S/PV.2231 Security Council

In accordance with previous decisions [2225th and 2227th to 2229th meetings], I invite the representatives of Algeria, Bahrain, Benin, Botswana, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guyana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Romania, Seychelles, -Viet Nam, Yugoslavia and Zaire to take the places reserved for them at the side of the Council chamber. At the invitation of the President, Mr. Bouzarbia (Algeria), Mr. Al-Saffar (Bahrain), Mr. Houngavou . (Benin), Mr. Legwaila (Botswana), Mr. Lbpez Paz (Cuba), Mr. Abdel Meguid (Egypt), Mr. lbrahim (Ethiopia), Mr. Sinclair (Guyana), Mr. Lube (Mozambique), Mr. Clark (Nigeria), Mr. Marinescu (Romania), Ms. Gonthier (Seychelles), Mr. Ha Van Luu (Viet Nam), Mr. Komatina (Yugoslavia) and Mr. Kamanda wa Kamanda (Zaire) took the places reserved for them at the side of the Council chamber. 6. No one can pretend that it will be easy for such a society to bridge the gulf between apartheid and full political participation. Yet we know that men of good will can build such a bridge through negotiation and compromise. We know that in other difficult situations it has been possible to hammer out that measure* of political consensus which provides the basis of acceptable government for all. We have only to look at the example of Zimbabwe. Despite the bitterness born of bigotry and racial injustice, the bloody heritage of civil war, and the understandable fears of both blacks and whites about the real possibilities

Members of the Council have before them document S/13995, which contains the 7. There is another course: the course of resistance to change by the South African Government. We all know too well what happens on this path. The oppressed, who are effectively disenfranchised and with no peaceful means of redress, lash out in frustration in the only way open to them-by violence. Violence in turn breeds repression on the part of the authorities. Repression leads to more and greater violence in a cycle from which there seems to be no escape. We have seen this phenomenon in South Africa time and time againin Sharpeville, in the exile and imprisoning of moderate popular leaders, in Soweto, in the senseless death of Steve Biko. This week, we see it in the protests of schoolchildren and the officially sanctioned response to their protests. We see it also in the sabotage of the SASOL oil refinery. Such acts of violence or repression can only harm the prospects for a peaceful settlement and can only discourage the moderate leaders and elements that seek to promote peaceful change. 8. The course adopted by the Government of South Africa during the coming months and years will have consequences not only for that country but for the future of all of southern Africa. South Africa has mttch to contribute to its region, if it and its neighbours can begin to put behind them the animosity that separates them because of the policy of apartheid. Long obsessed with throwing off their own colonial yokes, the southern African States are now beginning a co-operative effort to address the tremendous economic and sociai problems they face. As a developed country with a relatively advanced economy, South Africa could make a significant contribution to that effort, and in the process South Africa could make progress towards resolving its own doubts and fears about the process of change, since development and prosperity would doubtless enhance the prospects of peace and stability in the entire region. If, on the other hand, South Africa rejects change, and if friction and violence increase, the other States of the region will suffer additional economic setbacks, and their paths to development and stability will be further impeded. Continuing instability will not enhance South Africa’s willingness to come to some accommodation with its majority. 9. I do not believe that all of South Africa is deaf to the plea for change in that country. Nor are many of the people of South Africa ignorant of the inevitability of change. There is in my judgement considerable debate within the South African Govemment and among the majority of whites in South Africa about what changes should be made and how to make them. Government commissions have studied 10. We do not wish to denigrate the importance of those reforms, but similarly we cannot delude ourselves. Because those reforms have not gone to the heart of the matter, they will never be sufficient. South Africa’s majority is not wrong or unreasonable in asking for more fundamental changes so that they may be full political participants in the government of a society that is not stratified along racial lines. They seek the recognition of their rights as human beings. They will be satisfied with nothing less. And, unless South Africa is immune to the historical forces that have triumphed in every other comer of the world, the majority in South Africa will in the end obtain what it seeks. We cannot predict the time when that will happen, but I believe that we all know that it will. 11. The pursuit of peaceful change, were that the course chosen, wouId be a long process, one beset with difficulties. There would no doubt be setbacks, which would tempt the Government of South Africa to swerve from a progressive course and could tempt some to resort to violence in order to speed up the painful process of negotiation. But we know from the example of Zimbabwe’s 14 long years of armed struggle that intransigence will not hasten peace; it will hasten violence. Only negotiation holds out the prospect of finding the best way to achieve change. 12. Now is the time for South Africa to move towards fundamental social and political change -change that will come about because of, or in spite of, the course it chooses. At this moment, the Govemment of South Africa, with its strong economy and formidabIe defences, shouId have the confidence and the strength to commit itself to the necessary reforms. 