Angolans ‘saved Americans’

Press, 22 June 1985, Page 11

Angolans ‘saved Americans’

NZPA-Reuter New York Angolan troops who repulsed a South African raid in northern Angola last month had prevented the loss of American lives and ?USI billion worth of property, Angola’s Foreign Minister said yesterday. The Minister, Afonso vanDunen Mbinda, said that the abortive South African operation had been aimed at the Gulf Oil installations at Cabinda and was part of a campaign to destabilise Angola and suffocate it economically. That was the purpose also of South African actions against the country’s diamond mining area, he told the United Nations Security Council.

“The method used by South Africa to defend Western economic interests is to destroy those same

interests through acts of sabotage and state terrorism,” he said. Pretoria’s activities had embarrassed its allies. “Who saved the Americans from certain death and destruction?” he asked, referring to the workers at Cabinda. “It was the courageous Angolan People’s Army.” Mr Mbinda, who was opening debate on his Government’s complaint to the Security Council of aggression by South Africa, said that 20,000 of its troops were massed along Angola’s southern border. Supported by 80 or 90 aircraft, including helicopters, they were ready to launch an invasion at any moment, he said. Namibia (South West Africa), which South Africa rules, is Angola’s southern neighbour.

Mr Mbinda noted that the Gulf plant was more than

3200 km from the Namibian border. If the planned attack had succeeded, he said, oil production would have been lost for a year and reconstruction would have cost an estimated SUS26O million ($566.8 million). South Africa was trying to mislead the world by asserting that guerrilla bases in Angola were targets. That was a ridiculous assertion, he said. A captured South African captain has testified that sabotage was the purpose of the operation. The Security Council strongly condemned South Africa for its “act of aggression” against Angola. The unanimously-ap-proved resolution represented the second censure of South Africa within 24 hours. The council condemned South Africa on Thursday for withholding independ-

ence for Namibia and served notice that this could result in ultimate economicsanctions. The council strongly condemned yesterday South Africa’s use of Namibian territory as a springboard for the attack on Angola and demanded that it unconditionally withdraw forthwith all its forces from that nation.

The resolution declared that Angola was entitled to “appropriate redress and compensation for any material damage it has suffered.” South Africa has denied that the oil plant was a target. Its delegate to the United Nations, Mr Kurt von Schirnding, said yesterday that evidence to that effect by the captured South African captain, Wynand du Toit, had been forced while he was under the influence of drugs.

Mr von Schirnding asked the council to allow Captain du Toit to appear at the United Nations "to give his free and uncoerced version of what transpired.” He also urged the council to join South Africa in calling for an international agreement for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Angola, where thousands of Cuban troops are deployed. The commando raid had been a response to the activities of terrorists harboured by Angola, and Pretoria had no intention of apologising for it, he said. For the United States, which recalled its ambassador from South Africa after another South African attack — last week’s raid on Botswana — Warren Clark said that Washington had received no satisfactory explanation from Pretoria for its conduct.