Namibia ~ s 1 Revolution 1 \ l ) ~ PUBLISHED BY : THE PERMANENT SECRETARIAT OF THE AFRO·ASIAN PEOPLES' SOLIDARITY ORGANIZATION 17 i:r. 1975 NAMIBIA REVOLUTION P ubli shed by : The Permanent Secretariat of THE AFRO-ASIAN PEOPLES' SOLIDARITY ORGANIZATION 89, Abdel Aziz Al Saoud St ., Maniai CAmO - U.A.R. Aeamifda · .9lettetluticm • AFRO-ASIAN I•UBLICATIONS (38) March 1971 CONTENTS Page Statement by the representative of SWAPO on the occasion of the Fourth Anniversary of the launching. of armed struggle in Namibia 7 Address of Mr. Youssef El Sebai, Secretary­ General of the A.A.P.S.O ., on the Day of Solidarity with the People of Namibia marking the anniver- sary of the beginning of the armed struggle . 15 SWAPO'S letter to the United Nations Secretary- .r General U THANT . 19 Security Council reference to World Court: a step backward . .• 29 The South African Government continues to underrate the terrorism and oppression it has let loose in Namibia 0 •• 0 • • •• •• • 0 • •••••• 0 ••••• • 35 The historical background - a long record of struggle . 37 South Africa's intentions 43 STATEMENT BY THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SOUTH­ WEST AFRICA PEOPL~'S ORGANIZATION (SWAPO) ON THE OCCASION OF THE FOURTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LAU~HING OF ARMED STRUGGLE IN NAMIBIA (26 August 1970, Cairo, U.A.R.) Mr:., Chairman, Allow me to express my sincere gratitude to ali of you for accepting our invitation to joln us in the marking of this very important day in the history of the Namibian people's struggle for their national independance and freedom, in the struggle against South Africa's occupation of our Ncitional Territory. My profound appreciation goes to the Secretary-Ge­ neral of the Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organization (AAPSO) and to the U.A.R. Government officiais for assist­ ing us to organise this meeting in the A.S.U. People's Hall. 1 would also like to express my sincere gratitude to the members of Diplomatie Missions and the Liberation Move­ ments represented here who have come to join us, and thus express their solidarity with our oppressed people. First of ali Mr. Chairman, 1 would like to thank H.E. the President of the United Arab Republic Gamal Abdel Nasser, the Government, the Party and the entire population of the ' United Arab Republic for the moral support and material as­ sistance the Government of the United Arab Republic has rendered to our organization in arder to enable us to carry out the struggle more effectively. lt was President Nasser's determination and wise leadership that led his people to complete political freedom and economie independance. Brothers and Sisters, Today we are gathered here, to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the launching of the armed struggle in Namibia, waged by the South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) . On this day, four years ag o, SWAPO opened a n ew chapter in the history of our struggle against South Africa's illegal occupation of our national ter· ri tory. lt was on this day that SWAPO changed' the tactics of peaceful transition into a violent revolution against the mi· nority white domination and fascist dictatorship in our count­ ·ry, after ali peaceful approaches and demands had fai led . On that historie day, the whole foundation of the op­ pressive reg ime the fascist and racist rulers of South Africa have been maintaining for decades was shaken because on that day it came across a determined, well-trained and politi­ cally organised African liberatory force which could face the white man militarily. On this day four years ago, the first bullets were fired by the Patriotic Forces of the Namibian People under the direction of the South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) , at «àngulumbahe>>, in north-west of our country. On that day, the South African Forces lost 15 of thèir men who were killed on the spot. The oppressed peo!)le of Namibia have accepted the move of our guerrillas and supported them whole-heartedly. ·since the outbreak of the war of liberation, there has been several fightings in Okavango, Caprivi, Strip, Ovemboland, Kaokofeld and Grootfontein regions. OP 18th May 1967, unfortu.nately, Tobias Hainyeko the first Commander-in-Chief of the Na­ mibia Liberation Armed Forces, the military wing of the SWAPO, died in Zambesi Valley while engaged in action . wi th the enemy forces. He fought heroically before he feil, putting four of the -South African soldiers out of action, including_ Captain Grobbler who was comrnanding a South African army unit then operating in that area. Comrade Hainyeko refused to surrender, instead he accepted the cha llen ge and faced the Boer unit single handed. With the heroic death of comrade Haienyeko, who was once the No. 1 feared by Vorster and