Vol. 2, No. 4 Summer 1982 The Black American Lobby for Africa and the Caribbean

military build-up inside Namibia ... new airports and military bases are be~ ing constructed and aggression against COMOROS the people of Angola continues daily.'' Mo~o~ While the military activities of South Africa tend to contradict the US state­ ments on Pretoria's intentions, the M(JADAGASfAR stated achievements in the talks them­ ananvo selves have recently come under ques­ tion. Phase I of the negotiations, which addresses the issues of Constitutional Principles to guarantee white minority rights and the electoral system, is still unfinished. Though the Contact Group had the Security Council circulate a document said to represent the agreed upon Con­ Southern A/rica stitutional Principles, it does not accu­ rately reflect the final agreements .._...... reached earlier this year. The docu­ ment omits 3 important provisions re­ SWAPO President Sam Nujoma: ''The occupation forces are still expanding'' lating to the relationship between the three branches of government (which was to be defined by the Constituent U.S. OPTIMISM ON NAMIBIA Assembly); the restructuring of the LOSING CREDIBILITY Public, Police and Defense services; and, the establishment of local councils The State Department continues to write the new nation's constitution. or regional administration only by an speak optimistically about prospects What has held up Namibia's transition act of parliament. for a Namibia settlement despite the to statehood is South Africa's refusal The electoral issue was said to be passage of a mid-August target date to begin the implementation of near resolution when South Africa for concluding an agreement in the 4 UNSCR435. dropped its insistance on a mixed year old talks and ending the 16 year The US has recently argued that system of proportional representation old military struggle against South South Africa is now willing to proceed and single member districts combined. Africa's illegal occupation of the ter­ with the plan for reasons of self­ But they have thus far refused to ritory. interest such as the cost of the war and choose between the two. A rapid completion of the negotia­ the decline in South Africa's economy. On Phase II issues there seems to be tions conducted by the US led Western They also state that South African ob­ more agreement. The size and make up Contact Group between the South jections regarding implementation of the military component of the UN West Africa People's Organization, have been all but resolved leaving only Transitional Assistance Group (UN­ the African Frontline states and South details to be worked out. T AG) is nearly finalized with four of Africa would start the 7 month process The American optimistic assessment the s~ven nations to participate already leading to elections in Namibia as is not, however, shared by SW APO or named, an upper limit of 7500 troops outlined in United Nations Security the Frontline states. In an interview has been confirmed and the UN Secre­ Council Resolution 435 perhaps in with TransAfrica, in Tripoli during the tariat is working out the other details. April of next year. attempted Organization of African SW APO appears to have accepted UN­ The UN plan, accepted in 1978 by all Unity summit, SW APO President Sam T AG monitoring of bases in Angola ' parties, provides the formula for a Nujoma said, "The South African and Zambia and the South African transition from colonial occupation to racist regime has no intention of relin­ posed question of UN impartiality in independence in Namibia. It calls for quishing its colonial domination over its supervisory role has been satisfied internationally supervised elections for Namibia." He added that, "The occu­ through report language to the Security a Constituent Assembly empowered to pation forces are still expanding their (continued on page 8) Guest Editorial

NAMIBIA: US DIPLOMACY OR DUPLICITY? By Walter Fauntroy

The State Department's 3 month old massive South African invasion of the also mean, among other things, the end optimism that a Namibia settlement is former Portuguese colony of the verge of the Western Contact Group as near at hand will soon be put to the of its independence. Though a reduc­ France, Canada and West Germany final test as the US led Western Con­ tion of their presence has been initiated have all indicated they will not con­ tact Group attempts to resolve the few on several occasions, continual South tinue with the negotiations if imple­ remaining problems in the talks be­ African attacks have caused the mentation is not begun this year. tween SWAPO, the African Frontline Angolans to ask the Cubans to remain. Should this occur it will become neces­ states and South Africa, and gain a UN They do so only at the wish of the sary for the international community Security Council implementing resolu­ Angolan government and it is therefore to seek another strategy to achieve tion to set the transition plan in mo­ solely a bilateral matter between two Namibian independence and com­ tion. For lack of a clear indication of sovereign nations. prehensive sanctions under chapter South Africa's willingness to end its il­ The issue of the Cuban presence in seven of the UN Charter appears to be legal occupation of Namibia, the State Angola has never been a part of the the only alternative. The US has tradi­ Department's optimism is shared by negotiations for Namibia's indepen- ' tionally vetoed all such resolutions but few other parties to the negotiations. dence, it is nowhere mentioned in the another veto following a failure to gain In fact, for the Africans involved there UN settlement plan (Security Council South Africa's withdrawal from Nami­ is a strong sense of Deja vu. Unlike the Resolution 435) adopted by all parties, bia would be particularly invidious and Reagan administration, they have been including South