Dateline:Nalflibia1986ISSUE NO. 1

Editorial

In 1984, the Bishop of the EvangelicalLutheran Church in Namibia, KleopasDumeni, said that "the re-election ofRonald Reagan is the re-election of oursuffering :'

These were harsh words, indeed, fromthe head of Namibia's largest church, butit was not always so . In 1978, Dumeni,along with so many of Namibia's Chris-tians, welcomed the involvement of theUnited States in negotiations to bringabout the independence of their countryfrom South African apartheid rule . Theyhad grown weary of the "pass laws" anddetentions, disillusioned and bitter aboutthe brutality of the police and the squalideducation being offered their childrenbecause they were black. Namibiansrejoiced in 1978 because the leader ofthe free world, the United States, wastaking an interest in their plight.

But for Bishop Dumeni and his peopleit has been a terrible journey from thehope of the past to the despair of today.After six years of the Reagan adminis-tration's "constructive engagement" poli-cy of friendly persuasion toward SouthAfrica, Namibia is worse off than everbefore . The brutality of the South Afri-can army and police has increased ten-fold, shrouded in Pretoria's ban on travelin the northern third of the country. LastJune, South Africa appointed an unpop-ular and undemocratic interim govern-ment in the territory, and there is no hopefor genuine independence.

Bishop Dumeni has seen his peoplekilled by South African soldiers in Nami-bia. He has held the hands of the dying,comforted their widows and orphans . He,along with hundreds of thousands ofChristians in the north, has faced deathsquarely each day. He still awaits the daywhen the colonial army will leave, andhis people can choose their own leadersand affect their own destinies . And heprays for our help.

For even at a time when most Ameri-cans understand that South Africa's whitegovernment is anti-democratic and re-pressive, the U.S. government , is actingas if South Africa's colonial occupation

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Dr. Abisai Shejavali inspects arson damage.

Arson Destroys Church Offices in NamibiaThe main offices of the Council of

Churches in Namibia were destroyed byfire on the morning of January 23 . Fireofficials reported that the blaze had beendeliberately started.

In an official statement issued thatafternoon, Dr. Abisai Shejavali, GeneralSecretary of the council, said the act was"nothing else than sabotage"

"As it is the task of the church ofChrist to pray for her enemies," said Dr.Shejavali, "so we as Christians continueto pray for those who did this act ofarson ."

The council, which represents all themajor church bodies in Namibia, haslong been an active opponent of SouthAfrica's continued occupation of the ter-ritory (formerly known as South WestAfrica) . According to Dr. Shejavali,police and fire officials said that the firehad been started with gasoline and kero-sene in four places around the councilbuilding.

Dr. Shejavali reported that neighborsheard a loud noise at about 3 A.M ., sawthe flash of the fire, and noticed unknownpersons leaving the scene in a can .

The fire severely damaged the coun-cil's development, finance, nonfoxmaleducation, and reception offices . Accord-ing to council staff, the smell of petrolwas still evident later that morning infiles in the reception room at the front ofthe building.

The fire department arrived at thescene soon after the blaze was discovered,and was able to get the fire under controlbefore the entire building was consumed.Police sealed off the area and did notpermit church officials to enter the prem-ises until 11 A .M.

When asked about the fire, Dr. Shejavalisaid, "You know we are living in a diffi-cult situation, and when you are speak-ing the truth of the Gospel, you meetmany problems :'

The council's statement pledged that"the Council of Churches in Namibiaand its staff will continue to strive fortrue freedom and independence of thiscountry, and by no means be tempted orbe discouraged by such a wanton deed"

Inside Namibia

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For Namibians, A Year of Suffering

South Africa's decision last year todeclare populous northern Namibia offlimits to church officials, human rightsmonitors and journalists (see "The Im-prisoned Nation ;" Dateline : Namibia #1,1985) has succeeded in obscuring abusesof Namibian civilians by South Africa'sarmy and police force . But the picturethat emerges from eyewitness and churchreports of South African behavior in theiroccupied colony is one of systematic bru-tality and violence against Namibians bythe white authorities.

