The death of Senator Ted Kennedy is a great loss to all those who take seriously humanitarian issues. As we collectively weigh the lion of the Senate's immense contribution to human rights, it might be instructive to focus on his role in the ending of apartheid in South Africa. To many of my generation, the modern day injustice of apartheid in South Africa during the 80s was a political awakening. President Reagan instituted a failed policy of "constructive engagement" with the apartheid regime. The argument at the time was that limited economic sanctions against the totalitarian regime would lead -- eventually -- to slow, manageable change. South Africa, we cannot fail to note, was, at the time, an ally to the administration in the Cold War (totalitarianism be damned!). Ted Kennedy, in the United States Senate, disagreed. He could not overlook the issue of apartheid for the sake of a military alliance against another totalitarian regime. Kennedy favored hard sanctions with real teeth which he believed -- correctly -- would accelerate change on the horn of Africa. Thus the Anti-Apartheid Act of 1985 was born; thus soon after the apartheid regime imploded. From Voice of America:

"While best known for his work on domestic issues, Ted Kennedy was also known for his fight against apartheid in South Africa. He visited that country in 1985 and held an illegal protest outside of Pollsmoor Prison, where Nelson Mandela was being held. Kennedy also pushed for sanctions against South Africa, something the then-Reagan administration had opposed.

... "Well, 1985 was...the height of the state of emergency. The schools were on boycott. Mandela says Kennedy gave the anti-apartheid struggle hope. There were tremendous demonstrations in the streets and there was tremendous violence in the country generally.... His role coming to South Africa was seen to be critical in terms of ... the anti-apartheid developments that were happening," (Jeremy Sarkin, former head of South Africa's Human Rights Committee) said.

Upon his return to the United States, Kennedy pushed for sanctions against the white-ruled government.

"There was a lot of unhappiness with Ronald Reagan's approach to...'constructive engagement' with South Africa. Most anti-apartheid people believed that sanctions was the route to go and that there was a need for much greater pressure," he says.

"South Africans look back at that particular time in terms of where South Africa has come...with a great deal of gratitude in terms of his role that he played in that important struggle," Sarkin said.

Ted Kennedy's visit to South Africa in January 1985 is one of my sharpest political memories. He helped raise political awareness in that issue for many of my generation. The philosopher Blaise Pascale once posited that nature abhors a vacuum. If so, then who will replace Ted Kennedy among the defenders of human rights?

Ted Kennedy, RIP.

[Image: NYTimes]