CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by ANB-BIA, Brussels, October 1999
THEME = AN ANB-BIA DOSSIER
Namibia, the final African country to have attained independence,
is preparing for elections at the beginning of December.
In recent months, there's been trouble in the Caprivi Strip. And before the end of the
year,
the International Court of Justice at The Hague,
must announce its decision on Namibia's frontier dispute with Botswana
Namibia is an immense dry country of some 824,790 sq.km. It has the most sparse population in Africa: just over 1,600,000 inhabitants - i.e. about two people per sq.km.
Namibia is situated in the south-west of Africa with a coastline along the Atlantic Ocean. Running along the coast is the strange Namib Desert. In the north and the south there are mostly natural frontiers. In the east the frontier seems to have crudely drawn during the partition of Africa at the 1884 Berlin Conference. Moreover, in the extreme north-east, a narrow strip of land, called Caprivi, was added giving access to the Zambezi River. We'll return to that subject further on.
The most ancient people, stretching back to prehistoric days, are the San (Bushmen). At present the most important ethnic groups are, in the north, the Ovambo (the most numerous) and the Kavango, both of whom are mostly farmers; then there are the Herero (shepherds) in the central-eastern part of the country; the Nama in the south and the Damara in the west.
There was not much in the way of early contacts with Europeans. Because of the desert stretching right along the coast, Europeans didn't have any ties with the country, except for Walvis Bay and its natural harbour which served as a stopping place en route to the Cape.
It's only in the second half of the 19th century that the tranquil life of the local population came to an end. The first influx of whites came from South Africa; they were looking for new land on which to settle. At the Berlin Conference, Germany was "allocated" the country which was henceforth called "Deutsch Sudwestafrika (German South West Africa). Walvis Bay, however, remained under British control.
The Germans discovered the country's mineral wealth, copper first of all, then diamonds along the coastal strip. The colonial power took a hard line against the local population. The Africans were deprived of their traditional land. During the course of the following years there were many revolts, some of which lasted for years, but these revolts were severely crushed; it is estimated that three-quarters of the Herero population and at least half the Nama were thus decimated.
World War I brought an end to the German occupation. At the end of the war, the League of Nations allocated South West Africa to South Africa as a mandated territory.
The new administration confiscated the mines and distributed the land which had previously been occupied by Germans, to South Africans. Racial segregation, already introduced by the Germans, was intensified and received the backing of law. In the 1920s, "Reserves" for the black population were established. Only the north, the most heavily populated area, escaped from the majority of these measures.
After World War II, the United Nations wanted to have a greater say over the control of "mandated territories" and insisted that these countries should be prepared for independence. South Africa replied that this was not acceptable as far as South West Africa was concerned. During the 1950s, there was considerable development in the country but the social differences continued to grow ever wider. Opposition against the government's racist policies grew stronger and assumed a political dimension with the establishment of a number of political groups, notably the South West African National Union (SWANU) in 1959, with a Herero majority, and the South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO) in 1960, with an Ovambo majority.
In 1964, South Africa instituted the concept of "separate development" and each ethnic group was allocated a "homeland". SWAPO appealed to the International Court of Justice at The Hague against this decision, with no result. At the same time, the UN General Assembly declared it was ending South Africa's mandate and in 1967 established a Council for South West Africa to administer the territory. In 1971, the International Court of Justice declared South Africa's presence in South West Africa illegal - but with no concrete results as South Africa still had the support of Western countries.
SWAPO began to play an increasingly determining role in South West Africa's affairs, and in 1973, the UN declared it to be the only legitimate representative of the Namibian people. At the same time, SWAPO organised a guerrilla movement, which, once neighbouring Angola became independent, could also operate out of that country. The struggle, frequently bloody, was to last for another 15 years.
South Africa's attitude towards what was taking place within South West Africa changed very slowly. In 1975, South Africa organised a conference in the old Turnhalle drill hall in Windhoek which introduced a new form of administration. Following this, an interim government was established. But it was not until the end of the 1980s that there was a real turning point in the country's political life.
