Blacks denounce U.S.

Press, 26 March 1981, Page 7

Blacks denounce U.S.

NZPA-Reuter New York All 50 member states of the Organisation of African Unity in the United Nations yesterday denounced what they termed the United States Government’s “open support” for South Africa. Ferdinand Oyono of Cameroon, chairman of the African group of delegations, who made the statement on their behalf, said this could have dangerous consequences and was not conducive to good relations with Washington.

The statement was drawn up before published reports of a recent meeting between Mrs Jeane Kirkpatrick, the chief United States delegate to the United Nations, and a visiting South African general.

But Akporode Clark of Nigeria, chairman of the General Assembly's Anti-Apar-theid. Committee and one of several African ambassadors who accompanied Mr Oyono, condemned the meeting.

Mr Clark termed the incident an outrage. Asked by a

reporter if it would harm Mrs Kirkpatrick’s credibility with African diplomats, he replied: “I don’t think there is any credibility.”

State Department officials confirmed on Tuesday that Mrs Kirkpatrick met Lieu-tenant-General P. W. van der Westerhuizen, chief of South African military intelligence, when he was in the United States last week. General Westerhuizen was one of a group of South African military officers who were given visas to visit the United States because their military ranks were said to have been “inadvertently omitted” in the applications. Thev left immediately after the State Department discovered their identity, and a department spokesman told reporters at the. time that no policy-making member of the Administration had contact with them. Mrs Kirkpatrick, a former political science professor whose critical writings about the Third World attracted. President Reagan’s . attention months ago, is the only

woman member of his Cabinet.

Her office has turned down repeated requests by reporters for public comment on her meetings with General Westerhuizen and Dirk Mudge, head of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance of Namibia (South-West Africa). Mr Mudge is regarded by African members at the United Nations as a “stooge” of South Africa.

Yesterday’s statement by the group of African delegations said the members were deeply concerned over “the open support which the new United States Administration has declared for the racist South African regime.”

They said that this coincided with increased armed incursions by the South Africans against Angola, Mozambique, and Botswana, “the abduction of freedom fighters from neighbouring countries, the visits of South African military agents to Washington to hold talks with high officials of the American Administration and the call for the repeal of

the Clark Amendment.” The amendment bars American aid to any of the dissident groups in Angola.

Jonas Savimbi. leader of the Unita rebel group in that country, is due in/Washington later this week. Mr, Oyono criticised the Reagan Administration for inviting him. The African spokesman said delegates would call on the • Secretary-General (Dr Kurt Waldheim) and the president, of the Security Council, Peter Florin of East Germany, to make known to them their deep concern over the trends in American policy.

In a related development, the co-ordinating bureau of the 95-member non-aligned group at the United Nations today expressed “total identification with and wholehearted support” of the African group’s statement.

A press release issued by Cuba, current chairman of the group, emphasised the importance of a ministerial non-aligned meeting in Algiers, starting on April 16, on the question of Namibia.