sentences:  Her stand had divided the Commonwealth 48–1 at three conferences since 1985, but had brought her influence in South Africa's white community.Rejecting the US policy of disinvestment as a mistake, she argued a prosperous society would be more receptive to change.In October 1988, Thatcher said she would be unlikely to visit South Africa unless black nationalist leader Nelson Mandela was released from prison, and in March 1989 she stressed the need to release him in order for multi-party talks to take place, urging that the African National Congress's promise to suspend violence should be enough to permit his release, and that the "renunciation of violence" should not be an absolute condition for negotiations for a settlement.