13. Those of us who are not citizens of South Africa cannot dictate the form of the final solution of this dilemma. As the front-line States declared in the Lusaka Manifesto,’ all of us stand ready to extend whatever assistance the South African Government and people need or desire if the goal of fulI participatory government can be agreed upon. But we know that no progress will be made until all South Africans-black, white and Coloured-come together and find a level of political accommodation that will provide the basis for a just and representative government. 14. This means that South Africa must avail itself of the talents of all its people. Instead of harassing a Desmond Tutu, South Africa must call upon him. Instead of imprisoning political leaders on Robben Island, South Africa must call upon them to represent their people in the process of change. Meaningful discussions are seriously jeopardized so long as those whom the people themselves would choose as their 15. We call upon South Africa to make a gesture of good faith by freeing, recalhng and dealing with those whose participation is essential to the country’s peaceful and stable future. Such a gesture would warrant an equivalent response, in the form of cooperation instead of violent resistance. Taken together, these two gestures would help create an atmosphere in which serious negotiations between all of the country’s people could begin. 16. And now let me say a word about the role and responsibility of the Council at this moment in this long-standing dispute. We, too, are at a crossroads. We can demonstrate a helpful attitude by offering our good offices, and those of the Secretary-General, as mediators and facilitators of a solution. Or we can be content to add to the long litany of resolutions, immoderate in tone, which do not materially advance the chances for settlement, and may in fact affect them adversely. We can be as much a prisoner of our history as South Africa has thus far been of its past. I suggest that the former course would be more propitious at this crucial time. 17. I should now like to speak about the draft resolution before us. 18. Many members of the Council are aware of the point of view which I expressed during consultations and which I believe I have just expressed in these remarks. I have argued that much of the language of the draft resolution repeats earlier pronouncements of the Council, and I have urged that now is the time for the Council to move away from what has become a debasement of language not only on this question but on others, including the use of adjectives which I do not believe help our cause. I have also suggested, before and now, a new approach. I wish to note that the draft resolution, which we believe is clearly under Chapter VI of the Charter, does not fit that new approach in its entirety-particularly the wording of paragraph 7 (b), which I believe is not appropriately drawn. 19. In discussions with several of our colleagues, I have had an opportunity to present some of the ideas of an approach which I believe would be more appropriate than that taken in the draft resolution before us. I must say that I am grateful to them for including some of those ideas in the present draft resolution. We do not, however, believe that it goes as far as we should like it to go. Therefore, I am today sending to the President of the Council a letter [S/13998] containing the text of some of the suggestions that we have made in the past, because I want to make sure that all the members of the Council are aware of the point of view which my dear friend Ambassador Lusaka has heard-perhaps ad naNseam-over the past several days.

Mr. President, it is particularly gratifying for us to see you, the representative of a country with which Portugal maintains the closest and most cordial relations, presiding over our deliberations during the month of June. As testimony to the spirit of friendship between our two countries, and with a view to strengthening further the understanding of our two peoples, the President of the Republic of Portugal has just paid an official visit to Norway, returning the visit His Majesty King Olav made to Portugal two years ago. Your dedication, together with your wellknown diplomatic skills and wisdom, gives us every assurance that the work of the Council during the current month could not be in better hands. 22. I should like to pay a tribute also to our President for the month of May, Ambassador Id6 Oumarou of the Niger, whose great ability and keen perception of the problems brought before the Council not only were admired by all of us but were extremely helpful in the discharge of the Council’s responsibilities, 23. The policy and practice of apartheid in South Africa is one of the most serious problems facing the conscience of the international community, for it is a permanent affront to the dignity of man. 24. Notwithstanding all its efforts, the United Nations has not been able to bring an end to the unjust situation in which the majority of the population of that country lives, deprived of some of the most elementary human rights. 25. We would have wished that statements like the one made recently by Pieter Koomhof-that “we will not rest until racial discrimination has disappeared from the statute books and everyday life in South Africa” -would soon reflect the reality of the situation in that country. The people of South Africa and the international community as a whole have been waiting far too long, hoping to see those changes brought about. 26. The system of apartheid, far from achieving the results foreseen by its mentors, has only planted the seed of dissension and incomprehension between the different segments of the population. And the acts of repression against those who protest against this iniquitous system have only led to a further increase in the dissatisfaction, unrest and political awareness of the oppressed groups. 27. The debate that we are now holding on the question of South Africa should constitute a very serious reminder to those who are opposed to the adoption of sweeping reforms in the institutional structure of that country. Time is running out, and so is the patience of the victims of this inhuman system. Political repres- 28. The Council has in the past addressed appeals to the Government of Pretoria for the release of political and other detainees, but some of those appeals have regrettably gone unheeded. Today my delegation reiterates the appeal on behalf of Nelson Mandela, Bishop Desmond Tutu and others recently imprisoned, who, we hope, will soon be able to join Victor Matlou in liberty. 