JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Hoping to use his moral authority and global prestige, President Nelson Mandela said Wednesday that he will lead a campaign for an international oil embargo against the military regime in Nigeria in a push for immediate democratic reforms.
Mandela is the first major political leader to call for such severe sanctions against the repressive rulers of Africa's most populous nation following the executions Friday of author Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other political activists.
Mandela's new hard-line policy against Gen. Sani Abacha's dictatorship is a direct challenge to the Clinton Administration and other major Western governments, which so far have refused to consider banning the purchase or trade of Nigerian oil.
"I am not satisfied with the fact that they are not applying oil sanctions," Mandela told a news conference in New Zealand, where he is on a state visit.
Mandela will try to bring his campaign for a punitive boycott before the United Nations Security Council, the Organization of African Unity and other international bodies, his spokesman said here.
"Our role will be to give it moral and political authority," said spokesman Parks Mankahlana. "The reality is the whole democratic process in Africa is now being threatened. President Mandela is being pushed to the point where he has to do something. Otherwise his own credibility is at stake."
Mandela said he was unable to reach President Clinton by telephone because of the time difference between New Zealand and Washington, but called British Prime Minister John Major early Wednesday to appeal for support. Major previously had warned that punishing sanctions could backfire by wrecking Nigeria's economy without necessarily bringing democratic change.
Clinton Administration officials have said a unilateral oil boycott is highly unlikely, since it would hurt U.S. commercial interests and consumers. Nigeria is America's fifth-largest supplier of oil, and major lenders in the United States, Europe and Japan would be damaged if the West African country failed to make payments on its $30-billion foreign debt.
The State Department said Wednesday that Mandela's call for a boycott has not changed its position.
"At this time, an oil embargo is not an option for the United States. Unilateral action will not be effective because of the ready global market for Nigeria's high-quality crude," a spokesperson said. "But we do not rule out considering oil sanctions--or any other option--at a future date."