Africa, in 1978 and unjustifiable. to the point of imminent settlement none of the other 4 members of the While the armed struggle to liberate before only to see the South Africans Western Contact Group had ever rais­ Namibia is bound to escalate if South back down and increase their military ed the issue to be considered as a part Africa's occupation continues, the US presence in Namibia and their destabi­ of the Namibia talks. can either support the call for sanctions lization efforts against their neighbors It is unforgiveable that the US would or be responsible for a protracted war instead. provide South Africa a stalling tactic costing thousands their lives and for Yet we are hopeful, if not optimistic, by trying to introduce this issue, which continuing to deny one million black that a speedy conclusion to the talks is essentially an internal matter for people their right to self-determina­ can be achieved allowing the people of Angola, into the negotiations, thereby tion. Namibia to gain their right to self­ subordinating the US commitment to The basis for the Reagan administra­ determination that they have struggled the Namibian people's independence to tion's "constructive engagement" for against colonial oppression for some backward strategic objective. It is policy toward South Africa is its per­ nearly l 00 years and which for the past even worse that the South African's ception of "shared strategic concerns" 16 years they have waged a costly have said that their newfound flexibili­ in the region and the secondary argu­ armed struggle. Namibia's independ­ ty in the talks is based on a US ment that it is easier to influence na­ ence would also provide us diplomacy assurance that the Cuban question will tions that we have good relations with. with some credibility in Africa, which be resolved if Namibia is to be indepen­ South Africa has used this policy to it is sorely lacking at present. It would dent. That the administration would (continued on page 8) equally allow us, and the international offer such an assurance is very disturb­ community generally, to focus our at­ ing particularly in the absence of any tention and resources on working for US/Angolan agreement on this issue majority rule in apartheid South Africa and while ongoing talks between the itself. two countries have thus far produced The principal doubt about South no progress on the issue. Africa's commitment to begin imple­ This style of diplomacy has led a mentation of the 4 year old UN settle­ number of observers to argue that the ment plan derives from Pretoria's in­ US is being duplicitous and that the op­ sistance on a withdrawal of the Cuban timism and near completion of the , troo·ps in Angola as a part of any m;gotiations will eventually be ex­ agreement. Here they have seized upon plained away by blaming Angola for a position taken by the Reagan ad­ any failure to reach a settlement. Such ministration, albeit incorrect and self­ a characterization should be rejected defeating, that the principal threat to by the informed American public as it stability and development in southern will most certainly be rejected by the Africa is the presence of Cuban troops international community. For if the - and the bogeyman of "communist ex­ current talks do fail it will be because pansion." of the same South African intran­ The Cubans arrived in Angola in sigence that has undermined all settle­ 1975 at the invitation of the late Presi­ ment attempts in the past. FAUNTROY: "For the Africans dent Augostino Neto to help defeat a A failure to reach an agreement will there's a sense of Deja vu." 2 TRANSAFRICA NEWS • SUMMER 1982 Country Profile

GUYANA: GIVING SOCIALISM A BAD NAME "In Guyana, there is today a fundamental crisis ... At its heart is a collapse of the production system which has _ resulted in a rapid deterioration of the standards of living, wages and real earnings of the mass of Guyanese workers and peasants ... With formal independence, the strata which inherited the State has repressed [workers] rights under the guise of various slogans such as "cooperative socialism" and ''paramountcy of the party". In the process, it has argued that the loss of democratic rights is a prerequisite of building the country. To us, the loss of these rights is necessary only to the ruling party's maintaining of itself in power. " -Clive Thomas WPA Central Committee Member Chairman, University of Guyana Staff Association January, 1981 The Guyana government declared it­ During this period the Kennedy ad­ now taken over 800Jo of the economy self bankrupt this spring and faces a ministration, still reeling from the Bay and the opposition argues that this is growing movement in the country to of Pigs fiasco, was determined to pre­ the basis by which Burnham hopes to put an end to the 18 year old regime ac­ vent Jagan, seen as a Soviet tool, from constitute a party ruling class. cused of sustaining itself by sys­ leading Guyana to independence. The The takeover of the economy has tematically rigging elections, repressing idea was to find a way of combining been accompanied by its rapid deteri­ opposition and instituting party para­ Burnham's 41 OJo of the vote with the oration. Sugar, bauxite, alumina and mountcy in Guyana. The Reagan ad­ 160Jo of the anti-socialist United Force rice production for 1981 had not even ministration, while not extremely close Party of Portuguese businessman Peter attained the output levels of a decade to the Georgetown regime, is con­ d 'Aguiar. Violence was provoked ago. In addition to the collapse of the cerned with the prospects of a radical throughout 1962 and 1963 with strong major producing sectors, domestic replacement to Forbes Burnham and implications of CIA and AFL-CIO in- foodstuffs and services are also failing has already made false charges of and the maintainance of public utilities Cuban military training of opposition ,,, has neared collapse as well. Unemploy­ parties. • ment is estimated above 400Jo and wide­ A country the size of Great Britain, Caribbean ' Atlantic spread inflation and food and spare Sea . Ocean Guyana is located in northern South part shortages complete the dismal in­ America. Its population of about ternal economic picture. 