his clique, the racist rulers in Pretoria blindly believed that the guerrilla warfare in Namibia had been destroyed. But on the contrary, that vvas just wishful thinking by Vorster and his fellow murde ~ ers. The oppressed people of our country and the patriotic li­ beration forces were determined to carry out the struggle ta its final victory. On 28th October 1968 the SWAPO guerrilla forces lau nched a well-coordinated assault on the enemy mi litary base at Mpacha near Katima Mulilo, the administrative centre of the Cap rivi reg ion . in the same month, two South African milita ry trucks were completely destroyed in an ambush. This ti me General Keevy the then Commissioner of the South Afri­ can Pol ice Force adrnitted publicly that there was a fight bet­ ween the Po lice and SWAPO freedom fighters and that sorne police men we re killed d~ring the fighting but did not dis­ close the figure for security reasons. He immediately handed in his resignation because he could not control the situation. The operations by SWAPO patriotic liberation forces in the area, led to the massacre of aged men, women and children by the neo-Nazi South African police who were sent to the 9 .. area for the so-called mopping up operations. As a result, more than 2000 people fied to Zambia as refugees, and about 117 were arrested and flown to Pretoria to join other Namibians there who were arrested previously, and ' im· prisoned without trial since the beginning of the armed struggle. ln January this year, heavy fighting took place between the people's liberation forces and the South African enemy troops in the Okavango area. This time the Deputy Minister of Police Mr. Muller admitted that six of the South African police were killed in action by SWAPO guerrillas while on patrol duties. ln August 26 last year tierce fighting took place at Shingalabwe in the Caprivi Strip. Three of the enemy soldiers were killed and several others wounded in the battle; fol· lowing this two South African military planes violated Zam­ bia's air space the next day. They bombed Zambian villages, accusing Zambia for being responsible. for the attack on their police border patrol convoy. The violation of Zambian air space was a direct provocation qy the South African soldiers against the Zambian Government. Mr. Chairman and Friends, The struggle in Namibia is linked with the enti fe struggle in Southern Africa. Today the , South African troops are fighting in Zimbabwe, Angola and Mozambique against the revolutionary forces and freedom­ loving peoples of these countries. Our struggl~ needs united · action against the common enemy. The presence of South African soldiers in Angola, Zimbabwe and Mozambique is enough evidence that the enemies of our people are one and united. They are united against the progressive forces in Southern Africa. The South African Government supported 10 their puppet Leabuwa Jonathan durihg the èlection cam­ paign in Lesotho. After he lost the elections, they even helped him to stage a coup d'etat so that they could maintain him in power in order to keep Lesotho as another BANTUS­ TAN as they did in Ovamboland in Namibia and in . sorne parts of South Africa itself. The fascist government of Vorster has turned our country into a police state, a state of terrer and intimidation. Vorster and his war mongers violate the fundamental Human , Rights and basic freedpm of the Nambian People. Today more than 500 Namibians, are detained in South African jails without trial including the Vice-President of the SWAPO. Since the beginning of the war of liberation, more than !hirty of our freedom fighters are servin"g lite imprisonment in Rob­ bin Island in South Africa. These people are detained ille­ gally in South Africa. They are not South Africans, they are Na mibians. We demand their immediate return to their home country. Mr. Chairman, We feel honoured that our solidarity day is being commemorated at this time, when our brothers, ·leaders of independent African countries are meeting in Ad dis Ababa to discuss African problems. The colonial problem in Africa is one of the burning issues facing our continent. But in the Organization of African Unity there are countries such as MALAWI which is an agent of the South African fascists and ali imperialists at large. We see no need to go into the records of Kamuzu Banda's work against the unity of Africa as such, his actions have already demon­ strated that the presence of MALAWI in the O.A.U. is a threat to the security of Africa. Africa is facing the danQer of an imperialist invasion. 11 Already the British Government is considering to resume the sale of arms to South Africa. The French Government is sup· plying South Africa with war planes. Most of the helicopters which are used by the South African police and soldiers against our people are French made.