Committee chairman urges action to end 'reign of violence'.

The Chairman of the Special Committee against Apartheid, Joseph N. Garba (Nigeria), has called on the international community to take "prompt and effective" measures that would oblige the apartheid regime in South Africa "to put a stop at once to the reign of violence" in the country and to call on it to immediately release the "large number" of leaders of the United Democratic Front and other political activists.

In a statement issued on 20 February, he pointed out that in two days of violence in the Crossroads camp outside Cape Town, at least 16 people were reported to have been killed and more than 200 injured, as the police fought running battles with thousands of demonstrators protesting against the projected removal of the 65,000 inhabitants of the camp by force to a new township far from their places of livelihood. Pretoria's claim that the proposed move was a "slum clearance operation" was "given the lie", he said, by police use of tear gas, rubber bullets and bird shot to "crush the resistance" put up by the unarmed camp inhabitants.

The regime's actions demonstrated how "meaningless and hollow" was its offer to discuss political reforms with representatives of black opinion, Mr. Garba stated. "It should remove any lingering doubts about the efficacy of seeking to change the racist regime's policy through persuasion and constructive engagement." (Press Release GA/AP/1597)

In other matters, the Chairman:

* Welcomed Harvard University's 14 February decision to sell its holding in the Baker International Corporation for refusing to give information showing adherence to "reasonable ethical standards" in South Africa. The action, he said, would give momentum to the active divestment campaign in the United States. (Press Release GA/AP/1594)

* Expressed gratification for the decision of major banks in the Netherlands to stop the sale of Krugerrands (South African gold coins). He said credit went to the Dutch anti-apartheid groups for their "sustained and untiring" efforts in favour of economic sanctions against South Africa. (Press Release GA/AP/1595)

* Expressed the hope that New Zealand's rugby authorities would reject all sports exchanges with South Africia until that country renounced its policy of apartheid. In a meeting with Mr. Garba on 23 February in Auckland, New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange assured Mr. Garba that his Government would do all it possibly could to prevent the tour of the "All Blacks" rugby team from taking place. (Press Release GA/AP/1590, 1599)

* Urged the organizers of the Miami Grand Prix to exclude two South African drivers from the event, in accord with the opinion of the international community and "at a time when Americans from all walks of life are courting imprisonment to display their abhorrence of the evil apartheid system". (Press Release GA/AP/1593)

* Rejected the approach on which South African President P.W. Botha based his announcement that his regime intended to do something about the rights of the country's black majority through an "informal forum" where invited representatives of black communities and interests would discuss with government officials the question of political rights for the African majority. A forum made up of "hand-picked individuals" could "in no way" be competent to discuss the rights of the country's African majority, he said. (Press Release GA/AP/1588)

COUNCIL CONDEMNS

MILITARY EXERCISE

The Council for Namibia has strongly condemned the "massive" South African military exercise in northern Namibia from 16 to 18 January "in perpetuation of its illegal occupation of Namibia".

In a statement issued on 1 February, the Council's Acting President, Noel G. Sinclair (Guyana), said the exercise--the "largest conventional warfare exercise" that Pretoria had undertaken to date inside Namibia--further confirmed Pretoria's determination to persist with its policies of "repression and terror" against Namibians. It constituted a renewed threat to Angola's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and posed a serious threat to peace and security in southern Africa. The Council demanded an immediate end to South African aggression against Namibians and the front-line States, particularly Angola, and called upon the international community to exert maximum pressure on the regime to secure the immediate and unconditional implementation of Security Council resolution 435 (1978). (Press Release NAM/807)