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HAKiiuA CXLEBRATES DIDEPEBDEBCE

George M. Hous~r

The stadium o-r , 's capital, was packed with cheering Namibians and perhaps rour thousand dignitaries and representatives or non­ governmental organizations rrom all over the world, as the South African flag was slowly lowered just after midnight on March 21 and the new Namibian flag majestically raised. It was a moment or triumph and great emotion for the people or Namibia who had endured 106 years or colonial domination, exploitation and struggle, as President said in his inaug~ral address. Tears of joy were streaming ,down ~any cheeks. It was the penultirr.ata moment, '.¥hen Africa's last colony, for so long under Ger~an rule and then the Lea~Je of Nations mandated rule by South Africa, became the newest independent country or Africa.

The flag, in the first moments of independence, lay limp, for although there had been wind and rain earlier in, the last ho'urs of Namibia's colonial status, the night was calm. Only later as a soft breeze blew could one see .t.he unfur:!..ed :'lag ·.vith its vivid blue sur:--ounding a golden sun, t.he dia€onal c-ed 0and, '<:.he stripes Df •t~hit<:, and the gr-een :.ower 8egr:ent:.

The moments leading up to the climactic seconds of independence had their drama as President F.W. de Klerk of South Africa with a rather subdued but sympathetic demeanor announced "the season of violence has passed for Namibia and for the whole of Southern Africa ••• A new mandate for peace has come about. The sun rises over a new Namibia as part of a new Southern Africa."

Javier Perez de Cuellar, Secretary General of the , spoke of the implementation of Security Council Resolution 435 under which elections had been held supervised by the UN, the choosing of the ,, · Constituent Assembly which adopted a Constitution unanimously for a free Namibia. It was the UN Secretary General, not South Africa's President, who administered the- oath of office to Sam Nujoma.

During the proceedings, South Af:•ica' s recently released political prisoner, , arrived on the grand stand to a flurry of excitement. One of Namibia's religious leaders later remarked that, other than Sam Nujoma, who as President of SWAPO had led the struggle for independence, the hero of the independence celebration was Mandela. Perhaps he was here, the representative of the Council of Churches of the Netherlands said, as a dress rehearsal for what might happen in South Africa soon.

The churches played a prominent role in the independence celebration as they had in the struggle for freedom. Under the auspices of the Council of Chu~ches in Namibia. which combines the strength of seven major denominations an ecumenical service of thanksgiving was held the day after independence with thousands in attendance at the stadium. Archbishop Desmond Tutu of the South African Anglican Church, made one of the most moving statements : "Our God is a God of sur~rises", he said, "who would have thought even two years ago that we would be here today. It seemed impossible, as did the breakdown of the Berlin Wall, and the release of Mandela, that Namibia's independence could be realized by this time."

The independence celebration was the culmination of more than a century of struggle and suffering for the people of Namibia - first against German imperialism which ended with Germany's defeat in World War I. Then followed 71 years of South African exploitation under first the mandate system of the old and later during South Africa's defiance of the United Nations by in refUsing to withdraw its illegal occupying army from the territory. For the last 23 years, SWAPO led an armed struggle against South Afr:!.can rule, with untold thousands of lives lost. Finally after a decade of South Afr:!.can :..:: tra.nsigence and in ter.:~a tional ·,;rang ling, UN Resolu~.::.on 435 was implen::en ted, allo;..ring the United Ha ~.::.ons Transition Group (UNTAG) to come and supervise the elections which led to the adoption of Namibia's Constitution in an Assembly in which SWAPO had a clear majority. The Constitution is a model of a democracy, establishing Namibia as a unitary state with a multi-party system, separate executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, freedom of religion, speech and ?ress, with discrimination outlawed and the death penalty :-orG~dden.

:n iis :..naugural aaaress, Sam Nujoma squarely outl.::.ned some of the problems, particularly economic, that lie ahead - two-thirds of the people in poverty and high unemployment. The economy has great potentialebased primarily on mineral resources - a fourth of the gem diamonds of the world, the richest uranium mine in the world, most potential for fishing off the Atlantic coast. But with all this, the economy is tied to South Africa's in the classical colonial manner. Production and resources are sent to South Africa for processing. Investment is dominated by South African and Western multinational companies, equipment and power installations are ,._ predominantly from South Africa and the one seaport at remains in South African hands.

Yet this was a time for enthusiastic celebration, not for bemoaning problems of the future. Highlights included:

- swearing in of the president's cabinet, including two whites and a white Chief Justice, at the jammed stadium on independence day. Most of the new officials were leaders in the liberation struggle, but now were being transformed into government ministers. The swearing in of Dr. Libertine Amathila as Minister of Local Government and Housing, the one woman minister, received a particularly rousing response.

- the introduction of Presidents and Prim Ministers, the largest number to attend any independence celebration, was evidence of' the centrality of Namibia's independence to the future stability and peace of Southern Africa.

- the constant reference to Namibia's independence as a prelude to a transition to a non-racial, unitary state in South Africa. President Mubarak of Egypt, the current Chairman of the Organization of African Unity, put it well when in his address he said "Let us hope to celebrate the post- era in South Africa soon.n

- the announcement by the Secretary General of the UN that Namibia would be the 160th member of the world organization.

- the ecumenical Thanksgiving service of the churches with its dominant role of love and reconciliation; a statement from a representative of German missionary societies expressing penitence for the history of oppression of the people by his country, but emphasizing that this celebration was like the German experience of being released from oppressive ruie in 1945 and from separation in 1989.

The most rousing speech was made by Desmond Tutu ending with the thousands of people spontaneously standing, holding hands and singing "We Shall Overco~e". The service concluded with the assemblage singing the hymn "Nkosi Sikelele iAfrika" (God Bless Africa) adopted as the national anthem by so many southern African countries including Namibia.

The spirit of the whole celebration was caught up in a stanza of a hymn at the ecumenical service: Father in heaven·, who loves t all 0 help ~by children when they call that they ~ay build from age to age an undefiled heritage.

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