Issue Date: December 31, 1977
South Africa:Namibia Troop-Withdrawal Talks Stalled; Other Developments
Efforts to reach a compromise on the withdrawal of South African troops from Namibia (South-West Africa) suffered a setback as the Western contact group failed to obtain concessions from the South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) during a tour of southern Africa November 21-December 7. The contact group (Canada, France, Great Britain, West Germany and the U.S.) met with leaders of Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Angola and Nigeria as well as with SWAPO and South African government representatives. [See 1977 Southern Africa: Namibia Apartheid, Security Laws End; Other Developments]
South Africa had offered to reduce its troop strength in the territory in exchange for a pledge by SWAPO to refrain from infiltrating Namibia from Angola. According to reports, SWAPO had refused to accept a cessation of its military activities against South African troops and had refused to accept the presence of United Nations troops as a guarantee against possible violence during the independence elections scheduled for 1978.
South Africa October 4 had indicated its willingness to accept a U.N. presence to supervise the elections, although it too refused to accept a U.N. peacekeeping force in the territory. In return for accepting a U.N. presence, South Africa demanded a SWAPO cease-fire and the dismantling of land mines placed in Namibia by the guerrillas. If the cease-fire continued for two months, South Africa said, it would begin withdrawing troops from the country. Complete withdrawal, it said, would depend upon the progress of talks between South Africa and the independent Namibian government.
In other news of Namibia:
Nine people living in northern Namibia December 16 presented sworn statements in court alleging that they had been tortured by South African security police. The evidence was presented in support of a suit seeking an injunction against the security police to prevent them from mistreating Bernardus Petrus, a detainee held under suspicion of terrorist activities. South African police December 18 denied that any detainee in Namibian custody had been tortured.
Three South African soldiers had been killed in a clash with SWAPO, according to a report December 9 by South African defense headquarters in Pretoria. According to reports, SWAPO had increased its attacks in recent months. [See 1977 Southern Africa: Namibia Apartheid, Security Laws End; Other Developments]
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