6 Black Nations Urge Bush to End U.S. Support for Angolan Rebels

Black leaders of six nations in southern Africa on Tuesday urged President-elect George Bush to end support for Jonas Savimbi’s UNITA rebels in Angola.

Zambian President Kenneth D. Kaunda, chairman of the six--known as the front-line states because of their proximity to South Africa--opened a one-day meeting in Lusaka. It was called to review the regional situation since the signing of a U.S.-mediated accord last week on the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola and independence for South African-ruled Namibia.

“We hope that President-elect Bush will declare to our satisfaction that his Administration will not continue to support bandits of UNITA,” Kaunda said.

So far, the United States has made it clear that its aid to the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) will continue until the Marxist Angolan government reaches a settlement with Savimbi.

Along with the criticism, however, Kaunda paid a rare tribute to the Reagan Administration, praising its role in mediating months of talks that led to the African accord.

Heads of state from Angola, Botswana, Tanzania, Mozambique and Zimbabwe arrived for the meeting. Also present were Oliver Tambo, president of the African National Congress (ANC), and Sam Nujoma, president of the South-West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO), an important figure in Namibian independence. The ANC is fighting the white-minority led government of South Africa.

Kaunda called on U.N. Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar to implement the peace plan for Namibia without being influenced by pressure to cut the size of a planned monitoring force.