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Grou
p thinking will not dictate to the three African countries
which are being courted for their UN Security Council vote on Iraq,
Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad said on Monday.
He said Angola, Cameroon and Guinea would not be bound by
resolutions of the African Union (AU) and the Non-Aligned Movement
(NAM), which has called for the peaceful disarmament of Iraq.
"Although the AU has a resolution and NAM has one, each country
will decide in terms of their own understanding ... which way they
will vote," Pahad told reporters in Pretoria.
French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin is currently on a
whirlwind tour of the three African states on the United Nations
Security Council's to get their vote against a war in Iraq.
De Villepin first stop was Angola, where he met President Jose
Eduardo Dos Santos on Monday. Angola hinted after the meeting that
it could abstain from voting.
Next in line for De Villepin were visits to Cameroon and Guinea to
muster support for France's stance against a draft UN resolution
authorising the use of force against Baghdad.
Pahad said: "The diplomatic initiatives are at a quite hectic pace.
Everyone wants to see who can influence who in getting countries to
vote in particular ways."
France and four other countries oppose the UN resolution, submitted
by the United States, Britain and Spain, that would give Iraq until
March 17 to disarm or face military action.
The US is also courting the three African states for their
votes.
The US, Britain and Spain need nine of the 15 votes on the Security
Council for their resolution to be accepted.
In addition. none of the permanent members of the Council, one of
which is France, must veto the resolution.
The resolution is due to come up for a vote in the Security Council
this week, possibly as early as Tuesday.
Pahad described the current consultations as "very intense".
"No one is giving in. Everyone is sticking to their position. We
are concerned that the divisions are very deep."
Pahad said the government hoped to get full parliamentary support
for its stance in favour of peaceful disarmament in a special
debate on the topic scheduled for Thursday.
He reiterated that a war in Iraq would be major setback for all
development programmes in Africa-Sapa
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