Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 1, 1990 TAG: 9007010174
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: OAKLAND, CALIF. LENGTH: Medium
Mandela said he had received letters describing the conditions of the American Indians, "and I can assure you they have left me very disturbed."
Mandela said he would have liked to inspect those conditions for himself, "but unfortunately my schedule is very tight. But I can assure the leaders of the American Indian community that I will return in October."
Mandela, his head shielded from a glaring sun by a brightly colored umbrella, spoke before an estimated 70,000 people at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in the last major event of his eight-city tour of the country.
In a brief news conference afterward, Mandela declined to give any details of his planned return.
"I and my delegation are extremely excited about the manner in which we have been welcomed by the people of this country, by all sections of the population . . . black and white . . . and by people of different political affiliations," Mandela said.
He and his wife, Winnie, left on a 6:25 p.m. flight to Ireland via Canada.
Saturday's speech was one of the first occasions Mandela had spoken about the plight of ethnic groups in the United States.
Although his visit has galvanized black activists, Mandela has preferred not to discuss the social and economic status of blacks in the United States. He has said he was in the United States to focus attention on apartheid in South Africa, not on American domestic problems.
During the speech Saturday, Mandela promised not to give up the battle against apartheid "until victory is achieved."
"Our people demand democracy. Our country, which continues to bleed and suffer pain, needs democracy. Our country stands on the threshold of fundamental change, but we still have a long road to travel before reaching our destination," he said.
Tour director Roger Wilkins said the Mandelas had been forced to leave Saturday afternoon so they could reach Ireland in time to meet with Prime Minister Charles Haughey today.
Hundreds gathered at the Coliseum hours before Mandela's scheduled appearance, paying $5 each to see Mandela.
Mandela, deputy president of the African National Congress, hoped to raise $1 million from his Oakland stops for the ANC treasury.
He raised at least $1.7 million on Friday in Los Angeles, where he received an enthusiastic welcome everywhere he went.
Mandela's busy Friday included speaking to 15,000 people at City Hall, meeting former Soviet dissident and Jewish leader Natan Sharansky, attending an Armory Building fund-raiser and appearing at a huge rally at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
As Mandela took the stage, people in the crowd of 75,000 thrust their fists in the air, chanted his name, cheered and applauded wildly.
by CNB