CABLED BRIEFS

Press, 13 June 1978, Page 8

CABLED BRIEFS

I Soviet tialk-out Soviet bloc diplomats have walked out of a, banquet in 'the Great Hall of the People (for the second time in four days when a Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Mr Li Hsien-nien, accused Moscow of “trying by every means to barge into the South Pacific region.” The protest walk-out came during a welcoming banquet for the Fijian Prime Minister (Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara), who is on an official visit to China. Mr Li told the gathering, “The super-Power that styles itself the ‘natural ally’ of the Third World and uses ‘support to national liberation’ and ‘friendshin and cooperation’ as a cover is trying by everv means to barge into the South Pacific region. We are glad to see that the South Pacific Forum is playing a more and more important role in promoting regional co-oper-ation and unity against hegemonism.” — Peking. Namibia talks

The South-West Africa People’s Organisation has agreed to resume negotiations with five Western powers on Namibia’s future The decision was reached during a summit meeting of African front-line states: Tanzania, Zambia, Angola, Botswana, and Mozambique. The two-day summit, empowered the Tanzanian President (Dr Julius Nyerere) chairman of the five States group, to negotiate the issues standing in the way of Namibia’s independence with the five Western powers: The United States, Britain, France, West Germany, and Canada. SAV .A.P.O. insists that the 1500 South African troops to remain in Namibia during the transition to independence should be located at Karasburg, in the south .of the territory, instead of Oshirela and Grootfotein. — Luanda.

14 hf>hl The police have detained 14 Australian aixi other foreign followers of the Ananda Marga (Path of Bliss) religious sect taking part in a protest fast outside the Patna home of the pacifist reformer, .Jayaprakash Narayan, the United News of India reported. The agency

quoted the police as saying I they had been held after they created disturbances in , the north-western citv of Patna, and might be deI ported. The 14 were among la group of 26 which started I a hunger strike in relays K Wednesday to demand Mr Narayan intervene with the State Government 'to let them see their jailed sect leader, Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, aged 57. New Delhi.

Preggure on S.A. I European Common Market I Foreign Ministers will try to put new pressure on South Africa to abandon its apartheid policy. The Danish

.Foreign Minister (Mr K. B .Anderson) an advocate of a Tougher line againsi South .Africa, told reporters he 'hoped the Nine would take a new step in putting economic pressure on South Africa. Common Market sources said the most thev could be expected to do was to, make the paperwork involved in trading with South Africa more difficult, or tighten up on Governmentfinanced credits for exports to the republic. — Copenhagen. I Russian admission I The Soviet Union has made proposals that could relaunch the deadlocked East-West talks on force reductions in central Europe, the “Guardian” newspaper has reported. Quoting reliable diplomatic sources in Bucharest, it said the Soviet Union had submitted proposals last week which indirectly conceded for the first time that Warsaw Pact forces in central Europe were larger than those of N.A.T.O. The U.S.S.R. admitted thai it should make larger cuts than the United States, the paper said. — London.