Word: namibia
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Ever since the Reagan Administration began its behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts in 1981 to secure independence for the predominantly black,, South Africa-controlled territory of South West Africa, or Namibia, it has insisted on one key condition: the withdrawal of some 25,000 Cuban troops from neighboring Angola. Last month representatives of the South African and Angolan governments negotiated a historic cease-fire in the smoldering, nearly 18-year-old war along the Angola-Namibia border. This raised new hopes for a breakthrough in the long-stalled negotiations over Namibia. Then last week in Havana, Angola's Marxist...
...withdrawal of South African troops from Angola, where until recently they have been waging hit-and-run offensives against the Marxist-oriented guerrillas of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), Namibia's black liberation movement...
...South African acceptance of U.N. resolutions calling for withdrawal of South African Defense Forces from Namibia and full independence for the territory...
Daunting obstacles remain before the Cubans go home. Pretoria is sure to demand ironclad guarantees of a Cuban withdrawal before its own troops leave Namibia. Still, the cease-fire between South Africa and Angola has held, and even South African officials have been impressed by the Angolan determination to end the border war. In recent weeks, troops from both countries have combined forces in a Joint Monitoring Commission (JMC), which has been forced to engage disruptive SWAPO forces on three separate occasions. The JMC toll: two killed and eight wounded, all Angolan. The fact that the Dos Santos government...
Nonetheless, South Africa's true intentions may still be in doubt. Just when Pretoria seemed in rare harmony with its black foes, Pik Botha last week unexpectedly offered a totally new proposal calling for a comprehensive conference aimed at resolving at once all the complex interlocking disputes over Namibia. The initiative has caused deep apprehension among other negotiating parties, who strongly suspect that the plan amounts to a South African ploy to sidestep U.N. supervision of Namibian independence. Caught by surprise, nervous State Department officials are unsure whether South Africa means to sabotage the peace effort or to advance...