Envoy Stays in S. Africa; Plan for Black on Hold

The State Department said today that Herman Nickel, the U.S. ambassador to South Africa, will return to his post in late August and had no comment on when he will end his tour there, indicating that plans to replace him with a black envoy have been put on hold.

Nickel has served in Pretoria for four years and would normally be up for rotation.

President Reagan had wanted to announce the appointment of a black in his July 22 address on South Africa, but that plan came unraveled when Robert Brown, a businessman from High Point, N.C., withdrew from consideration after revelations surfaced about his past business dealings.

Terence Todman, a black diplomat who is currently U.S. ambassador to Denmark, said Thursday that he would take the job only if the Reagan Administration comes up with a policy that “commands the respect” of both blacks and whites in that strife-torn country. (Story on Page 6.)

Envoy to Liberia Considered

Another black diplomat, Ambassador to Liberia Edward Perkins, is under consideration for the post, the State Department official said. But with Nickel returning to South Africa, there is “no pressure on” to make a selection to replace him, the official said.

“It’s got to be done right instead of just done,” he said, referring to the aborted Brown appointment.

Meanwhile today, deputy White House spokesman Peter Roussel said Todman was “speaking for himself” when he made some critical remarks about U.S. policy toward South Africa.

“Todman’s views are his own, but we urge you to look at everything he said,” Roussel told reporters.

Responding to questions, Roussel said that Reagan retains full confidence in Todman.

A ranking State Department official said there was some confusion as to the meaning of Todman’s remarks and whether his remarks were a veiled criticism of U.S. policy toward South Africa.

Another official interpreted Todman’s remarks as meaning he would not be considered further for the post.

‘Broad Net Out’

“The White House has a broad net out and the priority is still to try and find a black,” the official said.

In South Africa today, police briefly detained anti-apartheid activist Winnie Mandela and an opposition lawmaker when they visited a black school, and the government shut down all the high schools in a black township near East London.

Mandela later said she wanted to show legislator Helen Suzman, who is white, that black students were expected to study “under the barrel of a gun.” Nine journalists also were detained with them.

Education officials said they shut the black secondary schools in Duncan Village, near the Indian Ocean port of East London, because many students had refused to reregister when classes resumed last month after a six-week vacation.