Botha Says House Sanctions Bill Could Jeopardize Regional Accord

President Pieter W. Botha on Friday accused U.S. congressmen of “recklessness” and said a tough sanctions bill passed by the House of Representatives against South Africa could jeopardize a regional peace plan.

Botha said the legislation would not help blacks and might “obstruct or make impossible” an initiative to end South Africa’s 73-year rule over South-West Africa, also known as Namibia.

“The recklessness of members of Congress who do not care in the least whether their actions adversely affect the search for a peaceful solution to the problems of southern Africa as a whole is astounding,” Botha said.

The sanctions bill would halt U.S. investment in South Africa and impose a near-total trade embargo. It was approved by the House on a 244-132 vote Thursday.

The bill faces a questionable future in the Senate and a likely veto by President Reagan. Earlier legislation, which passed despite Reagan’s veto, bars imports of various South African commodities and forbids South African planes to land at U.S. airports.

Botha said the bill emerged “for purely internal political aims.”

Botha said he found it “particularly remarkable” that the House acted on the bill “exactly at a time when positive progress was being made with the peace negotiations between South Africa, Cuba and Angola.”

The three countries recently announced a cease-fire in the Angolan civil war. South Africa said it is prepared to begin implementing a U.N. plan for Namibian independence Nov. 1, provided agreement could be reached on a timetable for withdrawing Cuba’s troops from Angola.

He said unspecified financial transactions necessary to implement the plan could be affected by the sanctions bill.