unitex@rubbs.fidonet.org (unitex) (08/24/89)
SECURITY COUNCIL -- TAKE 2
HASMY AGAM (Malaysia) said the complaint against South Africa's
non-compliance with the Council's resolution 435 had been clearly and strongly
presented. It had to do with South Africa's retention of the services of the
notorious Koevoet as a continued instrument of intimidation, harassment and
worse. It had to do, also, with the Administrator-General's manipulation of
the Namibian political process, including the drafting of patently unfair and
objectionable voter registration and constituent assembly laws, the
enfranchisement of many South Africans and the disenfranchisement of a
considerable number of Namibians, as well as his arrogation of vast powers
unto himself, including the power of veto and the purse over the constituent
assembly. It also involved the continued detention of political prisoners.
Clearly, the object of those actions was to ensure a pliant, indeed, compliant
Namibia that would be utterly dependent on South Africa.
Those reports were not the concoction of SWAPO, as had been suggested.
They had been corroborated by indepedendent observers of the Namibian
political scene, including those from the United States, and had been
documented and commented on by the international press. The veracity of those
reports was no longer in question; what was in question was the role and
responsibility of the Council in ensuring fair and free elections in that
Territory, he said.
It was imperative that the Security Council fully discharges its
responsibility, without fear or favour. The Council must ensure that South
Africa strictly adhere to its commitments and obligations under resolution 435
and carry out its full implementation. South Africa must cease forthwith its
attempts to subvert the will of the Council and of the international
community. It must desist from any effort to manipulate the internal
situation in Namibia to influence the outcome of the elections in its favour.
Malaysia supported the proposal for the adoption of a resolution which
would include a call for South Africa's full and unequivocal compliance with
the spirit and letter of resolution 435, reiterate the Council's
responsibility on the full implementation of the Settlement Plan and express
strong support for the Secretary-General's efforts in that exercise. Such a
resolution would have the effect of emphasizing again, and once and for all,
the central role of the United Nations and in particular, of the Council in
the implementation of the Namibian Plan. Such a resolution, and the debate
itself, would serve to bolster the position of the Secretary-General and his
Special Representative in dealing with the situation, rather than undermine it
It would be easier for the Council to let the transition process roll on,
with minimal fuss so that the independence of Namibia would be realised in
good time. However, in view of what was happening, such an attitude would be
a dereliction of the Council's responsibility, and a sure recipe not for peace
and stability in Namibia but renewed conflict, with all the attendant
consequences to that Territory and the entire region. Surely, as custodian of
the hopes and aspirations of the Namibian people, that was not a legacy that
the Council would like to leave behind, he concluded.
(END OF TAKE 2)
* Origin: UNITEX --> Toward a United Species (1:107/501)
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Patt Haring | UNITEX : United Nations
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