63. Memorandum From Secretary of State Vance to President Carter1
[Omitted here is material unrelated to Namibia.]
Namibia
I talked to Kurt Waldheim about Namibia and got further details on the concerns of the African members of the Security Council. They are concerned about two points:
—1. The relationship of the UN Representative to the South African-appointed Administrator. Kurt said that he assured them that, after talking with Botha, the UN Representative would be independent and not subordinate to the Administrator;2
—2. The presence of South African troops in Namibia during the election; this is a more difficult question, which I had already discussed with Botha. The way around would be the substitution of a UN police force.3
Kurt said that there was a great deal of suspicion on the part of the Africans because of their past experience with the South Africans. They were afraid that they might end up being used in a situation where there was the appearance of an independent election without any guarantee of such a result. Kurt told me that Botha seemed highly emotional and that he (Kurt) was concerned about Botha’s health. Kurt said that he was going to attend the OAU meeting and would talk with the African leaders about Namibia.
[Omitted here is material unrelated to Namibia.]
- Source: Carter Library, Plains File, Subject File, Box 37, State Department Evening Reports, 6/77. Secret. Carter initialed the memorandum and wrote at the top of the first page: “To Cy.”↩
- Carter wrote in the left-hand margin: “This should work out.”↩
- Carter wrote in the left-hand margin: “No chance on this. UN observers max we can expect.”↩