unitex@rubbs.fidonet.org (unitex) (09/03/89)
UN SECURITY COUNCIL DEMANDS STRICT COMPLIANCE
BY ALL PARTIES, ESPECIALLY SOUTH AFRICA, WITH NAMIBIA INDEPENDENCE PLAN
Demands Disbandment of All Paramilitary and Ethnic Forces,
Especially Koevoet, and Dismantling of Their Command Structures
The Security Council this afternoon demanded strict compliance by all
parties concerned, especially South Africa, with the terms of its resolutions
435 (1978) and 632 (1989) on Namibian independence.
Unanimously adopting resolution 640 (1989), the Council also demanded the
disbandment of all paramilitary and ethnic forces and commando units, in
particular Koevoet, as well as the dismantling of their command structures.
The Council called upon the Secretary-General to review and inform it of
the actual situation on the ground to determine the adequacy of the military
component of the United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG), and to
review the adequacy of the number of police monitors to ascertain whether any
increase might be necessary.
The Secretary-General was also requested to ensure that all legislation
concerning the electoral process was in conformity with the provisions of the
Namibia Settlement Plan.
He was further requested to ensure that all proclamations conformed with
internationally accepted norms for the conduct of free and fair elections and,
in particular, that the proclamation on the Constituent Assembly respected the
sovereign will of the people of Namibia.
The Council also asked the Secretary-General to ensure the observance of
strict impartiality in the provision of media facilities to all parties for
the dissemination of information concerning the election.
Finally, the Council appealed to all parties concerned to co-operate
fully with the Secretary-General in the implementation of the Settlement Plan,
and expressed its full support for him in his efforts.
The Secretary-General was asked to report to the Council before the end
of September on the implementation of the resolution.
Speaking before the vote, Sir Crispin Tickell (United Kingdom) said the
United Kingdom retained considerable doubts about the even-handedness and
impartiality of the draft resolution. More than one party to the Settlement
Plan had flouted its provisions. All parties had an equal responsibility to
honour scrupulously the commitments into which they had entered. However, the
text referred specifically only to one party: South Africa. He assumed that
that was an acknowledgement of the special responsibilities which all
recognized that South Africa should uphold under the United Nations settlement
plan.
In a statement after the vote, Thomas R. Pickering (United States) said
the resolution truly represented a compromise among several strongly held
positions about Namibia. He understood that in accordance with past practice,
any decision on actual deployment of additional civilian personnel for UNTAG
would be taken by the Secretary-General in consultation with the Council, as
had been done as recently as May of this year. Unanimous support for the
Secretary-General and for UNTAG were crucial to the success of the Settlement
Plan.
(A MORE DETAILED ACCOUNT OF THE MEETING APPEARS IN TAKES 1-3 OF THIS RELEASE)
* Origin: UNITEX --> Toward a United Species (1:107/501)
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