800,000 is concentrated along a narrow The PNC, in order to control coastal strip and is quite cosmopolitan worker's demands for an improved with 51 OJo East Indians, 430Jo African standard of living, has had to repress and mixed, 40Jo Amerindians and the non-PNC trade union activity and re­ remaining 20Jo of Portuguese, English strict the system of worker bargaining and Chinese descent. and industrial relations. In 1950 the modern political history National elections were constitu­ of Guyana began with the formation of tionally required in 1978 but Burnham the Peopk~s Progressive Party (PPP). opted for a referendum to draft a new The PPP, led by Cheddi Jagan, an constitution. The various opposition East Indian, and Forbes Burnham, a groups organized a remarkably effec­ black, brought together Guyana's two tive boycott of the referendum and major ethnic groups. In elections final­ popular opposition began to gain ly held in 1953 under a constitution ad­ volvement and which had a strong ra­ momentum. The 1980 general elections vanced by the British,the PPP won 18 cial undertone, further polarizing the under the new constitution also were of 24 seats. Within six months the society. In 1964 the British imposed the boycotted and the boycott gained inter­ British government, under pressure solution of new elections, just prior to national recognition exposing the from the US, suspended the constitu­ independence, based on proportional fraudulent nature of elections in tion arguing that the avowed Marxist­ representation with the whole nation a Guyana under Burnham and the PNC. Leninist Jagan and the socialist single constituency. Burnham's 41 OJo A most significant development oriented Burnham posed the threat of a and d'Aguiar's 120Jo gave this alliance leading to the rise of organized popular com)llunist dictatorship. of convenience and foreign influence opposition was the increasingly effec­ During the next few years Burnham enough votes to oust the PPP. tive mobilising capacity of the multira­ and J agan split politically and in so do­ · In the elections of 1968 Burnham cial Working Peoples Alliance (WPA). ing diminished the chances of racial co­ gained a clear majority of his own by Formed in 1973, the WPA joined poli­ operation. Race replaced class in rigging the elections through massive ticians, intellectuals and workers from Guyana's political life. By 1957 Burn­ use of faked overseas and proxy votes. both major ethnic groups and pledged ham formed his own party, the Peo­ He repeated the blatant electoral fraud itself to racial harmony, free elections ple's National Congress (PNC), but on a larger scale in 1973. and democratic socialism. when constitutional government was Guyana became a Cooperative Re­ Because of its growing effectiveness restored that same year Jagan's PPP public in 1970 and during the next 6 and popular appeal, the government won the elections. The 1961 elections years nationalized most of the major has directed the full weight of its re­ produced another PPP victory. industry in the country. The PNC has (continued on page 8) TRANSAFRICA NEWS • SUMMER 1982 AFRICAN AND CARIBBEAN NEWS BRIEFS

SOUTH AFRICA TO REQUEST COUP ATTEMPT FAILS IN KENYA IMF LOAN (NAIROBI) An attempted coup in Kenya's capital of (WASHINGTON) A leaked confidential State Department Nairobi was crushed by forces loyal to President Daniel cable reveals that South Africa may soon request major Arap Moi. The attempted coup was led by Junior Air assistance from the International Monetary Fund in order Force Officers in the early hours of August 1st. The rebels to relieve a projected balance of payments deficit of R4 took over the Nation's only radio station and accused the billion, caused by the sharp fall in diamond and gold Moi government of corruption and mismanagement. Moi prices, South Africa's main export commodities. Trans­ had recently cracked down on the opposition within the Africa obtained the document in mid July and released it country detaining critics, censoring the press and legislat­ to the press with the aim of creating publicity and kindling ing a one-party state and the rebels criticized the govern­ a campaign to suspend or expel South Africa from the ment for each of these acts. In the aftermath over 3,000 Fund at an upcoming IMF Board of Governors meeting in Kenyans were arrested including the entire air force. Toronto, Canada. Heavy borrowing from the Fund in 1977, allowed South Africa to finance a massive military SOUTH AFRICA INVADES ANGOLA build up. Last November, the UN General Assembly (LUANDA) While western negotiators pursued a final set­ adopted a resolution suggesting that the IMF, one of its tlement of the Namibia conflict, South Africa launched a specialized agencies, reassess its relations with the white massive invasion into southern Angola in late July from its minority government in South Africa. bases in illegally occupied Namibia. The invasion force, said to consist of 34 battalions, 40 combat cars, 200 pieces of artillery, 60 combat planes, 30 helicopters and 300 ar­ HAITIANS BEING RELEASED mored vehicles, penetrated some 175 KM into Angola kill­ (MIAMI) On June 29, Judge Eugene Spellman ruled that ing an estimated 400 Namibian refugees. The invasion un­ the detention of 1,900 Haitians was "illegal" and ordered derlines the Angolan's need for the 15-20,000 Cuban their immediate release provided each is sponsored by a troops stationed there to prevent Pretoria from overrun­ relative or agency and that weekly reports are made to the ning the Luanda government. South Africa also