Olive Branch

The government of South Africa has responded responsibly to an olive branch from the International Committee of the Red Cross and has canceled an earlier order to expel Red Cross observers. That is in the best interests of all.

Delegates to the October International Conference of the Red Cross in Geneva, stampeded by a coalition of Third World and socialist delegates, had barred the South Africa government delegation from the meeting. The vote was a regrettable departure from a tradition of avoiding political issues among delegates who must seek to protect human rights and extend humanitarian assistance regardless of the form of government or the level of repression.

South Africa’s initial response was understandable. The damage has been fixed by a letter from the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross disagreeing with the suspension of South Africa from the Geneva meeting. On the strength of that letter, Pik Botha, foreign minister of South Africa, has lifted the Red Cross expulsion order.

The move at the Red Cross meeting to isolate South Africa would have served only to deny prisoners the important protection of objective international monitoring of their cases and the conditions of their incarceration.