' 4 ASRLA
PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF NEWS CONFERENCE, PAN PACIFIC HOTEL, KUALA
LUMPUR, 19 OCTOBER 1989
E 0 E PROOF ONLY
JOURNALIST: Mr Hawke, the decision by the banks to refinance
South Africa. How bad a blow is that to the Commonwealth's
effort to get sanctions?
PM: Well it shouldn't be exaggerated. I think you should
understand that there never was a real expectation that there
wouldn't be a rescheduling but we had hoped that there would
be a further period of consideration, it wouldn't be done so
early. You've got to remember that it's still a fairly tight
rescheduling, that there is a requirement for repayment of
capital on this occasion and it will still represent a
situation of very considerable constraint upon the South
African Government, a position which is recognised by the
South African Government itself. It will still be available
to the international community, methods of seeking to impose
further financial pressures upon the Government of South
Africa and I've referred to those in my speech to the
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting this morning. I
just would make the point that probably I an Joe Clark will
be meeting with the Press later on this afternoon and we'll
have an opportunity of going to this i ' n more detail and there
is some advice we want to get on certain technical aspects of
it.
JOURNALIST: Aren't you disappointed that the banks don't
appear to be listening to international opinion on South
Africa? PM: on the contrary it can be said that they have listened
to some extent, that the tightening of the requirements for
the repayment of capital which are tighter than they were
before correspond to suggestions that were made by the
Commonwealth Foreign Ministers to the international banking
community. So it's not a question of the things that have
been said on behalf of the Commonwealth have been entirely
neglected. But as I said at the beginning in my response,
it's obviously the case that one would've liked to have seen
a longer consideration of this matter by the international
banks that were involved.
JOURNALIST: But the rescheduling doesn't put any pressure,
any political pressure on for change, does it?
PM: Well one argument that's been put is that now there's
been the accommodation to the extent that there has in this
arrangement that the President, de Klerk, will take this as
an endorsement for change. Now we however, within the
Commonwealth will not be seeking in any sense to relax
pressures. On the contrary we've taken the view that the
change that is now starting to be talked about within South
Africa is a direct result of the pressures that have been
applied and we will continue to do that on the basis that if
we do then see within South Africa significant changes being
made then there is an obligation upon us in the Commonwealth
and the international community to respond then by lessening
pressures. The point I made in the speech I just made to the
Heads of Government was this; that the South African
Government is seeking to get normality in its international
financial and economic and trading relationships but the
essence of the message that we must put to them, you will get
the possibility of normality in your international trading
relations when you remove the ugly abnormality of apartheid
within your country.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, are you disappointed that New
Zealand has confirmed that it didn't support Malcolm Fraser's
candidacy yesterday?
PM: Yes, I'm disappointed in that. No qualification to make
on that answer.
JOURNALIST: Did you expect the rescheduling deal to be
wrapped up as quickly as it has been, and what are the
additional financial pressures you think could be brought to
bear on South Africa?
PM: As I said, we are a little bit disappointed that it was
done when it was. The timing of course I think is not
entirely accidental but we think that the pressures that can
be brought to bear and should be is that the banks should
impose tougher conditions on day to day trading, financing
and certainly shouldn't be any greater period of credit terms
than 90 days for instance. Secondly, as I've suggested in
there today that we should call upon governments to make
trade credits harder to get by taking South Africa off cover
with government agencies for insurance support for trade
credit. Now those sorts of things we think ought to be done.
I'm in the position now that I've made these suggestions in
the meeting. I led with Kenneth Kuanda on this matter
-3-
( PM cont) but there's further discussions to take place.
The actual decision of the meeting is still to come. But I
would think that the sort of things that I've suggested will
be reflected in the decision of the meeting.
JOURNALIST: Dr Boesak's proposal for a Commonwealth
monitoring body to put pressure on the banks?
PM: Part of the five steps that I proposed in there involve
the establishment of a specialist monitoring agency.
JOURNALIST: Was the Commonwealth completely in the dark
about the banks reaching this agreement so early or did they
have any indications as to who-
PM: We had no indication that the decision would be made at
this time and as I say, I don't think it's entirely
coincidental that the announcement was made for the
commencement of the meeting.
JOURNALIST: How many people do you believe switched their
vote, who'd given pledges on Mr Fraser?
PM: I don't know. It only required a change of a very few
people to have reversed the decision and I can't be quite
sure of how many did that. But let me say this; I mean as
far as I'm concerned it's over. As you know I worked very
hard to get the opposite result so the decision's been made.
The new Secretary-General or the Secretary-General-elect of
the Commonwealth is the Chief. Now that's the important
thing and he's going to have my full, unqualified support.
Now that's the important thing.
JOURNALIST: Are you going to spell out those five points
this afternoon or can you spell them out now?
PM: I have done that today. The first thing is the
endorsement of the Harare Declaration. Secondly, the
continuation of existing trade sanctions. Third, the
intensification of financial measures. Fourth, the
establishment of a monitoring agency in the financial area.
And fifth, the appointment or the re-continuation, if I can
put it that way, of the monitoring mechanism generally which
is provided by the Foreign Ministers.
JOURNALIST: Do you expect to get any resistance to that,
particularly from Mrs Thatcher?
-4-
PM: I would hope that Mrs Thatcher would see substance in
the basic approaches I've put. It would be surprising if in
the area of sanctions she was at one with the rest on that.
But we'll see.
ends