STATEMENT AT THE 2137TH MEETING OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL

26 March 1979¹

The African National Congress of South Africa sees the repeated and universally condemned aggression committed by the Pretoria and Salisbury regimes against Angola, Zambia, Botswana and Mozam­bique as the direct consequence of the inhuman and anach­ronistic system that the people of southern Africa are fighting, weapons in hand, to eliminate. It is for that reason that we deem it necessary to join in the debate now going on in the Council. Our thanks go to you, Mr. President, and to the representatives of Gabon and Zambia for making it possible for our movement to put on record its position at this crucial stage in the struggle for the liberation of south­ern Africa and the security of the continent.

Mr. President, it is singularly significant that the Council is meeting under your presidency to examine the question of wanton aggression against the People's Repub­lic of Angola by the South African apartheidregime.² Your personal dedication to the fight against the monstrous sys­tem of apartheidis well known. The depth of the commit­ment of your country, as clearly demonstrated in 1975 when the then newly-born People's Republic of Angola was the victim of premeditated and full-scale invasion by the same fascist apartheidregime, has since been a source of encour­agement to our oppressed and struggling people. For, like all true Africans and true friends of Africa, they know that this imperialist-backed invasion was intended to reverse the course of history and to facilitate the perpetuation of their enslavement. And they remember with pride the uncom­promising anti-colonial and anti-imperialist position taken by Nigeria and other countries, which love justice and peace,  whose active solidarity enabled the heroic people of Angola to inflict a humiliating defeat on the Pretoria racist regime and to offset its diabolical scheme of transforming the newly independent Angola into a permanent base of aggression and expansionism for the defence and exportation of apartheid.

In their lucid statements, the representatives of Angola, Zambia, Botswana and Mozambique and the representatives of other countries who have already spoken, as well as the Vice-President of SWAPO, have characterized the situation prevailing in southern Africa with pointed clarity and have called for immediate and appropriate action by the Security Council.

The African National Congress of South Africa fully endorses the viewpoint that the root cause of the explosive situation in southern Africa that is now before the Council lies in the tenacious determination of the Pretoria regime and its imperialist allies to arrest the unfolding process of decolonization in the region by imposing fictitious and neo-colonialist solutions in Namibia and Zimbabwe in order to ensure the preservation of the status quo in South Africa. The wanton aggression by the apartheidregime against the People's Republic of Angola is part of the imperialist-backed strategy which is characterized by equally wanton aggression against Zambia by the same racist regime and against Botswana and Mozambique by the Smith regime.

Speakers who have preceded us have underscored the undeniable historical fact that the root cause of the problem of which the aggression against the People's Republic of Angola is part, and of which it marks the watershed, is the imperialist-backed strategy of the Pretoria-Salisbury regimes. Many representatives have stressed the fact that the catalogue of events in the past few months shows that each time the talks towards a negotiated settlement in Nami­bia and Zimbabwe reach an advanced stage, the minority racist regimes intensify their acts of aggression against the neighbouring States. And their allies, the Western countries involved in the talks, not only fail to condemn this and to use their collective economic and political leverage but, instead, multiply their sermons preaching tolerance and patience to SWAPO, the Patriotic Front and the front-line States and call for new rounds of talks. This has led a growing number of countries which were initially convinced of the good faith of the Western initiatives, and the Pretoria-­Salisbury regimes' acceptance of the proposed plans, to question seriously the sincerity of these commitments. Indeed, the number of countries that suspect the existence of a conspiracy towards the betrayal of the struggle for genuine independence in Namibia and Zimbabwe is also growing.

That is the position that is firmly held by the struggling masses in the region and is shared by the African National Congress. It is strengthened by the conviction that is based on our long experience, which shows that the Pretoria­-Salisbury axis and some Western Powers are resolutely opposed to genuine independence in Namibia and Zim­babwe. For they see it as inimical to their strategy for the perpetuation of the status quo in South Africa in particular and the region in general. The economic, military and nuclear collaboration which is persistently defended through the veto; the failure to lend active support to the liberation movements that spearhead the international struggle against the system that has been condemned as constituting a threat to peace and international security; the endless sermons preached to the liberation movements and the front-line States for moderation against such sangui­nary regimes; the criticism and condemnation of the coun­tries that respond favourably to the United Nations call for support of the liberation movements and the front-line States: all that proves this point beyond doubt.

If we sound pessimistic or negative, the onus is on the parties concerned to prove us wrong by strongly condemn­ing South Africa's aggression against the People's Republic of Angola and by facilitating the belated imposition of punitive measures against the Pretoria regime, especially mandatory comprehensive sanctions under Chapter VII of the Charter. And to cleanse their past record of helping the racist regimes to sow death and destruction in South Africa by their supplying of genocidal weapons to a regime that has legalized aggression against all African countries, these Western countries must go further and join the struggling peoples of southern Africa and progressive mankind by commending the role played by the African, the non­-aligned and the Nordic countries, as well as the socialist countries, which have always rendered humanitarian, finan­cial and material assistance to the liberation movements and the front-line States. They should also put an end to their involvement in what we see and condemn as the game of deception by the South African regime - a game which is designed to gain time towards the imposition of a puppet regime in Namibia through what we view as the imminent proclamation of the so-called unilateral declaration of inde­pendence by the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance, following the envisaged endorsement of the fraudulent elections and the lifting of sanctions in Southern Rhodesia.

We have in the past voiced our reservations about, and sometimes our opposition to, proposals that are based on the Pretoria regime's being amenable to change or play­ing the role of an honest broker. The recent events go a long way towards strengthening our suspicions. And it is for that reason that, in the face of the systematic sabotaging of the negotiated settlements, we believe that the time has perhaps come for this august body to consider seriously going back to its original position of regarding the South African pres­ence in Namibia as illegal and consequently resorting to the policy of confrontation towards its immediate and uncondi­tional withdrawal. Such a position would help save the United Nations from the maze of contradictions in which it is now caught because of its agreement to negotiate with the illegal occupant, which position towards the United Nations and SWAPO is well known. Such a position would, we maintain, also clarify a position that we find extremely confused and that we suspect has been created by some forces that are bent on robbing the people of Namibia and Zimbabwe of their inevitable, if not imminent, victory.

It is important to note that our suspicions have been further reinforced by the ongoing revelations pointing to the financing of big operations towards the shaping of public opinion and pro-apartheidpolicy in some countries, including the traditional allies of the apartheidregime. The buying of influential newspapers, editors and legislators in countries whose identification is not yet complete is a chal­lenge to those who are not involved to demonstrate their innocence by fully supporting the position of the Organiza­tion of African Unity, the non-aligned movement and the General Assembly.
Finally, we wish to pay a tribute to the brotherly people of Angola, who under the leadership of the MPLA­-Workers' Party, continue to write a golden page in the grim history of our common and indivisible struggle in southern Africa.

For our part, we pledge to spare no effort to intensify the armed struggle for the seizure of power by the people and the establishment of a democratic State in South Africa, a democratic State that will guarantee the inaliena­ble rights of all the people of that country regardless of colour, race or political belief.