U.S., Britain Veto U.N. Sanctions Against S. Africa
The United States and Britain vetoed a Security Council resolution Friday night that called for selective international sanctions to punish South Africa for its raids into three neighboring countries.
Twelve of the 15 council members supported the resolution and France abstained.
The United States and Britain had both declared their willingness to join other council members in condemning South Africa for Monday’s raids on alleged guerrilla targets in the black-ruled nations of Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
But the two Western powers balked at binding international sanctions even though they had already imposed limited economic restrictions of their own on South Africa.
U.S. delegate Patricia M. Byrne told the Security Council after the vote, “We do not believe that the destruction of the South African economy serves anyone’s interest, least of all those who suffer under apartheid.”
The destruction of economic ties, she said, would lead inevitably to the severance of political ties, “depriving us of any leverage” over South Africa’s white-led government.
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