S. AFRICAN UNITS ATTACK REBELS IN ANGOLA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000706550002-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 2, 2011
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: September 17, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/02 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000706550002-0
? ARTICLE APPEiPt*D
ON P,CE
WASHINGTON TIMES
17 September 1985
S. African units attack
rebels in Angola
By Michael Sullivan
THE WASHINGTON TIMES FOREIGN SERVICE
JOHANNESBURG - South Afri-
can troops yesterday invaded
Angola to strike at guerrillas of the
South West Africa People's Organ-
ization, an incursion that seemed
certain to bring renewed interna-
tional condemnation of Pretoria for
intervening in neighboring black
nations.
Gen. Constand Viljoen, com-
mander of the South African mili-
tary, said the raid was mounted
because of "irrefutable evidence of
SWAPO's plans" to strike at targets
inside South-West Africa.
He gave no indication of the size
of the raiding force, its targets or its
penetration. It was the second strike
in 10 weeks inside Angola, where
about 25,000 Cuban troops are
based.
The general said reconnaissance
and intelligence - at erm oper-
ations had established that guerril-
las were planning 101112-range
bombardments of military bases
and attacks on big towns and resi-
dential areas in the northern art o
the disputed territory
Southern Angola is the base area
of SWAPO guerrillas fighting for the
independence of South-West Africa,
a mineral-rich territory also known
as Namibia. South Africa has con-
trolled the territory since World War
I, despite the ending of the U.N. man-
date that placed it under South Afri-
can authority.
In an initial U.S. statement
yesterday, State Department
spokesman Charles Redman said
that "if the reports are true, we
would be deeply concerned about
such cross-border raids:'
The raid followed by one week the
return of the U.S. Ambassador to
South Africa, Herman Nickel. Mr.
Nickel, who has been ambassador to
Pretoria for 31/1 years, was recalled
in mid-June to show American dis-
pleasure at a South African com-
mando raid into Gabarone, capital of
Botswana. The raid was intended to
strike at members of the African
National Congress.
The recall of Mr. Nickel and grow-
ing congressional impatience with
South Africa has strained the admin-
istration's policy of constructive
engagement, or maintaining close
relations ilith South Africa to press
for reforms.
In a briefing yesterday for
American correspondents, a U.S.
official said constructive engage-
ment remains the only viable policy
toward Pretoria. But the official,
who spoke on the condition that he
not be named, said the United States
will be taking a higher profile in its
quest for reform in South Africa.
Commenting on recent
statements by South African offi-
cials that seem to point toward
reform, the official stressed that
action, not words, is needed now.
"We've gotten past the point
where statements are enough.
Things have to be seen to be happen-
ing;' he said.
The U.S. official also repeated the
administration's call for some form
of negotiations between the govern-
ment and black leaders - including
jailed African National Congress
leader Nelson Mandela.
"His [Mandela's] attitude toward
a dialogue is a crucial element in the
process" of negotiation, the official
said.
The raid into Angola yesterday
followed a year in which South Afri-
ca's Angolan policy has suffered one
setback after another following the
relative success of a mutual non-
aggression pact signed in 1984.
The government announced the
pullout of its troops from Angola in
mid-April, only to have a South Afri-
can commando team ambushed in
the far northern Cabinda Province
the next month. Two soldiers were
killed, and a third, Capt. Wynand du
Tbit, was captured.
The last major South African
incursion into Angola came at the
end of June, following an upswing in
SWAPO activity. Code named "Bush
Willow," the operation drove 25 miles
into Angola.
Gen. Viljoen said yesterday the
Angolan government was informed
of the latest strike and warned "not
to interfere:'
The raid seemed likely to set back
negotiations on withdrawal of Cuban
troops from Angola, a major goal of
U.S. policy in the area. In his briefing
for journalists yesterday, given
before the raid into Angola was
announced, the U.S. official said it is
a policy the administration "would
very much like to make some pro-
gress on from the South African
side."
But the strike into Angola prob-
ably will chill Pretoria's regional and
international negotiations. It is
likely to dampen the good will built
up by President Pieter W. Botha's
statements last week on black citi-
zenship and the recommendation by
a President's Council to scrap reg-
ulations controlling the movement
of lSlacks in the country.
The U.S. official touched on a
number of American policy posi-
tions, reaffirming Washington's
stance that engagement, not isola-
tion, is the best way to bring about
change in apartheid. But he said that
U.S. diplomats will give a more
active interpretation to constructive
engagement.
Tb some extent I think there will
be a somewhat higher public profile
because I think that the president
felt that what we were trying to
achieve in this policy wasn't getting
across clearly enough both in terms
of our own domestic constituency
and also here, especially among
blacks:' the official said.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/02 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000706550002-0
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/02 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000706550002-0
On other issues, the official
stressed that Washington would like
to see the 8-week-old state of emer-
gency ended. He noted that the
South African police and military
now patrolling black townships pose
a major obstacle to the government
re-establishing credibility in the
black community.
The official also reiterated the
administration's call for a "real
political dialogue" with blacks.
"We don't think a real political dia-
logue is possible so long as key
members with whom you should be
talking are not available because
they are in detention or in prison,
and that specifically includes Nel-
son Mandela;' the official said.
Concerning Mr. Botha's
requirement that Mandela renounce
violence as a condition to negoti-
ation, the official said it was an unre-
alistic demand.
This story is based in part on wire-
service reports.
2.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/02 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000706550002-0