On December 9 approximately 100 South African commandos crossed over the border into Lesotho and carried out sweeping raids on the homes of South African exiles who had sought refuge there. Fortytwo people were brutally murdered and their residences destroyed by bazookas. grenades. and incendiary devices. Those killed. according to the Lesotho Government. were South African refugeesduly registered with the local authorities and the U.N. High Commission of Refugeesas well as innocent citizens of Lesotho caught in the crossfire of the attack or murdered in their own homes. which the South African Defense Force had apparently mistakenly identified as housing South African refugees. I applaud the U.N. Security Councils unanimous condemnation of South Africa for this "premeditated. aggressive" raid. The resolution branded it a "flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity" of Lesotho. reaffirmed Lesothos right to give sanctuary to refugees from South Africa. and demanded that South Africa pay "full and adequate compensation for the damage to life and property." This strong statement by the Security Council represented the minimum tolerable response by the world community to South Africas attack. It was right for the administration to cast its vote in favor of this U.N. resolution. Our country could have done no less in the face of this gross affront to international decency. humanity. and the most fundamental human rights.
Keywords matched
refugeesduly Refugeesas refugees