29. Portugal has always rejected apartheid, as a system comp!etely foreign to our way of thinking and our way of being, and our commitment to its eradication remains unwavering. In the present context, how- .ever, we should have preferred that the Council take into consideration some tentative but apparently positive steps that seem to have been made by the South African Government. Today in southern Africa there has been a radical change and the Portuguese Government feels that this would be the appropriate time’for the world community and the Government in Pretoria to explore new possibilities that might lead to a peaceful evolution of the present situation in South Africa. 30. But let there be no doubt in the minds of those who defend the maintenance of the status quo in that country. They cannot buy time indefinitely by using dilatory tactics. The international community is fully alert and will throw its full weight on the side of the oppressed peoples of South Africa if the Pretoria Government fails to respond favourably to the appeals now addressed to them. 31. ‘The PRESIDENT: I shall now make a statement in my capacity as the representative of NORWAY. 32. During the last few months, increasing political and social unrest has again focused world attention on the apartheid system in South Africa. The situation in that country is clearly becoming more explosive. That is the message coming out of South Africa these days. The tragic memories of Sharpeville and Soweto are again being brought back to us. Recent developments and a major turning point in the history of southern Africa-the newly won independence of Zimbabwe-point to an inescapable fact: South Africa can no longer avoid a crucial choice regarding future race relations in that country. 33. We are unable to see more than two possibilities: either a firm commitment to political change, ensuring 34. The Chairman of the Special Committee against Apartheid, Ambassador Clark of Nigeria, said in his important statement before the Council on 4 June that “Apartheid cannot be reformed. It must be abolished”. 12225th meting, para. 40.1 I concur fully with that assessment. There is no possible third road to resolving the inherent present contradictions in South African society. Obviously, that makes the choice before the South African authorities all the more important. 35. The new unrest has already had its casualties. The ongoing student revolt, combined with workers’ strikes, is not a mere symptom of political and social unrest. It is a serious warning of impending disaster, unless the deepening wounds inflicted on the majority of South Africa’s population are healed. 36. The Norwegian Government was shocked to learn of the arrest last month of Bishop Desmond Tutu and some SO other white and black South African church leaders. We are equally disturbed at the prospect of their being put on trial. We urge the South African authorities to refrain from taking any further legal action against those representatives of South Africa’s churches. 37. It is important that a pohcy of national reconciliation be adopted and implemented in South Africa. Such a policy ought to start with the release of political prisoners. Norway, for its part, wishes to give full support to the present campaign, which was started inside South Africa, to release Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners in. that country. Such a move would be a first and essential step towards starting a dialogue and charting a new course. 38. In 1963 an international group of experts, established at the request of the Security Council and chaired by Mrs. Alva Myrdal, proposed the formation of a national convention fully representative of all the people of South Africa. I have noted that this proposal has again been revived. On this occasion I want, on behalf of my Government, to associate myself with the appeals for such a national convention made by Bishop Tutu, the editor Percy Qoboza, and recently, on 4 June, by the Chairman of the Special Committee against Apartheid, Ambassador Clark. The tasks of that convention will be formidable. No more eloquent expression has ever been given of those tasks than the words of Chief Albert Luthuli, in his famous lecture after his receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo in December of 1961, in which he demanded that full political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights be given every citizen of South Africa, irrespective of race. 39. Those are the challenges that the South African authorities will have to meet urgently, constructively 40. I shall now resume my functions as PRESIDENT of the Security Council. 41. It is my understanding that the Council is ready to proceed to the vote now on the draft resolution which is before it. Since there is no objection, I shall put the draft resolution contained in document S/13995 to the vote. 47. There is no recognition in this resolution of the fact that the South African authorities have, during the recent unrest, shown more restraint than on occasions in the past. It is not right to compare recent events with the Soweto riots of 1976 or the Sharpevilie shootings. Many speakers in this debate have exaggerated the actions of the South African authorities during the present troubles. The resolution does not acknowledge these positive developments: it reiterates the rhetoric of old resolutions. The Council is in danger of imprisoning itself in its own past, of devaluing its own language. In saying this I stress again that we do not condone what has been done-how could we ever condone the shooting of a schooichiid?-but if the Council is to transmit the right message to South Africa, it must not destroy its credibility by inaccuracy and exaggeration. A vote was taken by show of hands. The draft resulution was adopted unanimously (resolution 413 (1980)).

