Africans cool to embargo move

Press, 31 October 1977, Page 8

Africans cool to embargo move

NZPA-Reuter New York African delegates to the United Nations have reacted coolly to Western proposals for a six-month arms embargo against South Africa and have demanded a Security Council vote today on their own tougher resolutions. Both sides have spent much of the week-end in private negotiations in hopes of finding common ground. Informed sources said the United States, Britain, France, Canada and Wes: Germany probably would not table their proposals in resolution form until the discussion had reached some conclusion.

They and the African States — Benin, Libya, and Mauritius — favour a mandatory ban on arms sales to South Africa but the Africans want a permanent embargo, including on unfilled contracts such as the French have outstanding. The African members also want a ban on foreign investment in, loans to, and export-import credits for South Africa. The Tanzanian delegate (Mr Salim a Salim) told reporters that the Western proposals as they stood were not acceptable. The six-month ban was not logical when most countries had long since stopped selling

arms to South Africa, he said. Mr Salim is chairman of the special committee on decolonisation and his views are often regarded as an accurate reflection of those of the majority of the African group. The decolonisation committee itself has condemned any form of economic or political collaboration with South Africa by United Nations countries. A resolution, which will go to the General Assembly for certain endorsement, also requested all oil producing or exporting countries to stop sending crude oil and petroleum products to South Africa. In Pretoria, the South African Foreign Minister (Mr Pik Botha) says criticism of South Africa’s measures against anti-apar-theid organisations was “flagrant interference in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state.” A statement from the Foreign Minister referred to a Note delivered by Belgian ambassador (Mr Andre Domus) on behalf of the Common Market earlier this week. The statement said: “The Nine’s interference in our domestic affairs has the effect of creating distrust and of encouraging militants tv commit violence in order to attain their aims.”