1iersty January 1981 1iersty January 1981 Library A FP 1 1981 SOUTH AFRICA (June 1979 - July 1980) Report of the International Mission of Inquiry Note: An international mission representing the International Commission of Inquiry into the Crimes of the Racist and Apartheid R4gime in southern Africa, visited the People's Republic of Angola from 6 to 13 August 1980. It was composed of Mr. Leo Mataraso, lawyer, President of the International League for the Rights and Liberation of Peoples (France); Air Force General Sergio Polete (Chile); Mrs. Judith Bourne, lawyer, Member of the National Conference of Black Lawyers (USA); Dr. A. Babing, member of the Presidium of the Solidarity Committee of the German Democratic Republic; and Mrs. Paulette Pierson- Mathy, Lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the University of Brussels and General Secretary of the International Commission of Inquiry. The report of the International Mission of Inquiry is published at the request of the Special Committee against Apartheid. The views expressed are those of the author. All material in these notes and documents may be freely reprinted. Acknowledgement, together with a copy of the publication containing the reprint, would be appreciated. CONTENTS Page Background 1 A. Introduction 2 B.Observationsofthemission 3 C. Visit to the military mission in Lubango, headquarters of the 5th Region, 9 August 1980 D. Visit to the Military Central Hospital in Luanda 5 Past record and activities 5 Witnesses 6 Conclusion 6 Annex I Introduction 8 I. General Considerations 9 II. South African actions from 11 June to 31 December 10 III. South African actions from January to June 1980 12 IV. Violations and concentration areas of the South African actions against the People's Republic of Angola during the month of July 1980. 19 Annex II. Photographic documents of the mission 22 Annex III. Photographic documentation by Angolan authorities related to the events verified by the mission 28 Annex IV. Map of Angola Background The purpose of this mission was to inquire into the acts of provocation and aggression committed by the South African armed forces against the People's Republic of Angola, acts which are launched from Namibia, an international territory illegally occupied by the apartheid r4gime. A first chronological and systematic report of the violations of the territorial integrity and the air space of the People's Republic of Angola and of the armed attacks on the ground and by air committed by South Africa against this independent State was presented by the Angolan authorities to the first session of the International Commission of Inquiry, which. was held in Brussels from 9 to U1 February 1979. This document covered the years 1977 and 1978 and related to events after the first South African invasion. Four provinces are the main target of these acts of armed invasion: Kunene, Kuando-Kubango, .M4ogamedes and Huila. Three of these are border provinces, and the last two are of great economic importance to the national reconstruction of Angola. In July 1979, the Angolan Government transmitted to the United Nations Secretar-General, at the request of the Security Council, a well documented report on the main hostile acts and acts of aggression committed against the People's Republic of Angola between June 1976 and June 1979. That report contained systematic information on the human and material losses precipated by repeated acts of aggression (S/13473). Since March 1976, the Security Council has on five occasions condemned: "the South African racist r4gime for its premeditated, prolonged and sustained armed invasions against the People's Republic of Angola which constitute a flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of this country and a serious threat to peace and international security." LRes. s/387 (1976), S/1428 (1978), s/44 (1979), S/4 54 (1979) and s/175 (198o07 Even though Angola had, since March 1976, suffered most vicious invasions perpetrated by the South African armed forces, three permanent members of the Security Council, France, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America abstained on S/475 adopted on 20 June 1980. They had similarly abstained on previous resolutions. -2- The decision of the International Secretariat to send urgently an international mission to Angola was taken after the latest invasion of June/July 1980 which was launched from Namibia. The mission was the guest of NPLA 'Workers' Party and received from the Party and the Ministry of Defence the assistance and all necessary facilities to pursue its task. A. Introduction Angola achieved its independence on 11 November 1975. On the same day South African troops occupied a part of Angolan territory. It was not until 27 March 1976 that Angolan forces forced them to withdraw from its territory. Security Council resolution 387 of 31 March 1976 condemned the South African aggression against Angola and called upon South Africa to compensate that country for the damage and destruction it sustained as a result of the invasion. On 30 June 1976, a new series of aggressive acts began. Security Council resolution 447 (1979) requested the United Nations Secretary-General to present to that body information obtained from Angola on the human casualties and the material and other damages inflicted by the repeated acts of aggression perpetrated by South Africa. Pursuant to that resolution, the Government of Angola transmitted a report to the Secretary-General on the damage inflicted between 27 I-arch 1976 and 11 June 1979. Among other items annexed to the report was a Joint report by the representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Health Organizati on the massacre of more than 600 persons at Cassinga on 4 March 1978, which massacre was expressely condemned by Security Council resolution 428 of 6 May 1978. This resolution provided that the Security Council would meet to consider the imposition of sanctions if such aggression was repeated. The Joint report noted: "Profoundly shocked, representatives of the United Nations Organization have established on the spot the extreme savagery and spirit of extermination and destruction used against a population of refugees ....The civilian character of this population was vouched for by all that the United Nations mission has been able to verify ... The spirit of extermination... is manifest... All that the United Nations has been able to verify could only be qualified as criminal in international law... The present mission collected information on the acts of aggression committed after 11 June 1979. The authorities of the People's Republic of Angola were asked to provide a summary of the aggressive acts and of the invasion of June/ July 1960. -3- The mission was able to do the following: a) to hear witnesses at the Military Central Hospital in Luanda; b) to visit the places on the Lubango-Moqamedes road at which ambushes were carried out in October 1979; c) to visit some places within the city of Lubango which were bombed in September 1979; d) to examine the remains of aircraft shot down in the most recent invasion of June/July 1980. Photographs taken by the mission and those taken by the Angolan authorities related to these events are attached to this report. Included too in the annexes is a map of the People's Republic of Angola. B. Observations of the ission 1. On 9 August 1980, the mission travelled on the highway which runs between Lubango and Mocamedes through the Leba mountains of Huila province. This road was the focus of South African aggression on 26 October 1979. On that Sunday, South African troops numbering about 100 to 130, came by Puma and Alouette helicopters from Namibia and lay in ambush at more than five points along the road. They stopped civilian-cars, ejected the people and executed them on the spot. The mission spoke with a FAPLAofficer, Mr. Gouveia, whose family was among the victims of these acts. Approximately 20 persons were killed by the South Africans in this action, including three infants of less than one year, girls and women (one in the last week of pregnancy). All were civilians. During this operation South African forces blew up three bridges on the road. In one case, high explosives were used to blow up a car and family with the bridge. As the road connected Lubango, the capital of Huila province, with Moqamedes, a major seaport, the apparent aim of the South African forces was to destroy this line of communication and traffic and to disrupt the economic functioning of this productive area of Angola as well as terrorize the civilian population. The mission visited the rebuilt bridges and viewed the remains of those destroyed by explosives. 2. Lubango, the capital of the province of Huila is 150 km of flying distance from the Namibian border. The mission visited the city on 9 August 1980 and saw the results of the bombing raids conducted by South African forces in September 1979 which killed 26 persons and left 34 seriously wounded and 41 slightly wounded. * Forgas Armadas Populares de Libertaqao de Angola. -4 - One of the largest wooden furniture mahufacturing plants in Angola, "Madeiras da Huila," was completely destroyed by an attack late in the morning at which time the plant was full of workers. The destructive power of the l000-pound bombs used annihilated three small, adjacent factories, which produced pasta, paper and metal furniture, as well as the four large fabrication halls of the principal target. The airplanes involved were identified as Mirage Ills and Buccaneers. At the time of our visit, the "Madeiras da Huila" plant had been rebuilt on a much smaller scale. The remaining area was one of partly demolished buildings and rubble.