Full Text of SR0518 93rd General Assembly
SR0518 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Many pivotal events in South Africa's history mark | 3 |
| that country's struggle for democracy and racial equality; and | 4 |
| WHEREAS, In 1950 and 1952 the South African Government | 5 |
| created race based policies that severely restricted access to | 6 |
| land and movement by blacks; and | 7 |
| WHEREAS, During the 1950s, the African National Congress | 8 |
| (ANC), formed in 1912 to bring all Africans together as one | 9 |
| people to defend their rights and freedoms, was reenergized to | 10 |
| aggressively fight for the rights of blacks; and | 11 |
| WHEREAS, A mass mobilization campaign began shortly | 12 |
| thereafter in reaction to these laws, a consequence of which | 13 |
| was the creation of the Freedom Charter, based on principles of | 14 |
| human rights and racial equality adopted in 1955 at the | 15 |
| Congress of the People in Soweto; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, On March 21, 1960, during a rally protesting the | 17 |
| laws that restricted movement of blacks, 69 unarmed people were | 18 |
| killed by police officers in the Sharpeville incident; and | 19 |
| WHEREAS, In 1962, a new stage of international pressure on | 20 |
| the South African Government to change its repressive policies | 21 |
| began when the United Nations General Assembly adopted | 22 |
| Resolution 1761 which called on its members to institute | 23 |
| economic sanctions against South Africa; and | 24 |
| WHEREAS, Nelson Mandela, who secretly exercised his | 25 |
| leadership in the ANC, was arrested and sentenced to five years | 26 |
| imprisonment in 1962 for incitement; and | 27 |
| WHEREAS, Several of Mandela's senior ANC colleagues, | 28 |
| including Walter Sisulu, were arrested, and Mandela was brought |
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| from jail to trial with his ANC colleagues resulting in | 2 |
| sentences of life imprisonment for Mandela and his colleagues; | 3 |
| and | 4 |
| WHEREAS, During a protest march against being taught in the | 5 |
| Afrikaans language in 1976, police fired on youth in Soweto, | 6 |
| killing 13 year old Hector Petersen and at least three others, | 7 |
| precipitating a massive flood of violence; and | 8 |
| WHEREAS, Stephen Biko, the founder of the new Black | 9 |
| Consciousness movement, was killed as a result of police | 10 |
| brutality in 1977; and | 11 |
| WHEREAS, In 1990, South African President F.W. de Klerk | 12 |
| lifted restrictions on 33 opposition groups, including the | 13 |
| African National Congress; and | 14 |
| WHEREAS, Nelson Mandela was released after 27 years of | 15 |
| imprisonment on February 11, 1990; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, Nelson Mandela and President F.W. de Klerk were | 17 |
| jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993; and | 18 |
| WHEREAS, On April 27, 1994, South Africa held its first | 19 |
| democratic elections and Nelson Mandela, as the leader of the | 20 |
| ANC party, was elected unopposed as President of South Africa | 21 |
| in 1994; and
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| WHEREAS, During his presidential inaugural speech, which | 23 |
| was attended by the largest gathering of international leaders | 24 |
| ever held in South Africa, Nelson Mandela called for a "time of | 25 |
| healing" and stated that his government would fight against | 26 |
| discrimination of any kind; therefore, be it | 27 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL | 28 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize and |
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| commemorate the tenth anniversary of South Africa's first | 2 |
| democratic elections; and be it further | 3 |
| RESOLVED, That we remember and honor the individuals who | 4 |
| contributed to and dedicated their lives to promoting and | 5 |
| championing democracy in South Africa, most notably Nelson | 6 |
| Mandela, Stephen Biko, F.W. de Klerk, Chris Hani, Helen Joseph, | 7 |
| Thabo Mbeki, Walter Sisulu, Joe Slovo, Helen Suzman, Oliver | 8 |
| Tambo, and Desmond Tutu; and be it further | 9 |
| RESOLVED, That we recognize the exceptional character of | 10 |
| Nelson Mandela for his dedication to humanity, commitment to | 11 |
| democratic ideals, and continued display of tolerance and | 12 |
| spirit of conciliation for the world; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That we recognize the pivotal events in South | 14 |
| Africa's history that mark the struggle for democracy and | 15 |
| racial equality; and be it further | 16 |
| RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the | 17 |
| President of the Republic of South Africa.
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