Christians Help the Reagan Administration Assess Policies on South Africa

The Reagan administration has called on several Christians to help review and develop U.S. policy on South Africa.

A State Department working group on South Africa, headed by Douglas Holladay, will develop programs to assist black South Africans. It also will explain U.S. policy on South Africa to the American public and to Congress, and it will listen to legislators’ input on the issue. Holladay is an evangelical who formerly served as the administration’s liaison with mainline church groups.

In addition, a new commission on South Africa has been charged with reviewing U.S. policy and reporting its findings to Reagan next year. Commission members include Leon Sullivan, a Baptist pastor in Philadelphia and author of fair employment guidelines known as the Sullivan Principles; and John Dellenback, president of the Christian College Coalition.

After visiting South Africa last month, Holladay said a solution to the continuing turmoil there will not be easy. “Before I left, I thought I understood a little bit about the complexities of how [the white minority government] can move the reform process forward,” he said. “But now I see that it is trickier than I thought it would be, because they have to keep their political base intact. The question is, ‘Can they bring about reform fast enough to comply with the desires of the black majority and at the same time not lose their political base?’ ”

In a separate development, Holladay met last month with mainline Protestant leaders who have devised a strategy against apartheid. The church leaders are calling for increased pressure against South African policy, including economic sanctions, protests, and lobbying efforts.

“It is good to know where they stand,” Holladay said. “Protests draw attention to the problem and make us ask, ‘How do we take the moral high ground on this?’ ”

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