria, and Pretoria and Johannesburg, South Africa, asked Wilder questions via satellite about the progress of blacks in the political process in the United States and Africa.
Wilder said Virginia should maintain economic pressure on South Africa until the people enjoy the same freedoms they do in the United States.
"When South Africa is on a path of improvement, we can reinvest," he said.
Wilder also said that Washington needs to increase aid to Africa, and said the key element to improving African-American relations is money.
"The real question is whether black Americans can raise money so that their voices can be heard," Wilder said. "In Africa, and South Africa particularly, I would love to see people stop killing each other. The price of ignorance is brutality," Wilder said.
In addressing his plans for the state, the governor said, "My plan for Virginia is including more Virginians in the electoral process," regardless of class, color, race, gender and age barriers.
When asked about his own political career, Wilder said, "My political ambitions are to be the best governor of Virginia," and said, "we'll have to see" about future plans.
Wilder told reporters after the interview that he participated in the event to promote cultural and commercial progress in Africa, and to show that "the system can work, and the system does work."
by CNB