U.S. SENDS ENVOYS TO BOLSTER POLICY IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85M00363R001403250003-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 16, 2007
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: November 3, 1982
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2007/10/19: CIA-RDP85M00363R001403250003-8"' ~`-
STAT
By Reed. Kramer.
Africa News service ,
- :.With negotiations '.for... Namibian
independence;; from : South, - Africa"
,stalled. , over. 'the.. issue of Cuban
.troopa,in-Angola, the Reagan.admin-...
istration has undertaken a series of
high-level . diplomatic contact's,. de-
signed to .salvage its"southern Africa
' policy. aF.,
.. The contacts 'include 'aii` unpub-
':licized visit to Africa in September,
by Central Intelligence Agency Di-
rector William. Casey; Assistant Sec-
retary of State,. Chester-. Crocker's
trip to Paris and London last month;
a coming African tour by Vice Pres-
ident George: Bush and. a, meeting :
between Secretary of State George
C. Shultz and South African Foreign
Minister Pik Botha later this month.
The trips by senior officials are
designed to win suppport for U.S'
policy by offering both political and
economic inducements. The vice
president's good-will journey to
seven African nations, focusing on'
economic issues, is the flip. side of
Casey's security-oriented ''consulta-
tions, while,-.Crocker's ' European
talks centered on breaking the. Na.,
mibian deadlock.. ?
i According to State Department
officials, Foreign Minister- Botha and
Shultz will be discussing both eNa-{
mibia and bilateral issues when they
meet in Washington this month:=
Administration strategists believe,
that visible *progress toward ending'
the - impasse -over Namibia, ' also
known as South-West Africa, is nec-
essary to protect U.S. interests in the
region and to blunt rising criticism .
from both conservative Republicans
and foreign governments: , .
"There's stirring on the left and
stirring on the right," said one State
Department-official. "The Europeans.
are saying, 'If you guys hadn't inter-,
posed the:. Cuban issue, :Namibian
independence,.,would' move forward.'
And our own right wing believes that
we haven't taken UNITA into ac- II
count.!.
The future. of UNITA, the , pro
Western guerrilla movement fighting.;
the Angolan government, was-raised=
in a secret letter last month to. Na- :.
tional Security Adviser, - .William. `T
Clark by members of the conserva-
tive Republican Steering Committee.
Signed by a dozen.senators from the
30-member group that is chaired by
North Carolina's Jesse Helms, the
letter expressed concern about the
impact on UNITA if the United
States reaches agreement with An-
gola's Marxist leaders and normal-
izes relations. t
A committee aide said the sena-
tors' fears were reinforced during a
visit to Washington last week by for-
mer white Rhodesian leader Ian
Smith.
"He is pretty negative. about the.
.',way things worked out [in Zimba-
bwe, formerly Rhodesia], and that's
having an impact on people's percep-
tions of how carefully negotiated a
Namibian settlement has to be," the..
aide said.
He said the group also, faults ad-.{
.. ; ministration spokesmen, particularly
Crocker, for "overoptimistic" state- x
meats on the progress of the. Wks.
."The senators are asking, "Why at-
tech the president's prestige - to a
negotiating process that seems to be
.'doomed?' " he said.
The concern of Western allies was
publicly expressed earlier this month
Cheysson, who said his government's
opposition to linking a - Namibian
settlement and Cuban withdrawal.
from Angola is shared by West Ger
'
many' and. Canada. - The three. "na=,`,,
Aions along with Britain and the_,,
' < United States make up the Contact..
Group, which has spearheaded in-
dependence negotiations for the past -
Approved For Release 2007/10/19: CIA-RDP85M00363R001403250003-8
 Approved For Release 2007/10/19: CIA-RDP85M00363R001403250003-8
Among African leaders there is
alspicion, that the United States is
abetting South- Africa's foot- drag-
ging. Shehu . Shagari,. president of
oil-rich Nigeria, recently warned that
he will join "front-line".states in.
.southern Africa to.increase pressure,
on Washington..
""We believe - a Namibian settle
irient should: be-taking place now,"
ilgreed Tanzanian Foreign Minister
`-Salim' Salim "after a- meeting?-last- .
rsbnthh - with- ? Secretary 'tii