attacked sponsor until a hearing date with proper legal representa­ Zimbabwe in August and lost 3 of its soldiers in fighting tion. The Justice Dept. appealed the decision but the 11th there. The South Africans are also suspected to have Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta upheld Spellman's rul­ staged the bombing of Zimbabwe's Air Force planes ing and the release of Haitians began in mid July. Osten­ earlier in the summer causing extensive damages. sibly the Administration started detention as a means of in­ suring that Haitians would appear for their hearing ap­ U.S. MILITARY AIRLIFT TO SOMALIA pointments, citing a 60% failure rate. But most observers saw the move coupled with interdiction of Haitian vessels RAISES CONCERN on the high seas as forceful measures aimed at deterring (WASHINGTON) Ranking members of the House Africa further inflows of Haitians. This and previous administra­ subcommittee sent a letter to Secretary of State, George tions have categorically prejudged Haitian entrants to be Shultz, cautioning him that shipment of military supplies illegal economic migrants and not political refugees as they to aid Somalia currently engaged in a conflict with a dissi­ claim to be, despite an autocratic form of government in dent group, the Somali Salvation Democratic Front, could Haiti and a court case finding incidents of torture, harm U.S. interests in the region. The two Congressmen, beatings, and harassment experienced by repatriated Hai­ Howard Wolpe and William Goodling, while condemning tians refused U.S. asylum. what they considered an Ethiopian incursion, fear that a U.S. military response would fuel the conflict and heighten Cold War tensions. They urged the Administration to SOUTH AFRICA PLANS TO frame a broader diplomatic plan and specifically pursue a "high level . .. initiative" intended to secure a "rapid, CEDE LAND mutual withdrawal of forces and a ceasefire." (PRETORIA) The South African government plans to transfer part of the KwaZulu homeland, a 3,000 sq. mi. TEN KILLED IN SOUTH AFRICAN portion, to neighboring Swaziland without the consent of the inhabitants. Observers see the move as a way for South MINE STRIKES A(rica to gain greater influence with the Swazi leadership, (JOHANNESBURG) Grievances over unequal pay and who will now have access to the sea, and to conveniently unsafe working conditions triggered extensive strikes in disenfranchise one million black South Africans. The pro­ South Africa among black goldminers during the first posal, however, has united black leaders of different week in July. Eight mines were affected and some 12,000 stripes. Chief Gatsha Buthelezi, tribal leader of the miners involved, making the work stoppage one of the Zulus-the people who will be affected by the transfer, has largest to date. The government authorities responded with long been despised for his complicity with government brutal attacks, using tear gas, truncheons, dogs, and gun­ aims of balkanizing blacks along ethnic lines. Now both fire. In the process, ten were killed, hundreds injured, and the African National Congress, the banned liberation thousands shipped off to neighboring countries from movement, and Bishop Desmond Tutu, the premier which they migrated or to semi-arrid "bantustans" or moderate critic of apartheid have joined him to protest the black reservations where employment opportunities are land deal. non-existant. 4 TRANSAFRICA NEWS"' SUMMER 1982 LEGISLATION AND POLICY UPDATE

*IMMIGRATION REFORM BILL-The comprehensive soon that would specifically prohibit the export of Nuclear Simpson-Mazzoli immigration reform bill passed the materials or technology to SA, and prohibit US training of Senate on August 17 and now awaits consideration by the SA nuclear scientists. House Judiciary Committee and the full body sometime after the Labor Day Recess. The Senate version will estab­ *CARIBBEAN BASIN INITIATIVE-The much embat­ lish a review panel; grant amnesty to millions of illegal tled Caribbean aid plan intended to thwart economic insta­ aliens; impose sanctions on employers who knowingly hire bility and communist expansion in the region is nearing illegals; direct the President to develop a fraud proof iden­ House floor consideration. The $350 million emergency as­ tity system; and grant the Attorney General sweeping sistance portion has been appropriated by both chambers powers in adjudicating refugee asylum cases among other but authorization is still needed. In an effort to speed pro­ things. TransAfrica, concerned mainly with the hypo­ gress on the legislation, the emergency money section has critical and inconsistent treatment of refugees of color, been separated from the larger package but strong opposi­ supported amendments by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) tion is expected from liberal House Democrats who are that would have strengthened the independence of an concerned with the skewed distribution of aid, favoring El asylum review board and rights of judicial review. His Salvador and other pro-American regimes in Central amendments failed miserably both in committee and on America. No action has been taken on the tax incentive the floor. As reported by the Senate, the relevant asylum measures in both chambers and the free trade zone section, section will have the Attorney General sitting on the review the most potentially beneficient part of the aid package, panel, appointing other members, and writing standards has been gutted in response to pressures from import­ and procedures. These provisions, in TransAfrica's view, sensitive domestic industries and labor unions in the House will not serve to depolitize the refugee screening process Ways and Means subcommittee on Trade. During congres­ and grant some due process guarantees to asylum seekers. sional hearings on the CBI TransAfrica testified twice and On the House side with a greater number of liberals, submitted five statements for the record on the House side TransAfrica hopes to improve the relevant sections by ad­ fairly critical of the administration's proposals. ding provisions for class action judicial review and main­ taining the independence of the appeal board. TransAfrica *CONGRESSIONAL ACTIONS AGAINST CUBA-In a submitted statements for the record to both Senate and remake of the Monroe Doctrine Theory, a House-Senate House subcommittees responsible for the legislation. conference on a supplemental appropriations bill approved an amendment introduced by Sen. Steve Symms (R-ID) *GRENADA HEARING-On June 15, both government that favors the US using "whatever means necessary, in­ and private witnesses testified before the House Inter­ cluding the QSe of arms" to contain Cuban "agressive or American Affairs subcommittee on U .S.