In 1985 a government of national unity was established with the task of drawing up a Constitution and preparing general elections. These took place in 1989. Out of the 72 seats in the National Assembly, SWAPO won 41 and the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) 21. Namibia became independent on 21 March 1990 with SWAPO's leader, Sam Nujoma as President.
One of Sam Nujoma's and his team's greatest achievements has been his policy of "national reconciliation". This policy is enshrined in Namibia's Constitution and is an integral constituent of democratic multiparty politics, but hasn't been easy to realize after so many years of struggle. There were a number of potential crisis situations which the government was able to control and eventually resolve, without involving itself in racial tensions - at least during the first years following independence.
Most of the former colonialists, descendants of South Africans and Germans, remained in the country where they still hung on to an almost crushing economic power. In addition to the industrial sector, white domination made itself felt in the agricultural sector. In 1991, 4,045 mostly white farmers, owned 45% of the land and 74% of land which can be used for agricultural purposes. A compromise was worked out. The black peasants received land separate from the large white-owned properties. Tens of thousands of former refugees and freedom fighters were integrated into national society. Realistic solutions were also found to confrontational problems with foreign mining companies.
Flagrant inequalities still exist, however, and this could be a major source of political and social tension. Most of the population have to scratch a living by subsistence farming. In 1994, 40% of the active population were out of work. Africans have progressively gradually replaced Whites in the administration, although this policy has had less success in the private sector.
SWAPO has increasingly made its presence felt. In the 1994 presidential and parliamentary elections, SWAPO took 53 of the 72 seats in the National Assembly, having gained 72% of votes cast. Sam Nujoma was re-elected President with 76% of the votes. This victory ensured SWAPO's dominant position in the life of the nation and was largely because of support from the Ovambo, although popular support came from both sides of the ethnic frontiers. The DTA's leader, Mishake Muyongo, warned against what he called: "ethnic democracy".
At the end of 1999 there will be new elections and the big question is: Will Sam Nujoma (71), offer himself for the third time as a presidential candidate? He wants to, but the Constitution only allows for two consecutive terms in office. A suggestion has been made that because of his position as "Father of the Nation", he should become life-President. SWAPO's congress in May came up with a political trick to get round the problem. Delegates said that in 1990, Nujoma had been appointed Head of State by the Constituent Assembly, and so there wasn't an election. Because of this, Nujoma's first real presidential mandate dates from December 1994, so he can still serve a second term.
The Caprivi Strip is a long finger of land (450 km) stretching towards the interior of Africa. It's perhaps the most strange stupidity of all the frontiers drawn by the European powers at the end of the 19th century. The Germans wanted it so as to have access to the Zambezi River which they thought was navigable to the Indian Ocean. They thought they could join up with their colonies in East Africa. The other European powers handed over this corridor to Germany, completely ignoring the people who lived here, mainly the Lozi. These now find themselves divided-up between four countries - Angola, Namibia, Botswana and Zambia.
During the South African occupation, the Lozi in Caprivi supported the SWAPO cause; others were against it. These divisions continued after independence. The Caprivi Strip is the most poor area of Namibia and the inhabitants complain that they've been completely neglected. A Caprivi Liberation Movement was founded having links with a similar Lozi movement in Zambia, the Barotse Patriotic Front. Zambia is completely opposed to the separation of Barotseland (which before independence had a special status) from its national territory.
In October 1998, the Namibian authorities said they'd discovered a secessionist training camp in Caprivi. Police action caused 2,000 people to flee to Botswana. On 2 August, 100 rebels from the Caprivi Liberation Army, coming from a "neighbouring country" attacked the regional capital, Katima Mulilo. They were rapidly ousted by the security forces. A state of emergency was decreed but lifted on 26 August. Nevertheless, the situation remains tense. Some people say that Jonas Savimbi, leader of the rebel UNITA movement in neighbouring Angola was behind the whole affair - one way he can counter the political-military alliance between Angola's President Dos Santos, Zimbabwe's President Mugabe and Congo RDC's President Kabila.
END
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