Manila, 2 March 1997
President of the University of the Philippines;
Madame Chancellor;
Excellencies;
Members of the University;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen.
The judgments that universities make are well-considered. Their accolades, we know, are not lightly bestowed. And so the honour which you do me in conferring an honorary degree moves me deeply. I feel it all the more because you do so in order to celebrate the achievements of the South African people as a whole.
It is moving because it is the act of a university with a proud record of academic excellence which counts so many illustrious citizens amongst its alumni. It awakens deep emotions because it evokes the solidarity of the international community, amongst them the people of the Philippines, who stood with us in our struggle for freedom.
This award touches our hearts because it is in the communion of ideas that nations share their deepest aspirations. In choosing the subject of the law to pay this tribute to the people of South Africa you display a sure understanding. I say this not because of my own passionate engagement with the law as a student and practitioner. Rather it is because South Africans elected make their revolution a profoundly legal one.
The abuse of law that subverted it to the imperatives of oppression and perpetuation of inequality, never succeeded in extinguishing the ideal of justice in law from the hearts of South Africans. The path of change which they finally chose was one that makes constitutionality and human rights the framework for political and social transformation.
This fundamental choice has now been consummated in the new constitution which recently became the basic law of our land. It reflects our yearning for a rising quality of life for all, for democracy, peace, security ad respect for human rights.
In our constitution's overarching injunction to address the legacy of past inequalities, it respects the universal experience of democrats everywhere. Our democracy will remain fragile, and our rights mere formalities if they do not bring real improvement in the lives of people, and if we do not reconcile those once torn apart.
Ladies and gentlemen;
If we recount these achievements, it is not because we believe they are unique or beyond those of others.
Indeed we know that we are guest of a people who inspired the world with their own revolution to restore democracy; who became a symbol for the empowerment of ordinary people; and who are blazing their own trail of reconciliation in Mindanao by resolving what others regarded as an intractable conflict.
If we boast of our own humble achievements it is because we have the pride of a people who have confounded the prophets of doom by their resolution in putting the past behind them, in order to unite around a common mission of rapid socio-economic development.
That is why our visit to South East Asia is focused with such intent on issues of trade ad investment. The countries of this region are renowned for their economic success, and growth rates to which most other countries at present only aspire. We have come to learn. And we have come to promote stronger ties between our countries and our regions which will, we are convinced, bring mutual benefit.
Sustainable and higher rates of growth are central to fulfilling South Africa's plans for reconstruction and development. And in our Macro-economics Strategy we have set ourselves bold targets of six per cent growth by the year 2000 ad the creation of 400 000 jobs a year.
With growth of three per cent for two successive years, the South African economy has started on the road towards sustained expansion. Economic indicators point to deep-seated structural changes for the better.
The same tempo is beginning to be felt in the affairs of our region. Released from the fetters of destabilisation, Southern Africa has been quick to grasp the opportunity for a co-operative and regional approach to unlocking its development potential. The signing of regional protocols, the purposeful lifting of impediments to trade; the birth of new institutions, and the burgeoning of co-operation in matters of infrastructure development - these are the outwards signs of a region that intends living up to its promise of becoming a powerful engine of development.
This is the context within which South Africa is energetically seeking to strengthen its relations with your country and the countries of South-East Asia. And that is why we are so encouraged to be visiting a country which sets great store on active participation in regional affairs.
The people of the Southern Africa Development Community - SADC -and ASEAN together number some 600 million. We belong to nations which, in all their diversity, their different sizes and stages of development, together have the power to give strong impetus to the rebirth of harmonious and productive relations between our continents of Africa and Asia.
Ladies and gentlemen;
These are distant aspirations, perhaps. But they are within reach, if not today then tomorrow.
Their realization will grow from the small beginnings which we are now making, as we forge ties of trade and co-operation ad reach bilateral agreements, as we exchange contracts for import ad export, and mount initiatives to promote greater awareness in each country of what the other has to offer.
They will be nourished by generous gestures such as the honour which you bestow on me today. May I once more thank you, on behalf of our Rainbow Nation, for the tribute you pay them in the name of the people we so greatly admire.
May you gift and our acceptance serve not only as a commemoration of past achievements, but as a pledge to work together for a world in which the rights and freedoms we cherish are enjoyed by all.
Let us join hands, South African and Filipino; African ad Asian, in a partnership for peace and prosperity.