-Grenada rela­ subversive activities" in the western hemisphere. It also tions. Since March 1979 when Maurice Bishop came to asserts that the US will "work with the Organization of power, U.S.-Grenada relations have been rocky. The U.S. American States and with freedom-loving Cubans to sup­ has sought to isolate and undermine the tiny island state by port the aspirations of the Cuban people for self­ denying emergency hurricane assistance, voting against determination." Congress is also likely to adopt legisla­ IMF loans, excluding it from the Caribbean Basin In­ tion, already approved in the House, to establish a govern­ itiative, and attempting to dissuade European powers from ment propaganda radio station to broadcast programs to funding the construction of an international airport. State Cuba. The bill, HR 5427, passed the House by a vote of Dept. spokesperson, Stephen Bosworth, explained that 250 to 134 and now goes to the Senate. Construction on U.S. antipathy toward the Bishop regime was based on a 'Radio Marti', as the station will be called after famed fear of growing Soviet-Cuban influence, human right Cuban patriot Jose Marti, is nearly completed despite the violations, and strident anti-American rhetoric. All the fact that no legislation has been finalized approving the other witnesses, Rep. Merv Dymally (D-CA), Rep. George construction. Marti, who authored "Inside the Monster: Crockett (D-MI), Sally Shelton (Carter's ambassador to Writings on the US and American Imperialism", would the Eastern Caribbean), and Randall Robinson (Trans­ not be pleased to see his name being used in this manner. Africa), criticized the Administration's stance for being *SOUTH AFRICA INVESTMENT BILLS-On June 10 too petulant and shortsighted. They praised the tremen­ the Subcommittees on Africa and International Economic dous economic and social strides made by Bishop and Policy and Trade approved two bills restricting US cor­ reserved final judgement on the evolving political system. porate investment in South Africa. HR 3597, introduced They vigorously suggested the initiation of constructive by Rep. Bill Gray (D-PA) would prohibit all new corporate dialpgue between the two countries. investment in South Africa with penalties of up to $1 million and 10 years in jail for violations. The section pro­ *US-SOUTH AFRICA NUCLEAR TIES-Two bills have hibiting reinvestments by companies already in South been introduced that could have an effect on future US Africa was dropped. HR 3008, introduced by Rep. Steve nuclear relations with South Africa. HR 6318, introduced Solarz (D-NY) would make mandatory a set of "fair work­ by Sen. Gary Hart (D-CO) and Rep. Richard Ottinger (D­ place principles" for US companies operating there. It NY), HR 3513, introduced by Rep. Morris Udall (D-AZ) would also ban all bank loans to the SA government and ' and Rep. Jonathan Bingham (D-NY), are not specifically government entities; make public all US bank loans to directed at SA but would affect the apatheid regime's Businesses in SA; and ban the importation of the SA Krug­ nuclear plans by closing loopholes in the Nuclear Non­ gerand (gold coin) to the US. The bills will now go to the Proliferation Act. SA is not a signator of the NNPT. Rep. full Foreign Affairs Committee, chaired by Rep. Clement Charles Rangel (D-NY) is expected to introduce legislation Zablocki (D-WI) to be considered. TRANSAFRICA NEWS• SUMMER 1982 News Reagan administration was prepared to "do anything" to prevent Col. Qad­ dafi from speaking for Africa in inter­ national fora in the coming year. The US is also an ardent supporter of PAN-AFRICAN UNITY SUMMIT Morocco and has recently increased POSTPONED military assistance to King Hassan II. Perhaps only the first factor would have been enough, by itself, to prevent The Organization of African Unity's ing their support for recognition of the the summit from taking place, but with 19th summit meeting, scheduled for SADR as a country because of the the addition of the other two it was all early August in Tripoli, Libya, was threat to the OAU posed by this ques­ but assured that the summit would, at postponed due, to the lack of a tion. Nigerian President Shehu Shagari best, be postponed. quorum. The thirty-one member-states explained Nigeria's "neutral" position Despite the problems causing a post­ that did gather in the Libyan capitol on this matter by saying; "After all, ponement, the mood in Tripoli was one decided to form a seven nation com­ SW APO is not a member of the OAU, of optimism regarding a summit con­ mittee assigned to persuade the 19 na­ but we support it." Nonetheless, 17 of ference to be convened at a later date. tions that boycotted the conference to the 19 boycotting nations are identified In a report in AFRICA NEWS (August attend an extraordinary summit later in as being pro-Moroccan in the Western 9, 1982), an OAU spokesperson des­ the year in either Tripoli or Addis Sahara conflict. cribed Tripoli as a "temporary set­ Ababa, Ethiopia, the seat of the OAU The second factor