§ Lord BROCKWAYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made by the United Nations to realise the independence of Namibia.
§ Lord TREFGARNEMy Lords, a team of United Nations officials led by General Prem Chand, Commander Designate of the United Nations Force for Namibia, is at present in Southern Africa for discussions with the parties on arrangements for implementing the United Nations plan. The parties have already agreed to the concept of a demilitarised zone.
§ Lord BROCKWAYMy Lords, is there not danger for a settlement of independence because of the delay, for three reasons? Did not fighting begin again between the South African and SWAPO troops this week? Is not the South African Administrator-General urging the unrecognised national assembly to obtain self-governing powers? Finally, has he not given a very hostile reception to the United Nations commander, General Chand, saying that any negotiations with him must be treated with some suspicion?
§ Lord TREFGARNEMy Lords, the noble Lord, has indeed, accurately described a good number of the difficulties, but I should tell him that the shortcomings are not all on the one side, and we certainly hope that SWAPO will also be able to make some concessions and help the negotiations forward.
§ Lord GORONWY-ROBERTSMy Lords, will the noble Lord confirm that this country in the United Nations and, indeed, in Southern and Central Africa, is lending its fullest support to General Chand's very hopeful initiative under the aegis of the United Nations; that we place the utmost importance upon the creation, and thereafter the maintenance, of, I think, the 10-kilometre demilitarised zone on both sides of the northern border; and also that there is no question of any existing so-called assembly in Namibia usurping what properly will be the powers of a regularly elected and constituted assembly after stability has been achieved in that country?
§ Lord TREFGARNEMy Lords, as I think the noble Lord knows, the Government do not recognise the national assembly because it is based on the unilateral elections of December 1978, which were not consistent with the plan with which we were associated. As for the United Nations, we certainly support everything that they are doing, with one qualification: they have recognised SWAPO to be the sole representative of the Namibian people; we think that that is for the Namibian people to decide for themselves.
§ Lord BROCKWAYMy Lords, in addition to the welcome proposal of demilitarisation either side of the Angolan border, will the Government consider urging that both the South African and the SWAPO troops should be restricted to their barracks pending an election?
§ Lord TREFGARNEMy Lords, that is a useful suggestion which I think the noble Lord put to my noble friend the Foreign Secretary when he raised this matter some months ago. It is certainly something that could be considered. However, we think that the effective way forward for the moment is in line with the plan which we proposed, which includes the demilitarised zone, to which the noble Lord, Lord Goronwy-Roberts, referred. Perhaps I could say, in parenthesis, that that zone is to be 50 kilometres either side of the border, not the 10 kilometres that he mentioned.