SA 'sliding down the hill', Hurd says

DOUGLAS HURD, the Foreign Secretary, said last night that the South African government must 'get a grip' on the troops of Ciskei and other homelands. 'There is agreement on how the violence should be handled,' he said. 'That process has got to be extended to the homelands, otherwise the violence will spill over to these areas. It is necessary that they get back round the negotiating table. South Africa is sliding down the hill and only a negotiated settlement can prevent that.'

Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, condemned the killings as 'horrific and wholly unjustified'. He added: 'As long as bloodshed and violence poison the process of political dialogue and negotiation, there can be no peaceful solution . . . this (massacre) gives added urgency to the proposals by the international community, including the Commonwealth, to assist by deploying observers who can help bring to an end this senseless cycle of violence.'

The South African Foreign Minister, Pik Botha, laying the blame on hardliners in the South African Communist Party, said: 'They wanted people to be shot. It's impossible to negotiate because they don't stick to agreements . . . they are interested in only one thing - to reach their objective without negotiation.'