And although a full accounting ofSouth African atrocities in Namibia maynever be given, the fragmentary reportsreaching the West confirm that 1985 wasa year of suffering and oppression for theNamibian people.

It was a year of sorrow for the familyof Mrs. Vilhelmina Shalimba Waka-londwa, who was burned alive last Aprilby South African soldiers at her home inOnambashu village in northern Namibia.According to eyewitnesses, the elderlyMrs. Wakalondwa, who is blind andinfirm, was unable to flee her tiny homebefore South Africa's troops searchingfor SWAPO guerrillas set it ablaze.

A few weeks later, on May 11, a36-year-old mother of nine, Mrs . MariaKambangula, was assaulted by bothblack and white South African troops inher village at Onankali . Mrs . Kamba-ngula, a member of the EvangelicalLutheran Church, suffered a brokenshoulder and other injuries during theordeal.

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of Namibia and its support for terrorismin neighboring countries is perfectlyjustifiable—and even worthy of support.The Reagan administration, instead ofchampioning the rightful aspirations ofthe Namibian people, has worked close-ly with South Africa in thwarting them.Now, with the decision to provide armsand money to South Africa's Angolanally, Jonas Savimbi, America has chosento participate directly in South Africa'sbloody regional war—a war which hasas its goal the protection of racism in itsmost pervasive and violent form.

By crying "communist" wheneveranyone challenges its racist policies,South Africa has always found friends inthe United States . And it seems clear

A different sort of horror was visitedon the children of Oshikuku SecondarySchool, a Catholic mission school near aSouth African army base . On the firstday of the new term, April 9, the badlydecomposed bodies of between four andeight Namibian men killed by SouthAfrica's dreaded paramilitary force,Koevoet ("Crowbar") were discoveredin a ditch near the school . The bodieswere found only after the stench of de-composition reached the school grounds.Koevoet commander Brigadier HansDreyer later admitted his troops wereresponsible for the deaths, describingthe victims as "terrorists" — Pretoria'sterm for Namibians who have taken uparms to resist South Africa's illegal occu-pation of their country. Dozens of peoplevisited the gravesite in a vain effort toidentify the remains, in hopes of finallylocating missing loved ones . Becausethe South African army has virtuallyunlimited powers in Namibia, the storiesof Namibians found dead at South Afri-can hands are common.

One of the cases documented by thechurch occurred on July 5, in the villageof Etale in the northern war zone . On thatday, South African soldiers approachedthe home of Mrs . Olivia Katatu, a motherof several young children, including athree-month-old infant . The heavilycamouflaged troops trained their weap-ons on Mrs. Katatu, who was grindingcorn in the yard of her home, and openedfire—striking her in the head and killingher instantly.

that the US . administration agrees withSouth Africa's claim that "communism"is the cause of regional suffering andbloodshed.

But communists do not occupy Nami-bia and brutalize its people . It is SouthAfrica—and only South Africa—whichis responsible for these crimes. AndAmerica does nothing.

Some years ago at a Washington meet-ing with the State Department a respectedleader of the Lutheran church told ourpolicymakers that what North Americanscherish most—the right to choose ourown government—we often deny to oth-ers in the name of "the free world :'

Bishop Dumeni and the Namibian peo-ple are the living—and dying—proofthat this is terribly true .

Less fortunate was Mr. Franz Uapota,a 48-year-old father of five who wasslowly kicked and beaten to death bywhite South African soldiers on Novem-ber 30 near his home in Eembo. Noreason for the deadly assault has beenoffered by the authorities.

Adding to the terror of daily life inNamibia is the widespread use of deten-tion without trial by the South Africanauthorities . Under such repressive lawsas AG 9 of the South African legal code,the colonial government is empoweredto seize anyone for any reason and holdthem in secret prisons for unlimited peri-ods of time without recourse to thecourts, attorneys or even medical care.Hundreds of Namibians are detained eachyear under such laws, to be held for days,weeks, or even months at the whim ofthe army or police, and subject to thevery real risk of torture.

