Britain Advises Quick Reform in S. Africa : Says That Holding Line Against Sanctions May Hinge on Progress

If acting South African President Frederik W. de Klerk fails to quickly use his election mandate for political reform, “then holding the line against punitive sanctions will be infinitely more difficult,” Britain’s deputy prime minister, Geoffrey Howe, cautioned Thursday.

The remark, seen as a thinly veiled warning that British patience with Pretoria’s apartheid policy may be running out, is considered significant because Britain has been the most adamant major Western nation to oppose economic sanctions as a method of trying to force South Africa to dismantle apartheid, its system of racial segregation.

At the same time, Foreign Secretary John Major called the results of Wednesday’s election in South Africa “a very formidable mandate . . . for progressive change.”

“It has no friends left these days, apartheid, and the sooner it goes the better,” Major said.

South Africa’s ruling National Party won its 11th straight victory in Wednesday’s whites-only elections, but lost ground to opponents on both the left and right.

National Party leader De Klerk, who took over as acting president last month from the ailing Pieter W. Botha, is seen by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s government as representing the best chance for reform in the country. Officials here have said privately for weeks that they had reason to expect dramatic moves after Wednesday’s balloting.

Thatcher is believed to have made such moves a condition for a state visit to South Africa--a visit much desired by the white regime there.

London has steadfastly opposed economic sanctions against Pretoria, arguing that they would not work and that the West has a better chance to influence positive change in South Africa by keeping open its lines of communication to the government. Britain’s position has helped to soften punitive moves against Pretoria by other Commonwealth and North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries, including the United States.

Defends Sanctions Stand

Major, in a radio interview Thursday, defended Britain’s stand on sanctions and carefully skirted the question of what specific reforms London wants. Howe, a former foreign secretary, was more direct when he spoke at a meeting of the Assn. of American Correspondents in London.

“As De Klerk himself has said, he has a mandate for reform,” Howe said. “We certainly hope, and I have reason to believe, he wants to use that (mandate). If he doesn’t, then holding the line against punitive sanctions will be infinitely more difficult.”

Asked what actions and what timetable the Thatcher government would consider satisfactory in South Africa, Howe said:

“We, with the rest of the Free World, wish to see the release of Nelson Mandela (the jailed African National Congress leader) and the opening up of genuine political dialogue between the government and the black majority in South Africa. Clearly, one would want to see that happening on a time scale that is identifiable and visible.”

Major said in the interview with Independent Radio News that while the election disclosed “a rapidly changing opinion in South Africa,” it will still take time for the system to change.

He continued, “The important thing is to make sure that (change) comes about in a measured and peaceful way and in a way that will stick permanently.”

He said that Britain’s “influence of restraint on South Africa over recent years has been very useful, and I think the fact that we have not always offered all-purpose denunciation of South Africa has enabled us to retain that influence.”