contrib11ting to back" and explained, "We have so secretariat. Thirty-four states are re­ the quorum breakdown was the venue. many other important interests that quired to form a quorum in order to By holding the summit in Tripoli, Lib­ unite us that one issue will not create legally carry out OAU business. yan leader Col. Muammar Qaddafi the situation which some of our detrac­ There were at least three major fac­ would have become the Chairman of tors are hoping for, the disbandment tors contributing to the failure of the the OAU and the representative for all of the organization.'' OAU to obtain a quorum. The first of Africa for the next year. A number The OAU has weathered numerous was the controversy over the war in the of African countries harbor hostilities conflicts within the organization dur­ Western Sahara. For at least two weeks against Qaddafi for what they consider ing the past 19 years that observers and prior to the summit, OAU officials and diplomats alike feel have strengthened various Heads of State lobbied intense­ the orgamzation. It has been able to ly to settle the split over the question of assist in the building of regional group­ seating the Saharan Arab Democratic ings for cooperation in trade, transpor­ Republic (SADR) as the organization's tation and communications. Most sig- 51st member. The SADR has been es­ . nificantly it has provided a unified tablished by the POLISARIO Front voice in support of the end of colonial­ movement which has been fighting for ism on the continent and offers independence against Morocco for the material support to the liberation past seven years. movements of southern Africa through The SADR was admitted to the its Liberation Committee. OAU at the 38th Council of Ministers meeting in February in Addis Ababa QADDAFI: OAU's next chairman? by the· -'outgoing OAU Secretary General, Edem Kodjo. The decision Libyan interference in their internal af­ The following countries were represented at Tripoli, attended the informal meetings was said to have been an administrative fairs and some have even accused Tri­ and the final session with the SADR: one made on the grounds that a ma­ poli of planning to overthrow their Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, jority of the member-states (26) had governments. Their absence, seen as Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African recognized the SADR. Morocco protesting the transfer of the OAU Republic, Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, chair from Kenya to Libya, would not Guinea Bissau, Lesotho, Libya, Madagas­ promptly led a 19 delegation walk out car, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauri­ and argued that only a two-third ma­ have been enough to prevent a quorum tius, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sao Tome, jority of the OAU could make such a and in any case most of these nations Seychelles, Swaziland, Tanzania, Ugan­ decision at a summit meeting. fall into the pro-Moroccan camp on da, Zambia and Zimbabwe (27). Some countries offered their com­ the Western Sahara question as well. • Nigeria and Kenya played a " neutral role. They were represented at Tripoli, mitment to the legitimacy of the The decision to have the summit hosted but did not attend the final session (2). POLISARIO struggle while withhold- by Libya was made by consensus at last • Chad was a special case because it was year's summit conference in Nairobi. not clear who was representing(!). The final factor undermining the • Togo, in theory a neutral, had its posi­ summit was the behind the scenes role tion compromised by the Chad question (!). of the United States government. Ac­ The following countries boycotted the cording to several African officials in final session: Tripoli, the State Department had sent Cameroon, Comores, Ivory Coast, Dji­ cables to most of the American embas­ bouti, Egypt, Gabon, The Gambia, Gui­ nea, Equatorial Guinea, Upper Volta, sies in Africa months prior to the sum­ Liberia, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Sierra mit, encouraging the missions to, Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia and "Look into ways of persuading certain Zaire (19). KODJO: OAU's outgoing Secretary governments not to attend the confer­ -WEST AFRICAAugust23, 1982 General ence in Libya." Critics claim that the 6 TRANSAFRICA NEWS • SUMMER 1982 Analysis

U.S. OPPOSED TO LAW OF SEA TREATY

On July 9, President Reagan an­ process that would adopt amendments because of the large and "strategic" oil nounced that the United States will not by a 2/3's majority. The Reagan ad­ reserves discovered there. In the 1950's sign the United Nations Law of the Sea ministration, fearing that private in­ great fishing nations followed suit and Convention, a treaty the vast majority vestments would be discouraged and asserted jurisdiction over fisheries 200 of the world's nations will adopt at a U.S. technological superiority eroded miles offshore. As a result, foreign December meeting in Caracas, Vene­ by the mandatory transfer clause, vessels were seized, foreign fishermen zuela. The document, a culmination of sought to change these provisions. detained, and in skirmishes some lives nine painstaking years of negotiations, Mining industry officials estimate that were lost. represents a major attempt to control before commercial production can In order to prevent a mad, competi­ and rationalize the exploitation of the begin from one deep sea site, $2 billion tive scramble for sovereign rights over oceans, a vast and rich economic has to be invested, therefore they are the seabed, the United Nations after resource and quite literally one of the very reluctant to see the U.S. enter into many years of desultory debate con­ planet's last frontiers. international arrangement that would vened the Third Conference on the President Reagan m an explanation entail the redistribution