This statement by ACOA says Secretary General Waldheim's November 15 report on Namibia to the United Nations Security Council about contacts by his personal representative, Alfred M. Escher, is an ominous retreat from the principles established by the UN to terminate the South African mandate over Namibia, which in effect declared South Africa an illegal occupier. The report also is a reversal of the UN position of support for the right of the people of Namibia to self-determination and independence under conditions of national unity and territorial integrity. Prime Minister Vorster reiterated South Africa's determination to press ahead with dividing Namibia into ten "homelands"...
This statement by ACOA says Secretary General Waldheim's November 15 report on Namibia to the United Nations Security Council about contacts by his personal representative, Alfred M. Escher, is an ominous retreat from the principles established by the UN to terminate the South African mandate over Namibia, which in effect declared South Africa an illegal occupier. The report also is a reversal of the UN position of support for the right of the people of Namibia to self-determination and independence under conditions of national unity and territorial integrity. Prime Minister Vorster reiterated South Africa's determination to press ahead with dividing Namibia into ten "homelands" or Bantustans. He declared that curbs on freedom are necessary for "influx control," giving Escher notice that South Africa's forced labor and apartheid system in Namibia is not open to negotiation. There was apparently not even any discussion about martial law now in effect in Ovamboland, repealing laws enforcing apartheid in Namibia, or releasing all political prisoners.