Mr. Nahas Ndevahoma, a member ofthe Evangelical Lutheran Church ofNamibia and principal of Osheka JuniorSecondary School at Kongo in Ovambo-land, experienced both the capriciousnessand the brutality of South African rulewhen he was arrested at his home on July29 .

Mr. Ndevahoma's troubles with theauthorities began on July 10, after a ship-ment of food for the school failed toarrive and a second order arrived incom-plete. Because the school is located inthat part of the country declared a "secu-rity zone" by the South African govern-ment, Ndevahoma had arranged for theoccupation army to deliver the supplies,and it was to the local army commanderthat Mr. Ndevahoma went to register acomplaint about the apparent theft . Butthe incident was never investigated . In-stead, Ndevahoma was accused of aidingSWAPO guerrillas, and, following hisarrest, was sadistically tortured.

"I was continuously beaten, threesacks were tied around my neck cover-ing my head, water was poured over me,some forced into my nostrils and somethrough my mouth ;" he said . "While thiswas being done I was kicked in thestomach"

But in a country entering its eighthdecade under South African governance,Nahas Ndevahoma's experience is a com-mon one . Each year countless blackNamibians are beaten, tortured, jailedand even killed by Pretoria's army andpolice. Indeed, in the face of universalresistance from the people, South Africahas come to rely on the systematic use ofviolence and fear to enforce its illegalwrit.

The burden of oppression has fallenwith particular harshness on the churches,

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whose voice has been raised time andagain against the evils and excesses ofSouth African rule. Among the recentvictims of this war on the churches isReverend Junius Kaapanda, a senior pas-tor of the Evangelical Lutheran Churchin Namibia . Reverend Kaapanda wasdetained on October 22 and held for fiveweeks under South African security laws.He was not charged with any violation ofthe law, but seems to have been targetedfor arrest because of his reputation ofdefending his parishioners against actsof violence by the South African authori-ties . Kaapanda had been detained twicebefore—once in 1975 and again in1981—for similar "offenses"

A month earlier, in September, theson of the late Lutheran Bishop LeonardAuala, Mr. Penda Auala, was held for 12days . According to Mr. Auala, soldiersfrom Koevoet broke down the door of hishome on September 4 and beat him,"first with fists, then with clubs" andfinally with lengths of metal pipe.

"I could also hear some of my chil-dren screaming," Auala recalled, asKoevoet thugs assaulted two of his daugh-ters, 20-year-old Elina and 17-year-oldThelma. Mr. Auala reported that he wastaken to South Africa's Oshakati head-quarters and "dumped in a cell ." Like somany other Namibians, he was nevercharged with a crime or brought to court.

Nor are women exempt from arbitraryarrest . Two prominent Lutheran church-women, Mrs . Esther Hango, a nurse,and 44-year-old mother of seven, andMrs. Helena Muleka, 38-year-old pri-mary school teacher and mother of three,were seized in their homes on November15 and held by South African securitypolice without charge until the end of themonth. Both women were employed atOnayena, site of one of Namibia's largestand most active Lutheran congregations,with some 11,000 members.

By the end of November 1985, thenumber of Namibians known to be heldin detention totaled 69, with an addi-tional 15 people jailed under other secu-rity laws, this in a country of just 1 .5million. If the number of people detainedor arrested under South African politicallaws and then released are included, thetotal is far higher.