of wealth and Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1973 to: of his decision, said he was opposed to technology to the Third World. "regulation on the high seas". U.S. The impetus for a treaty is clear. In • establish a new international agency charged opposition centers on the section the last thirty years the uses of the sea with regulating seabed mining beyond national governing the mining of minerals from have multiplied, creating a need for a jurisdiction; the deep seas, an area outside the legal modicum of order and coordination • define the areas of ocean within national juris­ jurisdiction of any one state and among users. As the world's nations diction, including continental shelf limits; designated as the "common heritage of become more economically interdepen­ • formulate rules for fishing, conservation and mankind" by a 1970 United Nations dent, shipping tonnage has increased protection of marine life, pollution control resolution, incidentally supported by dramatically and the need for uniform and scientific research; the U.S. seaworthiness codes and clear naviga­ • write rules governing navigation and overflight This area of the ocean floor holds tion rights has been recognized. With rights especially through straits and archi­ the most significant untapped source steady population increases, the sea pelagic waters; and to of hard minerals known. Roughly has also become a major source of • design mechanisms for conflict resolution. spherical nodules, resembling burnt food. By the late 1960's several fishing potatoes and containing manganese, grounds had been severely depleted The draft reported out of the Con­ nickel, cobalt, and copper, cover enor­ and a number of species threatened ference on April 30, 1982 by a vote of mous expanses of the seabed at depths with exum;tion. Nations are also look­ 130-4 with 17 abstentions (mostly in­ ranging from a few hundred feet to ing to the seas for recoverable gas and dustrialized countries), represents a tens of thousands. Whereas the techno­ oil deposits sometimes within ar­ remarkable achievement in consensus logically advanced nations with the chipelagic waters or narrow straits building and pragmatism, except for capability to recover the nodules, the where jurisdiction is unclear. Lastly, the provisions on seabed mining and . U.S. being the foremost among them, pollution and environmental deteriora­ conflict mediation. Most observers and would prefer an "open frontier claim tion are threatening to spoil scenic participants note with great satisfica­ system", one with exclusive pro­ beaches and diminish marine life mak­ tion the strides made on clarifying the prietary rights over a finite area, the ing scientific research and pollution 200 mile exclusive economic zone for less developed countries and major abatement programs imperative. coastal states, navigational rights, and land-based suppliers of these minerals As countries' uses of the oceans have guidelines for coordinated scientific fear price disruptions and permanent grown, so have their legal claims. For research and marine life conservation. disadvantage. Thus given the compet­ more than three centuries the accepted From a global perspective the impli­ ing economic interests, the Law of the seaward boundary of a country extend­ cation of U.S. non-ratification is a Sea Conference attempted to reconcile ed three nautical miles, approximately grave blow to international coopera­ the differences by establishing an Inter­ the area an 18th century land-based tion and multilaterialism. A gallant at­ national Seabed Authority that would cannon could defend. Beyond this nar­ tempt at global problem-solving and regulate the exploitation by both row sovereign belt, known as a coastal· institution-building may be dashed by private companies and an agency­ state's territorial sea, stretched the high the lack of support from leading indus­ owne'd enterprise to be operated for the seas which were legally free to all to use trialized countries in both the Wes tern sole benefit of the less developed na­ or travel across. However, with greater and Eastern bloc. Powerful mining in­ tions. Furthermore the private, economic exploitation of the seas in re­ terests particularly in the U.S. seem to western-based companies would be cent years the effective boundaries be eclipsing legitimate national and in­ obligated to sell mining technology to have been extended amid various con­ ternational interests. Seabed mining is the international agency at a fair price. troversies and conflicts. The initiator still not a reality and over the next Other provisions that troubled the of the "great seaward rush" was no twenty years is not expected to be a U.S. were ones limiting veto powers to other than President Harry Truman large scale activity because of the pro­ the question of the inclusion or exclu­ who in 1945 claimed the continental hibitive costs. The portions of the trea­ sion of liberation movements in the shelf on the north side of the Gulf of ty widely accepted serve more impor­ seabed mining regime and a review Mexico up to a depth of 600 feet tant and immediate basic needs. TRANSAFRICA NEWS • SUMMER 1982 7 Namibia (cont'd from page 2) make a Cuban withdrawal a condition understand that a non-violent resolu­ Council from the Secretary General for a settlement, their large August in­ tion of the Namibia and South Africa and the Contact Group reaffirming a vasion deep into Angolan territory [see questions serves our nation's vital in­ neutral UN role. page 4] and continued occupation of terests in retaining access to various Though incomplete, the level of parts of Southern Angola contradict strategic minerals we require from agreement reached in the talks has led claims by the Americans that Pretoria these two countries and our access to the Contact Group to prepare a draft is prepared to settle. the Cape sea routes