MONTHLY REPORT--SWAZILAND BUREAU--MARCH 1987

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP94-00798R000200220026-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 19, 2012
• Sequence Number: 26
• Publication Date: April 7, 1987
• Content Type: MEMO

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/06/19: CIA-RDP94-00798R000200220026-3
EMBASSY OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
P.O. Box 199
Mbabane, Swaziland
7.April 1987
MMB - 7005
MEMORANDUM FOR: Director, Foreign Broadcast Information Service
THROUGH : Chief, Operations Group
SUBJECT : Monthly Report -- Swaziland Bureau -- March 1987
I. GENERAL
A. FBO regional representative Jim Derrick visited Mbabane 30-31
March and toured all Embassy-owned buildings, including the five houses
turned over to FBO by FBIS. Both the bureau chief and deputy chief held
discussions with Derrick, which enabled them to gain some insight into
how FBO plans to handle the incorporation of the FBIS houses into the
embassy housing scheme. The visit was also beneficial in that the Embassy
GSO won Derrick's support for all planned repairs and improvements, includ-
ing a major rennovation of the house occupied by editor
B. Some improvements and repairs already have been completed, includ-
ing new concrete slab floors in the den and dining room of the bureau
chief's house. The old wooden floors were damaged by a large termite
colony directly beneath the house. It required over 700 gallons of liquid
insecticide to destroy the colony before repairs could begin. The deputy
chief's house now has a new security fence, and plans for remodeling the
kitchen have been approved.
II. OPERATIONS
A. Monitorial/Editorial
1. The campaign for the 6 May elections to the white House of
Assembly dominated press coverage in South Africa during March. By
"Nomination Day" at the end of the month, a record 480 candidates had been
nominated to fill the 166 seats. Defections from the ruling National Party
continued to make headlines. Prominent Afrikaner newspaper executives
Willem de Klerk and Dawid de Villiers resigned over disagreements with
National Party policy. Another blow was the petition by 301 professors at
Stellenbosch University, the intellectual heart of Afrikanerdom, rejecting
party reform policies as slow and inadequate. NP fortunes received a
boost late in the month from the collapse of efforts by the two major right-
wing opposition parties to form an alliance. Despite defections to the right
and left of the political spectrum, a 25 March poll showed 58 percent of the
voters planned to vote for the National Party. Footnote: President P.W.
Botha received a "Gold Record" for his propaganda single "Why You Should
Vote NP." The president did not sing the campaign message.
STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/06/19: CIA-RDP94-00798R000200220026-3
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/06/19: CIA-RDP94-00798R000200220026-3
2. In Zimbabwe, Prime Minister Robert Mugabe again pledged to
join with Zambia in imposing sanctions against South Africa, but refused
to set a date for their implementation. The Z;imbabwean parliament sus-
pended MP Ian Smith, former Rhodesian prime minister, for 1 year for his
remarks to a South African audience on how to deal with sanctions.
3. Angola reacted sharply in two ANGOP editorials carried on
Luanda Domestic Service to reports that the United States was interested
in upgrading and leasing an air base in southern Zaire, which Angola
claims is already being used by the CIA to supply arms to the UNITA rebels.
4. Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu, at the head of a large
delegation, paid a 3-day official visit to Angola, which culminated in
the signing of a number of economic and technical exchange agreements.
5. Mozambique and the USSR exchanged high-level delegations to
mark the 10th anniversary of their bilateral treaty of friendship and
cooperation. In Moscow, the Mozambican delegation held talks with
Andrey Gromyko and Petr Demichev, among others. In Maputo, President
Chissano and People's Assembly Chairman Marcelino Dos Santos received
CPSU Central Committee Politburo Candidate Member Nikolay Talyzin. In
addition to the usual bilateral talks and dinner speeches, the CPSU
and Frelimo signed a 2-year accord.
B. Coverage/Lateral Services
In an effort to make the RSA Press Review more representative of
editorial comments, the bureau has discontinued coverage of the Afrikaans
paper DIE VADERLAND and has added DIE BURGER, which has a much larger
circulation and is reputed to be the Afrikaans mouthpiece for the ruling
National Party. The bureau also is examining the possibility of adding
another black newspaper, THE NEW NATION, to the two already on coverage.
III. ADMINISTRATION
Personnel
English/Afrikaans monitor underwent successful heart
bypass surgery in Pretoria early in the month to alleviate chronic
circulatory problems. 0 has returned to Mbabane, where he continues
to convalesce. Hopefully, he will return to work by the end of April.
IV. VISITS
On 26 March, the Embassy political/consular officer, Lee Brudwig,
and the new public affairs officer, Brooks Spector, toured the bureau
and had a discussion with the deputy chief on how to handle press
inquiries about the bureau and FBIS. The bureau chief drafted written
guidance, based on standing FBIS guidelines, for the ne PAO
STAT
STAT
STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/06/19: CIA-RDP94-00798R000200220026-3