It was the sufferings of his people thatprompted ELOK Bishop Kleopas Dumenito speak out last August at the LutheranWorld Federation Executive meeting inGeneva, Switzerland . "In Namibia,"Bishop Dumeni told delgates, "suffer-ings, detentions, brutal torture . and thewanton violation of human rights is stillthe order of the day." So desperate had

A Namibian mother and child.

the security situation become in the north-ern war zone, said Dumeni, that theLutheran Medical Mission's child immu-nization program was no longer able tooperate, and the church was no longerable to perform its evangelical role . "Weare no longer free to conduct church-related meetings at any time and any-where"

Festus Abel ; Johannes Akambaye,municipal employee; Mr. Amakali,teacher ; Nathaniel Amkugo, mechanic;Helmut Angula ; Nestor Ashoongo ; Mar-tin Akuenda, builder; Thomas Akuenda,mechanical engineer ; Immanuel Andreas;Petrus Haimbondi ; Oscar Haludilu, ac-countant; Fillemon Hamukoto ; FrankHamunime, contractor ; Immanuel Ha-mutenya, teacher ; Franz Hango, teacher;Frans Ihuhwa, interpreter ; JohannesIipito; Agapitus Iiyambo, teacher ; EricIkukutu ; Amutenya Iipenge ; StephanusIshilelo; Agapitus Iiyambo ; JosephJabala ; Johannes Jeremia ; Eliakim Jo-hannes, teacher; Kleopas Johannes,teacher; David Jonas ; Rev. JuniasKaapanda ; Jona Kambudu, postal worker;Johannes Kandima, businessman ; ToivoKankono ; Lamek Kavila ; ReinholdKwathiindge ; Absolom Linus, teacher;Henok Malakia ; Festus Mvula, govern-ment clerk; Gerhard Nafuka, miner;Modestus Nambwandja; Wilbard Nehale;Ndeuka Nakatana, bank employee ; Ben-jamin Namke ; Reinhard Namke ; Andreas

Dumeni reported that the South Afri-can law requiring police permits for travelin the north had only exacerbated a seri-ous situation . "The church and her co-workers are suffering as a result of thislegislation by being refused permissionto visit their fellow countrymen in anothertribal area . He termed the new law"regressive and restrictive," and said itwas "once again an attempt on the partof the authorities to isolate the blackpeople of those areas from the outsideworld ."

"As a result of the war of liberationand the suffering that goes along with it ;"Dumeni continued, "mainly at the handsof the South African Defense Force,"many people have fled their homes andare "scattered in villages, towns andlocalities all over the country," wherethey face unemployment, hunger and adesperate shortage of health care andhousing.

"Worst of all ;" Dumeni concluded, "isthat the South African government stilldoes not appear to be at all prepared togrant Namibia its independence . In thesituation of war, tensions, hatred andmistrust, the church is well aware of thechallenge . . . to play a role of reconcilia-tion, difficult though it is . We still remainhopeful and together with our fellowChristians all over the world we are yetin a position to confess the biblical truththat Jesus Christ is our peace ."

Namweya, evangelist ; Lusia Nanghama;Johannes Nangolo, builder ; Lukas Nau-yoma; Kondjeni Neghede; AbsalomOnesmus; Markus Paulus; VeinelaPaulus ; Jakob Penduki ; Paulus Raphael,filling station attendent ; Andreas Sha-pumba; Teofelus Shidjuu; Henok Shifeta;Ferdenand Shifidi, principal ; DamianShikongo; Iyambo Shikongo, teacher;Timiteus Shikongo, church elder, shopowner and farmer; Oskar Shikoyeni, bankemployee; Heikki Shililifa, teacher;Paulus Shilongo; John Shiluwa, miner;Petrus Shipahu ; Reinhold Shipo ; PaulusShipweya, teacher ; Elikan Shoombe;Johannes Uutoni, farmer; Marius Valo-mbola, teacher ; Ndume Wejulu ; TobiasAndimba; Naftali Andimba ; MatheusGabriel ; Andreas Gideon ; Mvula Ka-mbembe ; Listo Katengo; Petrus Nango-mbe, teacher ; Alfeus Nnipamdulua;Frans Angula, laborer ; Nobert Ankone,laborer ; Desiderius Ankome, teacher;Kashululu Viliho, teacher; BernadinusShikongo, school principal ; ElikanShoombe; Erastus Uutoni.

