Land Dispute Flares·In ,East Caprivi
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* INSIDE: NERVOUS 'CIVIL SERVANTS SIT TIGHT * RECOGNITION negotiations be workers' patience to the full, MUN tween the Mineworkers' Union of said . Namibia (MUN) and Tsumeb Cor~ Nonetheless, the union had ad porationLimited (TCL) were dead vised its members to see the whole TeL procedure through before taking locked yesterday with the company Deadlock as digs refusing to include matters which action. form the cornerstone of the entire " Irrespeaive of an agreement agreement. being reached onrecognitionornot, MUN is now to apply for a Con in over worker rights MUN is determined to hand in ciliation Board to resolve the dis workers' demands for negotiations pute "through bestowing recogni on substantive issues to the com tion and the relevant rights to the reconciliation". ion's readiness to' compromise" on what basis does it have to negotiate pany, for talks to start around the union". Although major companies in the major issues "the company's nego with the company? After all wages, beginning of May this year, " union Negotiations between the com country had indicated their readiness . tiating team has remained inflexible hours of work and health and safety leaders said. pany and the union for union recog to cooperate with the new govern and unreasonable". measures are the issues on which MUNhas the overwhelming ma nitionhave been going on since July ment, they still continued with their Among other things the company unions and companies have prob jority of signed-up members among last' year. Throughout the negotia old practices, probably waiting to was not prepared to give the union lems to agree on," one labour watcher TCL employees at all four opera tions, TCL had adopted a "grossly see what the new law goveming labour the right to negotiate conditions of commented. tions' of the company at Tsumeb, unreasonable position and attitude" , will look like. employment, including wages, fringe TCL also does not want to include Kombat and Otjihase mines. the union said yesterday. So far, some major companies have benefits, hours of work and over the right of the union to have access Of the three major mining com The attitude displayed by the not even showed their willingness to time, training, health and safety, MUN to its members on its premises in the panies -TCL, Rossing and Consoli company, union executive mem relax their labour practices. said. agreement. dated Diamonds Mines (CDM) - in bers said in a statement, "is not in MUN said yesterday that during Labour analysts yesterday pointed The negotiations which have Namibia, TCL is the only company accordance with the present era of seven rounds of talks over the last out that it was essential the union be dragged on "for very long without which has refused to enter into an independence, freedom and national three months, and " despite the un- granted these rights. If not, "then producing any results" was testing agreement recognising the union. LAND DISPUTE A TOTAL of 1 700 Untag members will leave Namibia before the end of the month, UN chief spokesperson FredEckhard said. This figure included 1 544 military and police monitors and 156 administrative personnel. Various senior Untag officers, including Special Representative Martti Ahtisaari. leave today. Eckhard himself flies out this morning. Eckhard said 217 Untag FLARES·IN members left on Monday, while another 458 were due to leave yesterday. Most Untag personnel will have left Namibia by April 9 . The UN assistance group's last military and police will leave by April 20, .while the last ,EAST CAPRIVI administrative staff will fly out by May 13. NAMIBIAN President Sam Nujoma has been urged to "seriously" intervene in a land dispute between two tribes in the east Caprivi in order "to bring about peace in the area". Nampa repOlted yesterday that Chief region," Chief Mamili said. "We, the Mafwe, do not regard Boniface Mamili of the Mafwe tribe "It is due to this thirst of land this as an immigration border. How- had written to President Nujoma to acquisition that Bukalo, an area which ever, the other Chief of the Masubia step in and help resolve the dispute. normally belonged to Chief Mamili, should know where his area begins The Mafwe and Masubia tribes is now the headquarters of the Mas- and ends," he said. have been at loggerheads since at ubia Khuta," the Mafwe chief said. "It has been the desire of my least 1969 over land and chieftain- This had happened in 1969 through counterpart and his people to extend ship issues. the request of the Masubia to a for- their territorial authority beyond their In his letter, ChiefMamili accused mer magistrate in the Caprivi, Hans limits. We do not accept the exten- Chief Muraliswane of the Masubia Mayer, "notwithstanding the non- sion of his authority into Qur area," of extending their territorial author- acceptance of the Mafwe people", Chief Mamili stated. ity beyond their limits, something he the