EPISCOPAL Cl-IU~gMEN pro

SOUTH ",I, AFRLCA 339 Lafayette Street, New York, N.Y. 10012 PHOl\1E : (212) 477-0066 - For A Free Southem Africa ~ 15 August 1984

SOUTH AFRICA BANS NAMIBIAN NEWSPAPER

The WINDHOEK OBSERVER, the independent English-language weekly in Namibia, has been closed down by the South African regime.

South Africa's Publications Control Board in Cape Town today telegramrrled the OBSERVER that its latest issue and all subsequent issues have been banned under terms of the South Afri- can Publications Act of 1974, which Pretoria applies in Namibia. South Africa illegally occupies the Territory of Namibia in defiance of the lawful authority, the United Nations.

The !bard accused the Windhoek journal of being 'indecent', 'harmful to public morals', and 'prejudicial to the security of the state'.

The la~t >of these charges expresses Pretoria's real hatred and fear of the OBSERVER. The editor, Hannes Smith, has for the six years of the journal's existence, published stories of. official corruption in Namibia, the pillage of its natural resources by non-Namibians am the depradations of the South African Defence Force in the Territory am in neighbor­ ing Angola. Beyond. that , political editor Gwen Lister's articles and commentary about Pre­ toma's local creation, the Multi-Party Conference, reveal the utter banJLusaka, zambia, underscore the MPC' s dePendency on the South Africans and its scant following among the Namibian people as well as Pretoria's obstinacy in maintain­ ing control over the Territory after" years of negotiations for its independence. Lister's journalistic acuity POints up the depth and strength of the resistance of the Namibian peo­ ple to rule by a foreign power or any surrogate thereof. Her greatest sin in Pretoria's eyes surely is her writing about the support the people of Namibia give to SWAPO and. its allies in opposition to Pretoria.

The attack .on the WINDHOEK OBSERVER is -

- an assault on the freedom of the press - an unlawful act by the unlawful occupier of Namibia - one more act of defiance of Namibia's lawful authority, the United Nations" - one more instance of repression of the people of Namibia

WHAT YOU CAN DO"

- Wire/write: Secretary of State George Shultz Washington, DC 20520

Demand that he demand Pretoria cease its occupation of Namibia..

- Demand of your Senators and Representatives that they press Secretary Shultz.

- Urge your local press to report on and condemn the closing down of the WINDHOEK OBSERVER and South African repression in Namibia.