Persons Held in Detention in Namibia as of November 1985

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Interview,.. „

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INTERVIEW WITHMRS . HILJA SHIVUTE

Mrs. Hilja Shivute is an important part of the EvangelicalLutheran Church in Namibia's expanding ministry in educa-tion and early childhood development . Her husband, Thomas,is a Lutheran pastor and head of Christian education at theELOC Education Centre at Ongwadiva in the northern warzone . The Shivutes have four daughters.

Mrs . Hilja Shivute with Bishop Kleopas Dumeni at the LWF convention inBudapest, Hungary.

Q: Can you tell me a little about your work in Namibia?

A: Well, by occupation I am a teacher, but nowadays I amworking as the Secretary for Sunday Schools and Kindergar-tens in the Evangelical Lutheran Ovambokavango Church . Iarrange courses and meetings for Sunday school teachers.Sometimes I go around visiting the congregations to listen tothe problems of the teachers, to speak about materials, or toattend their meetings . We also have a big meeting, or feast,every year for teachers and children . We invite eight or tenpeople from every congregation, and in every congregationthere may be five or six Sunday schools.

Q: So a congregation is almost like a large parish with manypreaching points. What are the ages of the children?

A: We have children from three to fourteen years of age . Atfifteen they go to confirmation school.

Q: Where do you get the materials for all these Sundayschools?

A : I have been trained in Finland and many of them I have gotfrom Finland and adapted for our work here.

Q : Do you know how many children are in the Sunday schoolsall over the north? How many children go to Sunday school?

A : We now have more and more children in our Sundayschools . From last year up to this year attendance has grownby over five thousand.

Q: Let's talk about Sunday school in a typical place innorthern Namibia . When will the children come, how manychildren will be in each class, how does the class begin?

A: In some congregations the children have Sunday schoolduring the service . They go in the church first and, before thepreaching begins, the children go to other places with theirteachers . At the end they come back and we close together.

But in many congregations the children go to their Sundayschools in the afternoon—in different places not far fromtheir homes and grouped according to age . It is why we havemany Sunday schools . We are trying to use this systemwhereby we are trying to teach children in different agegroups. But because of lack of teachers you can sometimesfind one teacher who has fifty children to teach.

By dividing them according to their ages, we can useteaching methods that are good for each age . For example, ifwe think of the three and four-year-olds, we cannot keep themfor too long a time, and we use many different materials tohelp them understand . In an older group, we can ask them todraw or to tell about, or to give their ideas, as to how they feel.Those who are ten or more can say what they feel or ask whatthey do not understand.

Q: Do they memorize Bible verses at all?

A: Yes, they do . We are trying every Sunday to let them learn ashort sentence from the text we have.

Q: Do the parents go to Sunday school?

A: Yes, and I think it helps a lot, because nearly every time wehave family church—where youth, parents and small chil-dren are coming together. It is a little bit different than inEurope . I don't know in your country, but when I have been inFinland, I have seen that children are not at all in church . Butfor us every Sunday we have family church . The children getused to going to Sunday school and they understand it is theirchurch also.

Q: Now you live at Ongwadiva, which is not far from 0shakati.It's the major South African military base in the north isn't it?

A : Well, one of them.

Q: What is it like for the children in the north? What is theirlife like?

A: Some of them are frightened . They are not so free, not freeto play outside . We have to warn them all the time not to touchan unknown thing they come across outside or near the house.As you know, the military is so very heavy here, we can findbombs almost anywhere. Our teaching is that the childrenshould not touch any unknown thing outside on the ground orin the bush.

Q: Are there any stories about children being hurt by bombs?

A: Yes, many. At Ongwadiva, I cannot remember whether itwas 1981 or 1982, there was a bomb near the school, and thechildren were playing with it, handing it to each other. Onechild hit it against a tree and died on the spot and another wasbrought to the hospital and died after some days.

Such stories are many in our country, and at every schoolthe children have heard about such kinds of stories . It isnot easy to let them go far from their home alone . Anotherthing is that the children are growing up in fear, and they arenot free to speak the truth . They have to be careful to whomthey are speaking.

Q: How do you explain that to a child who wants to befriendly? What do you say to a five-year-old?

