U.S. Congress Removes "Terrorist" Label from Nelson Mandela

To coincide with former South African President Nelson Mandela's birthday, on Friday, the U.S. Congress has approved for a long overdue removal of Mandela's name from the U.S. terrorist list, Xinhua reports.

The Senate unanimously passed the legislation late Thursday, removing the "terrorist" label and travel restrictions imposed on Mandela and other senior members of the African National Congress (ANC). The House of Representatives passed this legislation on May 8.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a proponent for the removal, said, "It is frankly a rather embarrassing matter that I still have to waive in my own counterparts -- the foreign minister of South Africa, not to mention the great leader, Nelson Mandela."

Rice continued, "I really do hope that we can remove these restrictions on the ANC. This is a country with which we now have excellent relations -- South Africa."

The reason for Mandela's ban and his "terrorist" labeling is the result of the South African apartheid government's decision in 1960 to ban the ANC and jail its leaders. South Africa did not lift the ban until 30 years later.

Due to the ANC ban, Mandela was jailed for 27 years for his leadership in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. After his release in 1990, Mandela became the first post-apartheid-era president.

Howard Berman, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the one who introduced the legislation, said, "It is shameful that the United States still treats the ANC this way based solely on its designation as a terrorist organization by the old apartheid South African regime."