S. Africa Threatens to Quit Namibia Peace Plan

South Africa angrily vowed late Tuesday night to pull out of the United Nations’ plan for Namibian independence “within the next few hours” unless the U.N. takes urgent action to force armed rebels in northern Namibia to abide by the peace accord and retreat to their bases in Angola.

The South-West Africa People’s Organization, which sent as many as 1,000 guerrillas into Namibia four days ago, “must now face up to the realities,” South Africa’s foreign minister, Roelof F. (Pik) Botha, declared in a letter to U.N. Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar.

“Effective and immediate steps must be taken to ensure its compliance with all its obligations,” Botha said.

“Otherwise . . . the South African government will have no option but to (suspend) its reciprocal obligations,” he added, until the U.N. peacekeeping force “is in a position to ensure SWAPO’s scrupulous observance of the . . . agreements.”

Botha’s ultimatum came on the fourth day of intense fighting along 200 miles of Namibia’s northern border, where at least 161 rebels and 20 police officers have been killed. Among the dead were three senior SWAPO military commanders, police said.

South Africa’s state-run television reported that 19 armored troop carriers had been destroyed by SWAPO’s rocket-launched grenades since the battles began Saturday, less than two hours after a formal cease-fire signed by SWAPO and South Africa had taken effect.

U.N. officials had begun an urgent, behind-the-scenes search earlier Tuesday for a way to end the bloody fighting and prevent the fledgling peace process from unraveling.

Marrack Goulding, the U.N. official in charge of all U.N. peace-keeping missions, was ordered to Angola’s capital for talks with Angolan authorities on ending the worst fighting of SWAPO’s 24-year guerrilla war for independence.

Martti Ahtisaari, the U.N. secretary general’s special representative in Namibia, flew to the north to survey the scene. Ahtisaari has given South Africa permission to reactivate several units that had been demobilized or confined to bases in the north.

“Many people of good will, expertise and authority are trying to find a way to heal this wound,” said Cedric Thornberry, the No. 2 U.N. official in Namibia. “But the first thing to do is to get the killing to stop. This country is in danger of bleeding to death.”

Security forces about 3,500 strong, including Namibian police and South African army units, continued to track an estimated 1,200 guerrillas inside Namibia.

Botha claims that an additional 4,500 SWAPO fighters had gathered south of the 16th Parallel in neighboring Angola, some within 600 yards of the border. Under the peace agreement, SWAPO was supposed to remain north of that parallel, about 200 miles into Angola, and confined to bases.

SWAPO contends that its men were in Namibia before the peace process began and were forced to defend themselves against police attacks while in the process of laying down their arms to comply with a cease-fire.

Perez de Cuellar had reportedly verified, in a closed-door U.N. Security Council meeting on Monday, South Africa’s claim that the rebels had crossed into Namibia from Angola since Saturday, when the Pretoria-ruled territory began its transition to independence.

But the secretary general said the guerrillas, who would have been allowed to return peacefully next month after laying down their arms, had no hostile intent. Captured insurgents have said they expected to meet no resistance in returning to their homeland, that the U.N. peacekeeping forces would protect them.

In Washington, the State Department insisted Tuesday that SWAPO withdraw its troops from Namibia. Washington said SWAPO’s movements were in “clear violation” of the U.N. peace plan and a U.S.-mediated peace accord that opened the way for Namibia’s independence.

The U.N.’s independence plan for Namibia, a territory ruled by South Africa for the past 74 years, sets down a timetable leading up to free and fair elections in November. At a cost of $461 million, it is the largest and most expensive peacekeeping exercise in U.N. history.

Both SWAPO, which has fought a 24-year guerrilla war for Namibia’s freedom, and South Africa have criticized the U.N. for failing to properly monitor the transition process.

SWAPO President Sam Nujoma, speaking Tuesday in Harare, Zimbabwe, called on the United Nations to expand its peacekeeping force in the region. He also criticized the world body for allowing South Africa to redeploy its troops in the region.