I shall now call on those members of the Council who wish to make statements following the voting.

It is with some reluctance that I have just voted in favour of the resolution before us. However, after the most careful consideration, we were prepared to support the draft resolution because we agree with the important proposition which emerges clearly throughout the text-namely, that the fundamental problems of South Africa derive from the system of apartheid. 48. Indeed, in our view, an important opportunity has been missed to send a clear and reasoned message to the Government and the people of South Africa. The message is that southern Africa is changing fast and it is no longer possible to put off indefinitely change in South Africa itself. The settlement in Zimbabwe shows that peaceful change is still feasible. Failure to make progress and to be seen to make progress towards eliminating apartheid means an inevitable cycle of oppression and violence which will involve South Africa in a highly dangerous regional confrontation, with the further dangers of outside interference; it will isolate South Africa further and deny ‘to the whole region the potential of economic co-operation and the enormous economic and social benefits deriving from it. 44. The United Kingdom Government’s views on apartheid are perfectly clear. I quote from a statement to Parliament by the Prime Minister, Mrs. Margaret Thatcher: “The policy of apartheid, with its emphasis on separating peoples rather than bringing them together and ail the harshness required to impose it on the South African population, is wholly unacceptable.” 45. It is the system of apartheid that is at the root of the dangerous events of recent days. We are disturbed at the large number of people detained during the continuing schools boycott under legislation which does not provide for them -to be charged with any specific offence. We are equally concerned over the arrest of 53 clergymen, at least two of whom are British subjects, during a peaceful protest march on I5 May, and over the nature of the charges laid against them. My Government has already drawn the South African authorities* attention to public concern over the withdrawal of Bishop Tutu’s passport. Most particularly distressing was the shooting of two young people on 28 May, and we are also disturbed by the attacks on oil installations on the night of 1 June. We understand very well the emotions that these events have aroused and the fears for the future expressed by many deiegations in this debate. 49. Several speakers have mentioned the case of Mr. Mandela and their concern is reflected in the resolution. We are sure the Government of South Africa recognizes very well what an excellent effect the release of Mr. Mandela would have on international opinion. it would be widely welcomed in the United Kingdom and elsewhere and would be symbolic of a desire for reconciliation in South Africa. 50. Before concluding, I should like to make two specific comments on the resolution. We do not accept that the reference in the seventh preambuiar paragraph

Unfortunately, there has already been a long list of meetings of the Council called in response to events in southern Africa, be it the situation in South Africa or the complaints of South Africa’s neighbours over that country’s armed incursions into their territory. 52. When the press agencies announced scarcely more than a month ago the launching of a strike movement by high-school students in the Cape Province protesting racial discrimination in teaching, no one misunderstood the meaning of that demonstration. When, on 28 May, we learned of the death of two young demonstrators, each of us was immediately reminded of the events in Soweto. The disturbances which then beset South Africa had been unleashed by similar protests against the teaching system. 53. South Africa is today caught up in another cycle of strikes, demonstrations and protests. The Govemment has announced that it will ensure respect for order; it has been issuing more and more warnings. However, the movement has spread to all provinces, reaching the high schools reserved to the Coloureds, to Indians and Africans as well as the black universities, one of the best known of which-Fort Harehas been closed. Many arrests have been made, involving journalists, the clergy, students and political leaders from the African communities. Tension was heightened on 1 June by the serious damage done to industrial installations as a result of sabotage. 54. There is no need to dwell on the gravity of these events. The escalation of violence, if not halted, may lead to extremely dangerous situations. We hope that the necessary measures for pacification will be adopted in time. 55. Preventive arrests, in particular, will not settle the problem. Freedom of expression, a fundamental right, is inseparable from any kind of democracy. Once again we speak out against the consistent method of gagging those who call for justice, rather than heeding their cries. 