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Tutu Proposes New Plan For Harvard Divestment

Says Americans Shouldn't Ease Sanctions Against South Africa

"We have to give Mr. De Klerk the benefit ofthe doubt," he said. "He has said in his speechthat what he is hoping to see is the emergence ofa new constitution which would entail universalsuffrage...the possibilities for a new start inour country are very strongly underlined andencouraged by what he said."

But Tutu tempered his praise with a sternwarning that change has only been promised, andnot implemented. Thus, he asked that Harvarddivest completely of its remaining South Africanstock in three months unless South Africa:

. releases Mandela;

. gives general amnesty to all politicalprisoners and exiles;

. indicates that it will repeal the Group AreasAct, which mandates segregation in neighborhoodsand towns;

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. moves to repeal the Land Act, which gives thewhite minority 87 percent of the land;

. and takes steps to repeal the PopulationRegistration Act, which classifies people by theirracial group.

Tutu said he had told De Klerk in a meetingthat if South Africa complied with those demands,anti-apartheid forces "are going to say to ourfriends immediately, `implement this, liftsanctions.'"

Tutu said it was important for Harvard todivest because the University is a trend-setterwhose example would be followed.

"Harvard is Harvard," Tutu said. "You know, youdon't sniff at it. Things that Harvard does ordoesn't do have an impact way beyond the kind ofimpact you'd expect from an educationalinstitution. What Harvard does or does not do issomething that would be copied by otherinstitutions."

"Institutions seem to have a kind of life oftheir own in some ways. They have done otherthings, and it isn't as if...they haven't moved onthe matter of divestment. They have got aparticular policy. What we want them to have saidsort of categorically was we will not invest incompanies that are operating in South Africa--wewant them out."

"You are making a choice about whether `I am onthe side of freedom,' or `I am on the side ofoppression,'" Tutu said.

Other Overseers News

Besides discussing South Africa, Whitehead saidthe Board of Overseers also discussed theCorporation Committee on ShareholderResponsibility (CCSR), composed of members ofHarvard's seven-member Corporation, the chiefUniversity governing board. Specifically, theoverseers discussed whether the CCSR was complyingwith the recommendations of the Advisory Committeeon Share-holder Responsibility in several proxyvotes.

In addition, Whitehead said, Bok gave anhour-long report on Harvard's responses to thedrastic changes in Eastern Europe and the SovietUnion.

Most of the meeting, however, was spentstudying the relationships between Harvard and thescientific research industry. Specifically, theoverseers were concerned about preservingHarvard's independence from research fundingsources

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