A: It is not easy.

Q: So part of family education is for everyone to tell thechildren to be careful?

A: Yes' Even on the radio you can hear it.

Q: On the government radio?

A: Yes, but it is very difficult, because the radio tells people to4

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Children in Namibia . Through kindergarten and other programs, NamibianLutherans and their friends overseas are trying to meet the children'sneeds.

help the army, to report if you see a bomb or something . It tellshow much money you get if you bring in the bomb or tell themwhere you saw it . The children hear this and want to getmoney. It can place children in such a situation that they willtry to pick it up to bring it to the army, not knowing howdangerous it is . And this is going against what the parents areteaching children at home.

Q: What about the life of children in general? You have beenthrough a bad drought . Tell us about the children in Namibia,what is happening to them?

June 16 is World Day of Prayer and Fast against unjust rulein South Africa and Namibia . Your church should be involvedin this global Christian witness . The May AIM packet containsa bulletin insert with suggestions for advocacy on this impor-tant day.

Work for Namibia's FutureFor many years, South African and Western corporations

have profited from the mining and sale of Namibian naturalresources . But the beneficiaries of these activities have beenNamibia's colonial occupiers, not the Namibian people . UnlessNamibia's natural resources are protected, the wealth thatNamibians will need to build schools, hospitals and houseswill be gone, and the country will remain impoverishedand dependent.

Colorado Representative Patricia Schroeder recently intro-duced legislation that would prevent U S . companies fromparticipating in the theft of Namibia's precious inheritance.That bill, the Namibia Natural Resources Protection Act(HR2589), would make it illegal for U S . companies to mineor market Namibian minerals until after independence . Pas-sage of this bill would send a strong message of support toblack Namibians, and put pressure on South Africa to imple-ment the UN plan for free elections .

A: Well, this past year I can say it was a little bit betterbecause we had rain, though not the same amount in everyplace. There are some families in which both mother andfather are employed . They can buy enough food for theirchildren and feed them well . But they are a small group.Some parents have difficulty with their large families to keepthe children well, to get enough food, to pay for their schooling,or to take care of their health.

Q: What are your main needs in the work that you are doingwith the children in Namibia?

A: Nowadays we really have a need for modern kindergartens.As you know, the kindergartens are started and run by thechurch, but they ought to be the responsibility of the state . Inour area, Ovamboland, the Department of Education saysthey have no money for taking care of kindergartens . Thechurch has seen the need but there is no money. We are tryingto do it but we have no materials.

As you know, in kindergarten we have to teach the childrenby using and playing with many materials. We need some-body who is willing to help us in building even one modelkindergarten, because, when we are training our teachers it isdifficult to show them how it can be done . We can try todescribe the methods, to show them the materials we have inthe office, but to show how to do it in practice is not easy.Right now classes are being held under trees—and of materi-als there is nothing.

Q: When you are teaching, are there any special things thatapply in the 1Vamibian war situation?

A: Yes . As we see that the children need somebody who lovesthem, we speak much about love, about Jesus who loves us.For example, now we have children who haven't got theirfathers at all . Maybe he has been killed, or perhaps he hasfled. Many of these children are living in fear, and some of thechildren have never seen their father. When we are speakingthat we are one in Jesus and there is Jesus who loves us all, Ithink we have to speak very much about love, and about Godwho is our Father.

This bill needs the support of all persons concernedabout justice for Namibia . Members of your congregationmay wish to contact their representatives in both houses ofCongress to support and co-sponsor the Namibia NaturalResources Act . Time is of the essence, since the bill maycome before Congress as early as this summer. Actions alreadytaken by the Lutheran Church in America concerning SouthAfrica and Namibia, are in strong accord with the intent of theSchroeder bill (HR 2589) . Arrange for a time (perhaps afterSunday services) in which members of your congregation canfamiliarize themselves with the issues ; provide writing mater-ials so that those who wish can write their representativesand urge support for this crucial law

