UN General Assembly
1989

The process of Namibia's accession to international sovereignty - long overdue - is today irreversible. The desperate manoeuvres at intimidation of the civilian population and the attacks against the leaders of the South West Africa People's Organization - all plots hatched by a minority of proponents with a backward-looking, anachronistic vision of history - cannot stop or delay its implementation. The situation in Namibia is not the only source of tension in southern Africa. Apartheid, which has become a crime against humanity, is also a considerable source of tension. That is why, now more than ever before, and taking into account current political developments - the results of the sustained action of forces for change within South Africa and of external pressure - Gabon demands that the state of emergency be ended and that all political prisoners, including in particular Nelson Mandela, be released. furthermore, we ask those who still support that regime to face the facts and to help in the total eradication of that shameful system.