WASHINGTON, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Former South African President Nelson Mandela received a gift for his 90th birthday as U.S. Congress finally approved the removal of his name from the country's terrorist list, local media reported on Friday. The Senate unanimously greenlighted the legislation on a voice vote late on Thursday, removing the "terrorist" label and travel restrictions imposed on Mandela and other senior members of his African National Congress (ANC).
same legislation was passed on May 8 at the House of Representatives.
In an address to the Senate last month, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged for the removal, saying "It is frankly a rather embarrassing matter that I still have to waive in my own counterparts -- the foreign minister of South Africa, not to mention the great leader, Nelson Mandela."
"I really do hope that we can remove these restrictions on the ANC. This is a country with which we now have excellent relations -- South Africa," she said.
The ANC was banned by the South African apartheid government in1960, its leaders jailed or forced into exile until the ban on the movement was lifted 30 years later.
Mandela was jailed for 27 years for his leadership in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. He became the first post-apartheid-era president years after his release in 1990.
"It is shameful that the United States still treats the ANC this way based solely on its designation as a terrorist organization by the old apartheid South African regime," said Howard Berman, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs who introduced the legislation.
"It is shameful that the United States still treats the ANC this way based solely on its designation as a terrorist organization by the old apartheid South African regime," he added.
Mandela, who is turning 90 on July 18, celebrate his 90th birthday with a concert in London's Hyde Park on Friday in support of his global AIDS campaign.