WASHINGTON -- President Reagan denounced apartheid as 'systematic, institutionalized racial discrimination' today and imposed a series of economic sanctions against the goverment of South Africa. The sanctions are similar to those he has threatened to veto if approved by Congress. Bowing to political realities at home and abroad, Reagan limited bank loans and sales of computer and nuclear technology, as well as steps to halt U.S. imports of the krugerrand to underscore U.S. displeasure with apartheid.
In addition, Reagan dispatched U.S. Ambassador Herman Nickel back to Pretoria after a three-month absence with what administration officials described as a strong letter urging changes in South Africa's racial policies.
'The system of apartheid means deliberate, systematic, institutionalized racial discrimination denying the black majority their God-given rights,' the president said. 'We believe it is wrong. We condemn it. And we are united in hoping for the day when apartheid will be no more.'
'Sanctions cannot solve our problems,' South African President P.W. Botha said in his initial reaction to the Reagan announcement. 'Punitive sanctions, however selective, do not select their victims.'
The move was a shift away from the policy of 'constructive engagement' that has been a hallmark of the Reagan presidency and reflected mounting U.S. frustration with a failure by the white-minority government to end apartheid.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Reagan cited 'the beginning of a process of change' in South Africa, but asserted that movement has been 'inadequate.'
While he reiterated his concern that punitive action could prove counterproductive and said, 'We must not damage the economic well-being of millions of people in South and Southern Africa.'
'Therefore,' he said, 'I am signing today an executive order that will put in place a set of measures designed and aimed against the machinery of apartheid, without indiscriminately punishing the people who are victims of the system -- measures that will disassociate the United States from apartheid but associate us positively with peaceful change.'
Secretary of State George Shultz contended Reagan 'remained true' to his opposition to sanctions by taking only action 'designed to register our view against apartheid' and not punishing blacks through more severe steps such as U.S. disinvestment from South Africa.
White House officials hoped the move would forestall passage of a sanctions bill already passed by the House and pending before the Senate. House and Senate leaders warned Reagan would face the politically damaging prospect of an override if the bill was vetoed.
Rep. Howard Wolpe, D-Mich., chairman of the Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Africa, called Reagan's action 'an unconscionable effort to only further accomodate the repressive white minority regime by removing the stiffest sanction' endorsed on Capitol Hill.
'There is no substitute for statutory action which has the full support and prestige of both the legislative and executive branches of government,' said House Foreign Affairs Chairman Dante Fascell, D-Fla.
Reagan said he would veto the congressional bill, but he voiced hope that could be averted with a bipartisan consensus on policy toward South Africa.
'That is why I have put forward this executive order today,' Reagan said.
The goal, he said, is to promote a black-white dialogue in South Africa leading to an end to aartheid 'as soon as possible.'
Reagan denied he had changed his mind about sanctions, even though he incorporated many elements of the sanctions legislation in his executive order. He also said his policy now might be called 'active engagement' with Pretoria.
'The problems of South Africa were not created overnight and will not be solved overnight, but there is no time to waste,' he said. 'To withdraw from this drama -- or to fan its flames -- will serve neither our interests nor those of the South African people.' Reagan ordered the following steps:
-A ban on bank loans, with the exception of those 'which improve economic opportunities' or support educational, housing or health facilities that are open to all races.
-A ban on the sale of computers to South African agencies that enforce apartheid.
-A ban on exports of certain nuclear technology.
-Consultations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade that could lead to a ban on U.S. imports of the krugerrand gold coin, which earned South Africa more than $500 million last year.
-A denial of export assistance to American companies in South Africa that do not adhere to principles of non-discrimination.
-An increase, said to involve millions of dollars, in scholarships for South Africans and funding for programs that promote human rights.
-Creation of 'an advisory committee of distinguished Americans' to monitor the situation in South Africa and recommend steps that can encourage peaceful change in that country.
-A ban on imports of South African munitions.