News In Brief
| Lusaka, Zambia
More pro-Western leader gets No. 2 spot in Namibian group
Andimba Toivo Ya Toivo said Monday he had been elected secretary-general of SWAPO, the guerrilla organization fighting South African rule in Namibia. He is now the second most powerful figure in the SWAPO hierarchy after the organization's president, Sam Nujoma.
He was released from South Africa's Robben Island prison last spring after serving 16 years of a 20-year sentence. The move was widely seen as an olive branch by South Africa.
Western diplomats say Mr. Toivo appears to be considerably more pro-Western than officials in SWAPO's military wing, who support the Soviet bloc which supplies them with arms. South Africa has offered to grant Namibia independence if Cuban troops withdraw from Angola, but SWAPO and most African governments reject the idea of linking the two issues.
