§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Lord Privy Seal, in the formulation of the Western Five proposals, what safeguards he proposes to make to ensure the democratic parties within Namibia are treated equally with SWAPO in future elections.
§ Mr. Humphrey AtkinsUnder the United Nations plan, regulations governing the elections to the constituent assembly will be made by the administrator general, acting to the satisfaction of the United Nations special representative. Subsequent elections will take place under the constitution to be drawn up by the constituent assembly.
§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Lord Privy Seal (1) if any progress has been made to accord observer status at the United Nations to the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance and other parties within Namibia so as to assist them in attaining equal status with SWAPO;
(2) if he will press in the United Nations for the cessation of all aid, whether financial, material or moral, to the South West Africa People's Organisation, in order to ensure impartiality in the forthcoming elections or if he will seek to ensure the provision of commensurate aid to the other Namibian internal parties.
§ Mr. Humphrey AtkinsNegotiations on such aspects of implementation of the United Nations plan have not yet begun. The Five will seek to ensure that once implementation begins, all Namibian parties contesting the elections will do so on an equal footing.
§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Lord Privy Seal if he will ensure that in the electoral arrangements made for Namibia proper account is taken of the electoral disadvantage of the Namibian internal parties due to the substantial financial aid received by SWAPO from the United Nations and other countries; and whether this matter was considered in discussions with interested parties during the recently completed "Crocker" tour of Africa.
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§ Mr. Humphrey AtkinsI refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 24 November about electoral arrangements for Namibia.—[Vol. 13, c. 346.] The discussions during the visits to African capitals by officials of the Five were confidential, but such issues will be mainly for discussion during the second phase.
§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Lord Privy Seal (1) if he will make an undertaking similar to that made by the West German Foreign Minister to grant foreign aid to a newly independent Namibia;
(2) if the granting of aid by the United Kingdom to a newly independent Namibia will be dependent on which political party wins the forthcoming Namibian elections.
§ Mr. Humphrey AtkinsNo decisions have yet been taken on the granting of aid to an independent Namibia.