David Beresford
President Nelson Mandela’s tendency to “shoot from the hip” on foreign policy matters — a trait which is the despair of diplomats, but admired by others as straight talking — was on display again this week when he panned the British prime minister on the eve of his state visit to the United Kingdom.
At a briefing for British correspondents at his Houghton home, Mandela criticised John Major for failing to take more of a lead in applying international sanctions against Nigeria. He said United States President Bill Clinton was prepared to apply “some measure of sanctions”, but he was having “difficulties” with the British premier, who was stalling on the issue.
Mandela said Major was insisting that Britain would only take such action if he was sure “all other countries” would follow suit. Major was also arguing that Britain’s contribution to a sanctions campaign could only be nominal, because the UK purchased little oil from Nigeria. “I couldn’t get him to be up-front on the question,” Mandela said.
Protesting at the “clamour” for him to use his “so- called moral authority” with Nigeria, the president said it was up to countries like the US, Britain and France to force change on the military regime through their trade links.
He said, however, that his government was not prepared to provide facilities and support in South Africa for Nigerian resistance groups, because “it would not be consistent with efforts we are making to resolve this matter peacefully”.