letter said. Chief Mamili said He continued that he and his people and his people could not accept. problems between the two groups agreed withtheprovisions embodied He called on the Namibian Presi- had not been removed. in the new constitution, "which dent "to seriously intervene in this "It is with great concern, there- guarantees every Namibian the right matter in order to bring about peace fore that we request Your Excellency to live in any part of the country". in the area". Chief Mamili said to help resolve the existing problems "But," the chief emphasized, "this demands over land had brought the since they have been outstanding for cannot be interpreted to mean that a two groups to loggerheads. too long," he underlined. group of people can just decide to He added thathe and his people did In addition, Chief Mamili said there build a village or plough anywhere not have a quarrel with Masubia Chief were many problems in the Caprivi they like without authorisation." Muraliswane and his people. region which needed the urgent at- The Presidential office could not "It is his advisers who from time tention of the new government, "but be reached last night for comment on to time demanded the recognition of the border issue is more demand- President Nujoma's response to Chief a senior chieftainship all over the ing". Mamili' s plea. Diergaardt's demands 'a waste of time' NAMIBIAN President Sam Nujoma has urged Rehoboth leader Hans Diergaardt and his followers to bonour the country's constitution and vacate administration offices they are occupying at the town. President Nujoma warned that his refusal to vacate the administration premises was "totally unconstitutional". Dlegaardt should stop being "a public nuisance", President Nujoma said. Instead, he should abide by the court order Instructing him to comply with the constitution of Namibia. The President that there was a demand for national reconciliation and unity and that to treat Rehoboth as an autonomous entity was both unacceptable and a waste of time. It served no Interest, he underlined. Dlergaardt and his previous Kaptelnsraad re-occupied their offices despite the disbanding of all etbnlc authorities by FLASHBACK. Barely a year ago Untag troops started arriving fo rmer Administrator-General Louis Plenaar.He defiantly said he planned at least an autonomous government for in Rehoboth and last week shared a platform with white right-wing extremists, the AWB , In South Africa. Namibia to oversee the Independence process. With the departure Although he Is claiming to speak on behalf of most Basters, Dlergaardt's Federal Convention of Namibia lost badly In today of UN Special Representative Martti Ahtisaari and military the Rehoboth voting district In last November's UN.supervlsed elections. They were pipped by the DTA which chief Lieutenant-General Prem Chand, the UN force are preparing campaigned for a unitary Namibian state. , for the final phase of their withdrawal. 2 Wednesday March 28 1990 THE NAMIBIAN °ACP MEETS TO YOUR DAILY GUIDE TO EVENTS WORLD-WIDE ASSESS EC·AID as investment in Eastern Europe increases SUVA': The world's poorest mltions, fearing the European Community is now looking eastward, will MOSCOW - Lithuania's president appealed to the West for help assess their future in a changing economic wor~d when they meet EC ministers later this week. The two against Moscow after Soviet paratroopers seized the rebel republic's days of talks beginning in Fiji today will be therrrst chance for the African, Caribbean and Pacific Communist Party headquarters and dragged army deserters from a (ACP) group of developing countries and the EC to review cooperation since they signed the fourth hospital refuge. In PARIS, Soviet Defence Minister Dimitry Yazov Lome convention last December. ' denied that Soviet troops had carried out armed action in Lithuania and said the crisis there would be solved by peaceful means. "Businessmen and private entre ern European states would not be ~ two sides will discuss ~ impact preneurs are being encouraged to go diverted from existing Lome aid of the EC's drive towards a single EAST BERLIN - East Germany said it had discovered what appeared into Eastern Europe," ACP secre progranunes, they remain wary of a internal market oil. trade advantages tary-general Ghebray Bernane ac more general decline in Community granted to ACP states under the Lome to be a second secret mass grave of victims of Stalin's security police, knowledged to Reuters in an inter involvement and investment in the pact. just north of Berlin. view. developing world. The Community, anxious to pro But he said opportunities created "No one ever believed the con tect its own producers, says it made JER USALEM - Israel's Labour Party, stymied in efforts to form anew by moves towards market economics vention alone could help countries big sacrifices under Lome IV in fa government, said fresh elections might be needed before peace talks in Eastern Europe should not benefit out of trouble.