World Notes SOUTHERN AFRICA

The meeting was the first ever between a high-level U.S. official and black nationalist leader Nelson Mandela -- and it was not quite all U.S. Secretary of State James Baker could have hoped for. After a 35-minute session last Wednesday at Mandela's villa in Windhoek, where both men were on hand to witness the birth of Namibia as a free nation, Baker and Mandela emerged to face a swarm of reporters and photographers. Mandela criticized Baker's plans to meet with South African President F.W. de Klerk in Cape Town the next day. "We do not think there has been any fundamental change in the policy of the national government," he said.

Baker bore the scolding with a blank expression. Then both men emphasized the positive. Mandela characterized their discussions as "dominated by the spirit of friendship." Baker hailed Mandela's courage as "something the world has taken note of."

The next day, Baker applied some skillful pressure himself. Following an hour-long meeting with De Klerk, the Secretary of State said before reporters: "May I repeat what you told me at the conclusion of our meeting? That 'we are engaged here in South Africa in an irreversible process that we will follow to its logical conclusion.' " Reporters could only guess whether or not De Klerk meant the comment to be repeated.