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South Africa calls for regional defence pact

    JOHANNESBURG

    South African Minister of Defence Patrick Lekota has welcomed the idea of a regional Southern Africa defence pact to protect countries from foreign aggression.

    Lekota was quoted in the South African newspaper 'Business Day' on Thursday as saying that it was no longer appropriate for the region to have an "ad-hoc" response to threats to national sovereignty in the region.

    "Without an instrument that provides guidelines to protect legitimate governments in the region from foreign armed aggression, peace can not be guaranteed." Lekota added that a regional defence effort could come in to being before the next Southern African Development Community (SADC) heads of state summit next year.

    In a separate interview with the weekly magazine the 'Financial Mail', Lekota said that South Africa "is ready to make a contribution" towards peace efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). But he added: "We don't want the image of a bull in a china shop rushing in as the old South African Defence Force did."

    Lekota said that South African security was intrinsically linked to stability among its neighbours. "The principle that we must stabilise the region immediately surrounding us can not be in doubt."

    He added: "Major explosions of conflict in the Great Lakes could spill over into this country. Right now people are running away from Angola, DRC and Rwanda and they end up here, adding to pressure on facilities and employment."

    On the question of Angola Lekota said: "The Angolan situation is
    slightly different. There is legitimately elected government in Angola. It is up to President Eduardo Dos Santos to invite his countrymen to the negotiation table to try and find a solution." He added: "Angolans must sit down and confront their country's problems."

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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