South Africa the Good-Neighbor Coup

By JANICE C. SIMPSON

Strolling through the peaceful vegetable gardens and fruit trees at his country retreat 40 miles outside the capital city, Maseru, Lesotho's Prime Minister Leabua Jonathan early last week was the picture of self-confidence. Yes, admitted the Prime Minister, his country had been shaken by a 19-day ) blockade by South Africa, which completely surrounds the mountainous kingdom (pop. 1.5 million). But Chief Jonathan, 71, who had ruled Lesotho (pronounced Leh-sue-too) in an increasingly autocratic manner since its independence from Britain in 1966, smoothly dismissed rumors that his government might be toppled by a military takeover. "I have never in all my political career of more than 30 years been so accepted," Jonathan told visitors, "not only within the forces, but within the country at large."

Less than 24 hours later, Radio Lesotho opened its morning broadcast with a loud burst of the national anthem and a terse announcement that Jonathan's government had been overthrown and replaced with a military council headed by Major General Justin Lekhanya, 47. The country's King Moshoeshoe II, 47, remained head of state and was given additional powers beyond his ceremonial role.

The Lesotho people greeted the news with undisguised glee. Crowds jammed the main street of Maseru to cheer the soldiers. Outside the city, celebrators joyously tore down a highway sign bearing Jonathan's name. The news was just as warmly received in South Africa, which allowed three freight trains carrying vital food and gasoline to pass into Lesotho for the first time in three weeks.

South African police and military on Jan. 1 began conducting security searches at the border that severely restricted the daily flow of supplies into the enclave nation. But relations between the countries had been tense for some time. Jonathan had irritated the fiercely anti-Communist South African government by inviting the Soviet Union and other Marxist countries to open embassies in Maseru. He had also given refuge to guerrillas from the outlawed African National Congress, which seeks to overthrow South Africa's white-minority government.

After the blockade began, Jonathan appealed to the U.S. and Britain for an organized airlift to help his country withstand the South African pressure. He threatened to turn to East bloc countries if the West did not respond. Nevertheless, two weeks ago, Jonathan sent a delegation to Pretoria to discuss a settlement. Diplomatic sources in Maseru suggest that General Lekhanya, a member of the group, decided to stage his coup when the South Africans told him that they would continue the blockade and might openly raid A.N.C. bases in Lesotho if the country did not change its policies toward Communist countries and the A.N.C. The day after the coup, Lekhanya sent a new delegation to Pretoria. After meeting with its members, Foreign Minister Roelof ("Pik") Botha announced that the two countries had agreed to work toward "good neighborliness."

The events in Lesotho demonstrated the economic power South Africa wields in the region--and its willingness to use it. Lesotho is almost entirely dependent on South Africa for food, fuel and jobs. Money sent home by laborers working in South Africa accounts for half of Lesotho's gross national product of $670 million. Even nearby Zimbabwe and Mozambique, which are more developed, are susceptible to South Africa's economic pressures. Zimbabwe, for example, ships about 90% of its trade through South Africa.

By week's end Lesotho had begun to expel the A.N.C. militants. It appealed to the United Nations to help find new sanctuaries for them. Said Lekhanya: "The security of the refugees (in Lesotho) has become precarious." Clampdowns on activists were also rumored to be under way in Botswana and Zimbabwe.

While the sudden coup next door succeeded without any bloodshed, the unrest inside South Africa continued in fresh spasms of violence. Two white policemen were hacked and bludgeoned to death by a crowd of about 500 blacks when they tried to break up an unauthorized union meeting near Westonaria, a gold-mining complex 25 miles west of Johannesburg. Official reports said a shoot-out occurred between police reinforcements and blacks who grabbed the dead officers' weapons. Seven blacks were killed and at least 40 others wounded in the melee. The violence marked the first time that white police officers have been killed since the current wave of nationwide unrest began 16 months ago.

Twenty armored vehicles sealed off the nearby black township of Bekkersdal, and police conducted a house-to-house search for those involved in the officers' deaths. At one roadblock, they arrested two men carrying an AK-47 assault rifle and six hand grenades. A total of 86 blacks were charged with murder or public violence, while an additional 250 people were detained and interrogated.

Later in the week, at least 42 people were killed outside Durban in yet another resurgence of fighting between Zulu and Pondo tribesmen. Thousands more were left homeless as fire spread through the shantytown where the Pondos live. Since Christmas, more than 100 people have died in clashes between the groups over jobs and housing. Police officials arrested 480 people after the latest outbreak and seized truckloads of weapons, including spears and homemade guns.

With reporting by Peter Hawthorne/Maseru and Bruce W. Nelan/Johannesburg