as well as the most letter calling on the Security Council With recent by-elections in South important interest of promoting "to set in motion the implementation Africa revealing a substantial electoral human rights and international peace of Resolution 435 ." The letter, which threat to the ruling National Party and security. But they must also also states that, "agreement has been from the far-right Conservative Party, understand that those situations are reached among all the parties con­ observers feel the apartheid regime is already violent ones and have been for cerned" to begin implementation, is unlikely to ·ri sk the domestic costs of a years because of the systematic not likely to be delivered any time soon SW APO victory in elections m violence of South African rule. There­ due to an issue that has never been a Namibia. fore in order to affect non-violent solu­ part of the negotiations or Resolution How the US will handle the present tions in this day we must move swiftly 435: the 15- 20,000 Cuban troops in deadlock is unclear but there are indi­ and forcefully to utilize every con­ Angola. cations that 3 members of the Contact ceivable type of leverage we have to br­ South Africa has insisted that a with­ Group (France, West Germany and ing the government of South Africa to drawal of the Cubans from Angola Canada) will pull out of the talks if im­ its senses before its too late. must be a part of any settlement agree­ plementation does not begin this year. Congressman Fauntroy has rep­ ment and the Reagan administration The other members are the US and Bri­ resented the Nation's Capitol in the has aligned itself with South Africa on tain. The African Frontline states in­ House of Representatives since 1971. this issue. Though no bilateral agree­ volved in the talks are Angola, Bot­ He is currently the Chairman of the ment concerning the Cubans has been swana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zam­ Congressional Black Caucus and also reached between Washington and bia, Zimbabwe and also Nigeria. sits on TransAfrica's Board of Direc­ Luanda despite a sudden flurry of tors. shuttle diplomacy, the State Depart­ ment has nonetheless assured Pretoria Editorial (cont'd from vage 2) that the Cuban issue will be resolved if gain numerous "cart'ots" from the US Guyana (cont'd f rom page 3) a Namibia settlement is to occur. The while offering nothing in return pressive machinery against the WP A. South Africans are now likely to block because there is not even the threat of Three active members of the party, in­ any Security Council action to begin the ''stick''. This ''best of friends'' ap­ cluding the internationally acclaimed the transition to Namibia's in­ proach to South Africa, apart from historian and party leader Walter Rod­ dependence by simply continuing to deeply offending all black Americans, ney, have been killed since November withhold their decision on the electoral was supposed to have brought about 1979. Detention and harassment are system until an agreement is reached an early Namibia settlement so that the common as well as assaults by official between the US and Angola on the Reagan administration could consoli­ or paramilitary forces of the PNC. Cuban troops. date its alliance with Pretoria and bring With economic and political condi­ But the talks with Angola aren't go­ South Africa back into the tions in such a state Burnham is seek­ ing well for the US. The Angolan "framework of Western security" as ing a diversion from the pressing need government has time and again stated well as "end their polecat status in the for change by raising the specter of an its position. that the Cuban troops were world." This was not enough for the old border dispute with neighboring invited to Angola in 1975 because of apartheid regime. Venezuela. But critics argue that the the massive South African invasion If however a settlement is concluded emergency is an internal one and that year and have remained at the in­ in the coming weeks we must, aside despite the severity of the situation the vitation of the government because of from celebrating, recognize that South various opposition groups have thus continued South African aggression. Africa moved out of a perception of its far continued to pursue a non-violent At the Tripoli meeting in early own self-interest and not because of political solution. August, the Angolan Foreign Minister, some ephemeral American policy of Paulo Jorge, told TransAfrica that a friendship. We must make sure that in withdrawal of the Cubans could occur the instance of a settlement the Reagan TRANSAFRICA NEWS only as outlined in the common decla­ administration does not attempt to ration issued by the Cuban and Ango­ "rob Peter to pay Paul." The rights Vol. 2, No. 4 Summer 1982 lan governments on February 4. This and interests of the 24 million black communique states that the Cubans South Africans living under apartheid 545 8th Street, SE will not be removed until: South Afri­ inside South Africa must not be sacri­ Suite 200 can troops are withdrawn from Nami­ ficed on the altar of "constructive en­ Washington, DC 20003 bia; the end of outside aid to insurgents gagement" because of some false claim 202/547-2550 fighting the Angolan government; and, that this is what gave Namibia its in­ the end of all danger of aggression dependence. Nor should any secret toward Angola. Jorge added that, deals be negotiated with the South Editor: Salih Abdul-Rahim "We think it is also a question of the Africans offering them anything such credibility of our word and we are very as full nuclear cooperation or a mutual Contributing Writers: clear on the credibility of our word ... defense pact, etc. in return for a Mark Wenner we intend always to respect [it]." Namibia settlement. Anne Kabagambe Though the South Africans seek to The Reagan administration should TRANSAFRICA NEWS• SUMMER 1982