Defusing the crisis.

• Position: Putting independence process in Namibia back on track

Defusing the crisis

After signing the Mt. Etjo Declaration on 9 April, specifying ways to set the Namibia independence process back on track, Angola, Cuba and South Africa held follow-up meetings at Cape Town, South Africa, on 28 April, and at Ruacana, Namibia, and Cahama, Angola, on 15 and 19 May, respectively. The United States and the USSR, as before, participated as observers. The United Nations was represented by Special Representative Ahtisaari, and at Cape Town, Under-Secretary-General for Special Political Affairs Marrack Goulding also attended.

In South Africa, the three countries agreed that South African troops in Namibia should return to base by 13 May, in spite of strong reservations expressed by UN representatives.

Secretary-General Perez de Cuellar wanted that exercise completed "in a much shorter period" than the two weeks agreed to at Cape Town. He also urged that "everything possible be done to restrain the conduct of the South West African Police (SWAPOL)", after allegations of brutality and intimidation had been reported.

On 19 May in Angola, after an inconclusive meeting in Ruacana four days earlier, the three countries signed the "Cahama Minute", noting the "SWAPO armed elements were now confined to base under UNTAG monitoring, north of the 16th parallel", that is, inside Angola, off the Namibian border.

They also noted that South African forces were again confined to base in Namibia, monitored by UNTAG, and that "a de facto cessation of hostilities had been re-established in northern Namibia", as confirmed both by Mr. Ahitsaari and Administrator-General Louis Pienaar.

The Cahama agreement stressed that SWAPOL would "continue with its primary role of maintaining law and order" and that it would "endeavour to recover any arms caches remaining in Namibia".

It also asked Mr. Ahitisaari "to give thought to increasing the number of UNTAG monitoring personnel in Angola as required". UNTAG in April had stationed 32 military observers in Lubango, the main city of southern Angola, and a small liaison group in Luanda, Angola's capital, for the purpose of monitoring SWAPO withdrawal as agreed at Mt. Etjo. Hundreds of UNTAG troops observed the withdrawal process on the Namibian side of the border.

On 19 May, in transmitting the text of the "Cahama Minute" to the Secretary-General (S/20647), South Africa's Foreign Affairs Minister R.F. Botha said that his Government wished to make it clear that Administrator-General Pienaar had...