56. One of the best-known adversaries of apartheid, Mr. Nelson Mandela, a former student at the University of Fort Hare, has been held for more than 16 years on Robben Island, and his life is in peril. His warnings cannot be ignored when he asks: “How many more Sharpevilles will there be? How many Sharpevilles can this country sustain without violence and terror becoming the order of the day?” 57. I shall not recall in detail the fundamental opposition of France and of the entire French people to the 58. It is dramatically symbolic that schoolchildren have died because they called for equal opportunity in the school system. Flagrant inequality and the scorn for human dignity will inevitably lead to violence. That violence will spare no one; it will come to an end only when its causes, and not merely its effects are dealt with. 59. In southern Africa there has been more change during the last five months than in the past five years. Independence in Zimbabwe has rekindled hope. Namibia in turn is impatiently waiting for the day when it will live in a democratic system. In South Africa itself, amendments to the Constitution have been announced by the Government, and we are not indifferent to them. In this connection, I should like to recall the necessity for dialogue. The proposed reforms will be effective only if they take into consideration the legitimate aspirations of all the communities. They will succeed only if they are accepted rather than imposed. 60. I come now to the resolution just adopted. 61. My delegation regrets that only some of the suggestions of the Western States members of the Council have been accepted by the sponsors. We believe, in particular, that paragraphs 1 and 7 could have been drafted differently without impairing the meaning. We should like to point out that, in the French version at least, the terms utilized in the preamble and operative parts, to describe the attitude of South Africa with regard to Security Council and General Assembly resolutions are neither harmonious nor appropriate. Moreover, my delegation notes that the wording of paragraph 11 relating to the embargo remains ambiguous. The expression “reinforce and make it more comprehensive” must be understood as meaning. that the embargo must be fully implemented and that all loopholes must be closed. We understand that the Committee established by resolution 421 (1977) will quickly have to recommend to the Council measures to secure the full implementation of resolution 418 (1977). Any different interpretation would run counter to the mandate entrusted to the Committee in resolution 421 (1977). I wish to recall that France, for its part, is strictly observing the afms embargo and that it is ready to consider in a constructive spirit any measure aimed at enhancing the implementation of the embargo. 63. South Africa has been endowed by nature with resources which could allow all of its population fully to benefit from the advantages of twentieth-century civilization and to produce all that it requires. We hope that this country will think more about the blessings of unity and that it will devote all its energies to its social, cultural and economic development and to becoming a world in which everyone can share in peace and dignity, without distinction as to race, colour or origin, the fruits of a prosperity resulting from the work of all.

The current discussion on the question of the situation in South Africa has amply demonstrated the fact that the national liberation struggle of the people of that country against the criminal apartheid regime enjoys the broadest possible support from the international community . 65. The Soviet delegation supported the draft resolution submitted to the Council, because it contains a 1 Oflcial Records of the General Assembly, Twenty-fourth Session, Annexes, agenda item 106, document A/7154. 66. At the sami: time, we cannot but note with regret that the resolution adopted does not contain effective vigorous measures which, if they were put into practice, would exert effective pressure on the rulers of South Africa with a view to the elimination of the shameful policy and practice of apartheid in southern Africa. It cannot be overlooked that this is the consequence of the position of those members of the Council which, in essence, have striven to preserve the racist regime of Pretoria because of their own selfish interests on the African continent. 67. The Soviet delegation would like to state once again that it is profoundly convinced of the need for the immediate adoption, with regard to the racist n?gime of Pretoria, of the most decisive and effective measures as provided for in Chapter VII of the Charter.

There are no more speakers on the list. The Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on the agenda. The meeting rose at 6.30 p.m. NOTE HOW TO OBTAIN UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATIONS United Nations publications may be obtained from bookstores and distributors throughout the world. Consult your bookstore or write to: United Nations, Sales Section. New York or Geneva. COMMENT SE PROCURER LES PUBLICAnONS DE!3 NATIONS UNIES Les publications des Nations Unies sent en vente dans les libraities et les agences depositaims du monde cntier. Informez-vous aup& de votre libraire ou adressez-vous B : Nations Unies. Section des ventes, New York ou Geneve. COMO CONSEGUIR PUBLICACIONES DE LAS NACIONEZS UNIDAS Las publicaciones de las Naciones Unidas es&t en venta en libretias y cams distribuidoras en todas partes del mundo. Consuhe a su librero o dirijase a: Naciona Unidas, Seccibn de Ventas, Nueva York o Ginebra. Litho in United Nations, New York 00300 8361462--September 1986-2~350