The Namibian Liberation Struggle: Direct Norwegian Support to SWAPO
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The Namibian liberation struggle: direct Norwegian support to SWAPO http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.SFF.DOCUMENT.naip100028 Use of the Aluka digital library is subject to Aluka’s Terms and Conditions, available at http://www.aluka.org/page/about/termsConditions.jsp. By using Aluka, you agree that you have read and will abide by the Terms and Conditions. Among other things, the Terms and Conditions provide that the content in the Aluka digital library is only for personal, non-commercial use by authorized users of Aluka in connection with research, scholarship, and education. The content in the Aluka digital library is subject to copyright, with the exception of certain governmental works and very old materials that may be in the public domain under applicable law. Permission must be sought from Aluka and/or the applicable copyright holder in connection with any duplication or distribution of these materials where required by applicable law. Aluka is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to creating and preserving a digital archive of materials about and from the developing world. For more information about Aluka, please see http://www.aluka.org The Namibian liberation struggle: direct Norwegian support to SWAPO Author/Creator Østbye, Eva Helene Publisher Nordiska Afrikainstitutet (Uppsala) Date 2000 Resource type Articles Language English Subject Coverage (spatial) Norway, Southern Africa (region), Namibia Coverage (temporal) 1960-1990 Source Nordiska Afrikainstitutet (Uppsala) Relation Eriksen, Tore Linné, ed., Norway and national liberation in Southern Africa. Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, 2000. 90-133. Rights By kind permission of Nordiska Afrikainstitutet (The Nordic Africa Institute). Description Part of a study on National Liberation in Southern Africa: The Role of the Nordic Countries, hosted at the Nordic Africa Institute Format extent 45 page(s) (length/size) http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.SFF.DOCUMENT.naip100028 http://www.aluka.org Chapter 2 Chapter 2 The Namibian Liberation Struggle: Direct Norwegian Support to SWAPO Eva Helene Ostbye Introduction Namibia's struggle for freedom was long. It began during the German colonisation, which from its start in 1884 had disastrous consequences for the Namibian people. The suppression of the inhabitants and the plundering of the natural resources continued throughout the years of South African occupation that followed from 1915. In 1921 South Africa was entrusted by the League of Nations to administer Namibia as a mandatory area, but violated the trust from the outset. The terms of the mandate stated that the administration should "promote to the utmost the material and moral wellbeing, and the social progress of the inhabitants".1 After the Second World War, Pretoria demanded that Namibia be included in South Africa, but this was opposed by the United Nations. However, as a result of the Nationalist Party's victory in the South African elections in 1948, apartheid was strengthened in the two countries. In 1966, the UN General Assembly brought South Africa's mandate to an end. Instead, at a special session in 1967 the world organisation established a Council for Namibia as the highest authority for the territory. The council should lead the territory to national independence. The implementing and administrative functions were at the same time transferred to a Commissioner. By establishing that South Africa no longer had any legal rights over Namibia, in 1969 the UN Security Council also recognised its responsibility towards the Namibian people. Finally, the verdict by the International Court of Justice in The Hague in June 1971, which declared the South African presence in Namibia as illegal, confirmed that formal responsibility over the territory was in the hands of the world community. As South Africa neither respected the UN decisions, nor the verdict of the international court in The Hague, the Namibian liberation struggle against Pretoria's occupation intensified and received growing international 1 Peter H. Katjavivi: A History of Resistance in Nawnibia. London, 1988, p. 13. attention. However, despite the fact that more than a thousand statements and initiatives to promote national independence were made by different UN bodies up to 1990, getting the international community to extend material support for the struggle proved more difficult. The liberation movements were looked upon with suspicion by the leading Western powers. Their main supporters outside of the Afro-Asian group were the Soviet Union and the other socialist countries. However, in the humanitarian field the Nordic countries were to support the nationalist movement with considerable resources, both at the official and at the non-official level. This chapter will discuss the assistance given to SWAPO by the government of Norway. Presentations of the support given through other Norwegian channels are discussed elsewhere in this study. The direct official support was substantial: from the first allocation in 1974 until independence