Namibia talks disrupted over timetable dispute

January 15, 1981

A new international row over Nambia (South-West Africa) loomed with the failure of a multiparty conference here to agree on an independence timetable for the disputed territory. The conference ended when the South African delegation ended when the South African delegation said a date for applying the plan was premature. A UN debate was due to open in New York today (Jan. 15).

The black nationalist South-West African People's Organization (SWAPO), blaming South Africa for the impasse here, has already said it would step up its 14-year-old bush war and urge even stronger economic sanctions against Pretoria. In South Africa, Foreign Minister Pik Botha said the deadlock had been caused by increasing partiali ty toward SWAPO.