If Rep. Barbara Lee has her way, former South African President Nelson Mandela and members of the African National Congress will soon be removed from the U.S. travel and terrorist watch list after decades on the infamous U.S. government intelligence file.

Lee, a Democrat from California, co-sponsored legislation last week "to exempt the African National Congress (ANC) from treatment as a terrorist organization."

"It was hard to believe, I was shocked," Lee told BlackAmericaWeb.com Wednesday after learning about the problem while visiting South Africa last year.

"This should never have happened," Lee said in an interview. "The ANC should have never been on the watch list. The ANC was a liberation movement against apartheid, and the United States was on the wrong side of history. This makes no sense with regard to our foreign policy."

Last year, President George W. Bush, in a bizarre comment Bush called "embarrassing," actually told reporters that Mandela was dead -- "because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday it was time to remove Mandela and his party from this. list, which created during the apartheid era.

"I really do hope that we can remove these restrictions on the ANC," Rice told a Senate committee. "This is a country with which we have now excellent relations, South Africa," Rice said. "But it is really a rather embarrassing matter that I still have to waive in my own counterpart, the foreign minister of South Africa, not to mention the great leader Nelson Mandela."

According to Lee’s bill:

• The ANC was banned in 1960 by the South African government, and the ANC leadership was forced to go underground or into exile. In 1964, Nelson Mandela, Ahmed Kathrada, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Andrew Mlangeni, Raymond Mhlaba, Elias Motsoaledi and Denis Goldberg were convicted and imprisoned for life for their leadership in opposing apartheid.
• In 2007, Barbara Masekela, former South African ambassador to the United States from 2003 to 2006, was denied a visa to enter the United States to visit her ill cousin due to her membership in the African National Congress, and she was unable to obtain a waiver before her cousin’s death.
• The South African ban on the ANC was lifted in 1990, and Nelson Mandela was released from prison on February 11, 1990.
• Between 1990 and 1994, the ANC negotiated with the South African Government for black enfranchisement and an end to apartheid, the results of which were the birth of a multiracial, multiparty democracy in South Africa.
• The ANC became a registered political party in 1994. Winning more than 60 percent of the presidential vote, Mandela was inaugurated as president on May 10, 1994.
• The ANC-led government of South Africa is a strategic partner with the United States in the fight against terrorism and has adopted concrete counterterrorism policies and measures, including information exchange, law enforcement cooperation and anti-money laundering to deny terrorists a haven in South Africa.
• The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Director of National Intelligence, shall take all necessary steps to ensure that databases used to determine admissibility to the United States are updated so that they are consistent with the exemptions required under section 4.

"The African National Congress shall not be treated as a terrorist organization on the basis of any act or event occurring on or before the date of the enactment of this Act," the bill reads."

Last year, Mandela announced the fifth international concert to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS.

"I am very delighted that we are engaging the youth in schools, communities and through the media breaking the silence and stigmas around HIV and AIDS and making them realize that the power to beat the pandemic lies in their own hands," Mandela said.

Meanwhile, the Spice Girls are set to headline Mandela's 90th birthday concert in June. Other stars set to take part in the London celebrations include the Rolling Stones, Annie Lennox and U2 star Bono.

According to Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper, "This concert is going to be the talk of the decade. Nelson is a hero and thousands of fans will turn out to support him -- as well as the biggest names in showbiz."

On Wednesday, Lee said she’s pleased that Congress is finally taking the steps to correct "this long standing injustice."

"It is ridiculous to classify national figures, like former South African President Nelson Mandela, as terrorists solely because they held membership with the African National Congress, an organization that fought against apartheid," Lee said in a statement. "They should have never been placed on these watch lists, and it is past time we correct this wrong."