SOUTH AFRICA: THABO MBEKI BECOMES PRESIDENT

(16 Jun 1999) English/Nat
Thabo Mbeki became South Africa's second post-apartheid president on Wednesday, taking over leadership of a racially divided country from Nelson Mandela.
He promised to improve the lives of millions of impoverished blacks.
Mbeki praised his predecessor for helping to rescue the country from apartheid and placing it on the "pedestal of hope".
He said the transfer of power was a striking demonstration of democracy at work on a continent rife with dictators.
For some it was a sad day as they watched the retirement of the 80-year-old Mandela, a man beloved worldwide as a symbol of reconciliation and democracy.
There was dancing in streets in Pretoria on Wednesday, prior to the swearing-in of Thabo Mbeki, the man who has succeeded Nelson Mandela as President.
Mbeki is almost as well loved as his predecessor.
The ceremony marked the first transfer of power in South Africa between two (all-race) democratically elected governments and recalled the inhumanity of apartheid.
It was also full of hope for racial harmony, exemplified by choirs of black and white children who sang together.
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and U-S Attorney General Janet Reno were among those who watched Mbeki's inauguration outside the Union Buildings, a government complex perched on a grassy hill in the capital Pretoria.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I solemnly and sincerely promise that I will always promote all that will advance the Republic and oppose all that may harm it, protect and promote the rights of all South Africans, discharge my duties with all my strengths and talents to the best of my knowledge and ability and true to the dictates of my conscience.
SUPER CAPTION: Thabo Mbeki, South African President
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Constitutional Court President Chaskalson: "Raise your right hand and say so help me God"
Thabo Mbeki:"So help me God"
Constitutional Court President Chaskalson: "Mr President, will you be seated to sign the oath of office"
SUPER CAPTION: Thabo Mbeki, South African President
Seconds after Mbeki took the oath in Zulu, English and Afrikaans, he and Mandela held hands high above their heads in a victory salute.
Military helicopters flew over the enormous crowd, trailing South African flags.
Mbeki, who inherits leadership of Africa's richest country but one plagued by crime and an uneven, racially based distribution of wealth, paid tribute to Mandela and others who led the anti-apartheid fight.
He has indicated the focus of government will be shifted away from reconciliation toward making good on the promises of better life for the millions of South Africans disadvantaged and impoverished by decades of racial repression under apartheid.
The new president called the Mandela era a beginning, but said the full meaning of liberation would not be realized until "our people are freed both from oppression and the dehumanising legacy of deprivation we inherited from our past."
He told the crowd what the new dawn for South Africa must show the world.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"What it must show is a palpable process of the comprehensive renewal of our country - it's rebirth driven by the enormous talents of all our people, both black and white and made possible by the knowledge and realisation that we share a common destiny regardless of the shape of our noses."
SUPER CAPTION: Thabo Mbeki, South African President
Five years after the end of white rule, 42 per cent of the country's blacks are unemployed and three-quarters of all the blacks with jobs earn less than 245 U-S dollars a month.
Find out more about AP Archive: www.aparchive.c...
Twitter: / ap_archive
Facebook: / aparchives ​​
Instagram: / apnews
You can license this story through AP Archive: www.aparchive.c...