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detention in association with the elections for the Coloured and
Indian Chambers of the new Parliament; and supported the statement by EC Foreign Ministers of 11 September which was sharply critical
of recent events and condemned detention without trial. Since 13
September our position has been made very difficult because of the
Durban sit-in.
4 Durban: Six SA opposition leaders (five Indians, one black)
entered the Consulate on 13 September. All faced arrest and
detention without trial, arising from their activities to boycott
the elections. On 6 October three (all Indians) left the Consulate
voluntarily and were immediately arrested. They remain in
detention. The other three remain in the Consulate and show no sign-
of leaving. Since 21 October we have denied them visits other than
by their doctor, in order to prevent further exploitation of our premises for political purposes. The three are able to communicate with their lawyers by letter in connection with their appeal to the
South African Supreme Court against the detention orders on them.
5
Coventry Four: In his statement in Parliament on 23 October
Mr Rifkind said that now warrants for the arrest of the four had
been issued by the Coventry court we expected the South African
Govenrment to return them This remains our public position,
although it is clear that the South African Government will not do
So.
SOUTH AFRICA'S RELATIONS WITH NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES
6 South Africa has exchanged its policy of destabilisation for one
of aggressive diplomacy in which the main objective seems to be
formal agreements which will deny the ANC facilities in neighbouring
countries. This was clearly the objective of the Nkomati Accord,
although in consequence South Africa has acquired a vested interest in the security and stability of Mozambique, for which it is now actively working: South African efforts have so far failed to bring.
the war in Mozambique to an end. But they clearly recognise that
failure to do so will undermine the credibility of Nkomati, with
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