U.N. call to refuse transit for boks

Press, 11 May 1981, Page 6

U.N. call to refuse transit for boks

N Th» n aM . Washin gton ■ The United Nations Special Committee Against < Apart-? heid has called on all countries to withhold transit facilities from the . Springboks if. they visit New Zealand.,.-,:..

The chairman, Mr B. AkP°. r Qde Clark, of Nigeria, also said .he hoped that the New Zealand Government “will eventually intervene” to stop the tour as the Labour Government of Mr Norman Kirk did m 1973.

I am still hopeful that the Springbok tour of New Zealand will be aborted,” he said.

The committee, meeting at the .United,Nations headquarters in New York, agreed to write to all countries with airline connections with South Africa requesting them to follow-Australia’s example in.-denying the Springboks transit facilities. United Nations sources said 'the South Africans had two main.alternative routes to new Zealand.

One was to fly by British Airways from Johannesburg to Hong. Kong via the Seychelles and Colombo, Sri Lanka. They would pick up an Air New Zealand flight to Auckland in Hong Kong.

If this route were chosen, the governments of the Seychelles and Sri Lanka would be asked to refuse transit facilities. Alternatively, the team could fly on South African Airways to Los Angeles to connect with an Air New Zealand flight. But they would need to . stop in either Nairobi. Brazzaville or Kinshasa, and the ■ African governments concerned would- be asked to deny them transit. - Mr Clark commended the Irish Government for the stand it had taken on a proposed Irish rugby tour of South Africa this year. He said the Government 1had made “the strongest rep- : i resentations” to the Irish y Rugby Football.. Union and 4 had ruled that the team should not use the name of , Ireland or any' national emblem on the tour. ; Mr Clark said the Irish ■ tour appeared to be part of “a conspiracy by rugby administrators in a few coun- j tries to undermine the sports boycott of apartheid and ! bring solace to the racists.” i He added: “It is also seen < as a move to relieve pressure on New Zealand, whose I rugby football union has in- 1

vited the Springbok team for a tour in July.” He noted that opposition to the tour was mounting in New Zealand. Mr Clark also announced that the committee’s "blacklist” of sportsmen, administrators. and promoters would be finalised this week. The committee agreed to circulate it to all countries ; and distribute it as an official document at the international conference on sanctions against South Africa, due to start in Paris on May 20. In Wellington, the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Mr Tal- . boys) said that the New ■■ Zealand Government had r pressed the Rugby Union "as ( far as it can within the • policy laid down” to stop the . tour. , Mr Talbovs said that he : was still hopeful — “and we i will continue to hope” — that the Rugby Union would decide not to go ahead with the tour. The Government had no power to determine what emblem the union wore “because it is a Rugby Union emblem.” The chairman of the union < (Mr C. A. Blazey) could not be reached for comment.