in 1990 it amounted in total to around NOK 225 million.2 Why was this support given? What was the money used for? What was the character of the cooperation between the Norwegian government and SWAPO? A chronological presentation will serve as the basis for this discussion.3 How it all started Parliamentary decision; principles and priorities The liberation struggle in Namibia was not conducted by the UN or other international organisations, but by the Namibians themselves. In 1959, the South West African National Union, SWANU, was established as a nationalist organisation based on different elements of the anti-colonial resistance. However, due to internal differences SWANU was unable to remain united, and the following year the South West Africa People's Organisation, SWAPO, was formed by members of the Ovamboland's People's Organisation, OPO. SWAPO's main objective was the establishment of a free, democratic government in independent Namibia.4 Both SWANU and SWAPO were recognised in 1963 by the Organisation of African Unity, OAU. However, SWANU lost this recognition in 1965, mainly due to the lack of a military strategy for the liberation struggle. As the only Namibian liberation movement recognised by the OAU, and from 1976 declared by the UN General Assembly as the "sole and authentic representative of the Namibian people",5 SWAPO's leading role in the liberation struggle was unchallenged. Following the UN resolutions and OAU decisions, Norway de facto also 2 A table of the disbursements is found inAppendix i. 3 For the support through the churches, trade unions, the Norwegian Council for Southern Africa and the Namibia Association, see chapters 6-9. 4 KatJavivi, op.cit., p. 45. 5 Ibid., p. 100. recognised SWAPO as the legitimate Namibian liberation movement, and initiated exclusive co-operation with the organisation.6 Until the end of the 1950s, Norwegian contacts with Namibia had mainly been through the whaling and fishing industry. Norwegian whaling companies had for decades been established in Walvis Bay when in 1959 the Namibian student Hans Beukes was given a scholarship to study in Norway. Beukes' passport was, however, confiscated by the South African authorities and the Norwegian Foreign Ministry brought the case to the attention of the UN Fourth Committee and the General Assembly. The "Beukes case" contributed to a growing awareness of the political situation in Namibia and to Norwegian support for Namibia's independence at the UN in the early 1960s. When the Norwegian government in 1964 received a first request for direct aid from SWAPO, it was thus against the background of "the action it took in connection with the case of South West Africa in the United Nations."7 Nevertheless, it would take ten years from the first request until any direct support was given to SWAPO.8 After years of debate in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs9 and the Norwegian Agency for International Development, NORAD, the government proposed in February 1973 to grant direct humanitarian assistance to the liberation movements in Southern Africa. When the Parliament later in the same month endorsed the proposal, it confirmed a practice that was about to become established. Support from the Norwegian Foreign Ministry to the oppressed peoples of the region had been granted since 1964 through the Special Committee for Refugees from Southern Africa. This committee was set up in 1963 by the Norwegian Parliament to administer the distribution of funds granted over the national budget. By 1974, NOK 20 million had thus been channelled to institutions such as the International University Exchange Fund (IUEF), the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the International Refugee Council of Zambia and FRELIMO's Mozambique Institute.10 In addition, Norway had supported UN programmes for Southern Africa, such as the UN Education and Training Programme for South West Africa 6 However, this did not entirely exclude humanitarian support to Namibian refugees outside SWAPO's care. In 1976, the Special Conmnittee for Refugees from Southern Africa allocated an amount of NOK 50,000 earmarked for SWANU (via the UNHCR). Memorandum. Samtale med representanter for South West African National Union (Consultation with representatives for SWANU), 1 Political Affairs Division, 10 November 1976, Archives of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (inthe following referred to as MFA) 77 9/5 XIL 7 Letter from the Vice President of SWAPO, Louis Nelengani, to the Norwegian Ambassador in the UAR, Cairo, 31 March 1964, MFA 77 9 / 5 1. 8 For the official policy up to 1975, see chapter 1. 9 For the sake of convenience, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be referred to as the Foreign Ministry. 10 See chapter 1. (Namibia) which was founded in 1961 and was incorporated into the UN Education and Training Programme for Southern Africa in 1967.11 Giving support directly to the liberation movements required clear guidelines. An absolute prerequisite was that the support be solely humanitarian. For this reason Norwegian official support primarily went to the work SWAPO was carrying out in favour of Namibian refugees in the neighbouring countries.