Word: namibia
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...that announcement were not dramatic enough for one day's rumination, Vorster followed with another, this one concerning Namibia (South West Africa), the mineral-rich territory that South Africa has administered since 1920. South Africa, said Vorster, was withdrawing its earlier agreement to a United Nations-supervised plan to grant independence to Namibia. Instead, it would proceed with its own "internal settlement" and hold elections in the territory in November. Among the reasons: the U.N.'s postponement of elections from December until next April would endanger Namibia's security, and the proposed increase from...
...well as in Africa, the Vorster double shocker exploded with all the calculated force of a hidden mine. At U.N. headquarters in New York City, there was concern that the whole future of southern Africa was now cast into an ominous state of uncertainty. Vorster's turnabout on Namibia and his departure added up to an invitation to renewed warfare between South Africa and SWAPO, a fresh opening for Soviet and Cuban influence on the guerrillas, and ultimately a drive to impose economic sanctions against South Africa...
There was dismay, too, that Vorster was bowing out at the very moment when his brand of pragmatism was most needed. The Namibia decision was seen as a kind of backlash by Cabinet elders against what they regarded as U.N. highhandedness. The reasons given for the turnaround on the U.N. plan convinced no one. Pretoria, it was now clear, was not about to let SWAPO come to power, even in free elections. That means a long-term military commitment by South Africa in Namibia?and a dilemma for the U.S. and Britain, who will face pressure to punish South Africa...
Perhaps it is native to expect the U.S. to employ noble conceptions of justice and morality in the execution of foreign policy. But in the case of Namibia, the U.S. must recognize that in the long run, the pursuit of justice will have its more pragmatic advantages. In 1975, Rep. Charles Diggs (D-Mich.) told a Congressional hearing, "Independence in Namibia is now inevitable and the implications for long-term U.S. access to resources in Namibia...are clear. Certainly a majority-ruled, independent Namibia would be mindful of what action the United States is taking now to expedite progress toward...
Diggs is right. Whether by the ballot or the bullet, a true independence will come to Namibia. South African intransigence can only be a holding action that will draw forth greatly increased military support for SWAPO from the front-line African states, the Cubans and the Soviets. SWAPO has already committed itself to a socialist path of development for Namibia, with national ownership of the resource-exploiting industries. But the organization at the same time demonstrated a pragmatic recognition that continued cooperation with the West may be in Namibia's interest for some time to come...