Botha to lean on Namibian party

Press, 22 December 1978, Page 5

Botha to lean on Namibian party

NZPA-Reuter Windhoek The South African Prime Minister (Mr Pieter Botha) has left for Namibia with his Foreign Minister in an attempt to persuade the i.*wly-elected Constituent Assembly of Namibia (South-West Africa) to accept a second election before independence.

The visit follows an assurance Mr Botha gave Western Foreign Ministers in Pretoria in October that he would continue to work for a second election under United Nations supervision Li the South African-ruled territory. This was despite his refusal to call off a first poll which took place earlier this month.

The first poll, which elected the Constituent Assembly, was boycotted by a number of main parties in Namibia, including the South-West Africa People’s Organisation nationalist movement, and was rejected by the United Nations as null and void.

Mr Botha will arrive in Windhoek the day after the inaugural session of the Assembly, apparently deter-

mined to seek a solution on the future of Namibia as soon as possible. He has promised to try to give a final reply to the United Nations on the question by the end of this month.

The most powerful party in the Assembly, holding 41 of the 50 seats after a landslide 82 per cent vote on the election, is the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance, a multiracial group which favours Government along, ethnic lines With the threat of international sanctions looming over South Africa, Mr Botha is likely to introduce some extremely persuasive reasoning into the discussion.

The D.T.A, is pressing for changes to the United Nations proposals which would reduce what it sees as the partiality of any United Nations supervisory force in Ntmibla.

It is looking for an agreement whereby the transitional force is based not only in Namibia, but also in Angola, where S.W.A.P.O. has military bases for its limited bush war in the territory.