United States Senate:The Honorable

United States SenateWashington, DC 20510

House of Representatives:The Honorable

House ofRepresentativesWashington, DC 20515

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PRAYAND ADVOCATE FOR JUSTICE IN NAMIBIA

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WHY NAMIBIACHURCHES

WANT SANCTIONS

For many years, Christians in NorthAmerica have debated the wisdom andmorality of using financial pressures,including governmental trade embargosand the withdrawal of private corpora-tions, as one way to help end racialinjustice in South Africa and Namibia.On October 15, 1985, Omukwetu, thebiweekly newspaper of the EvangelicalLutheran Church in SWA/Namibia(ELOC), Namibia's largest church de-nomination, added its voice to thisdialogue with two articles on sanctions.The articles were translated from theoriginal Ovambo by the Namibia Com-munications Center in London, andappear below

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Why the Church Favours SanctionsBy Sebulon Ekandjo

The dispute over Namibia has nowgone on for almost twenty years . Thosetwenty years, added to the 82 years ofcolonialism, make it over one hundredyears during which many lives of inno-cent citizens have been lost, and muchof the wealth of the land plundered.

This situation is still continuing andhas evoked concern from the Evangeli-cal Lutheran Church and the LutheranWorld Federation . The church is thusforced to declare its position [in favor of]sanctions against the South African gov-ernment . And in this, as with previousmatters, the church is a spokesman forthe people in this country.

The church does not take its positionwith a blind eye, without anticipatingany new suffering which may accom-pany the implementation of sanctions.New suffering may befall both the whitesand blacks . But the church is convincedthat those sufferings are the only alterna-tive to avoid the shedding of blood . Suchsuffering has a voice that will be heededand could force the South African gov-ernment to bring about the necessarychanges.

The voice emanating from the muzzleof the gun is not favoured by the church,but the peaceful negotiations that wereundertaken in the past were ineffective.Now, only one avenue remains open—toisolate South Africa by all means.

It is clear that the church is not ad-vocating the isolation of South Africaout of hatred, nor out of hatred for themany blacks who have suffered for toolong in their country, and who will besuffering more . The church is doingit in good faith, so that all those whohave a say in the affairs of this country,through negotiations will give the wholenation the right to choose its desired andtrue leaders.

Bishop Dumeni Pleads for theRescue of the Dying NamibiansBy Sebulon Ekandjo

During his visit last fall to Finland,Bishop Kleopas Dumeni told newsmenthat the most important thing at themoment is to take serious measures inorder to bring about a peaceful solutionand independence to Namibia . Nami-bians should be saved from dying.

The Bishop visited Finland as a guestof the Finnish Missionary Society, afterattending a meeting of the LutheranWorld Federation at the end of August .

Bishop Dumeni, who said that injuryto the nation is an injury to the church,also pointed out that the new govern-ment, appointed on June 17 this year, hasfailed to bring about any improvements.

"The situation keeps deteriorating.Detentions are continuing, violationsof human rights are ongoing and thewealth of the people is being stolen;'said Bishop Dumeni about the situationin the country.

Bishop Dumeni again blamed the fiveWestern countries (U S . A . , Great Brit-ain, Germany, France, and Canada)for having sidestepped the Namibianissue, and for serving the interests oftheir own countries first . He called onthe world to take emergency steps byending all their links with the SouthAfrican government in order to bringNamibian independence closer. He saidthis in spite of assertions from Westernnations that the people to suffer mostunder sanctions will be the blacks.

"The question today is no longerwho will suffer and who will lose ;' theBishop said, "blacks are already suffer-ing .They are unemployed, live in danger,perish in prisons and are dying daily'

"The question to be asked ;' BishopDumeni went on, "is what should bedone, as a matter of urgency, in order todo away with the suffering . It is possiblethat blacks may really suffer, but they areprepared to take that blow which willlead to their independence"

Pointing to the situation of the churchamidst the war, Bishop Dumeni said thatthe church can no longer hold meetingsfreely due to the introduction of passes,which have to be obtained from thepolice in order to acquire the privilegeto travel . The work of evangelism, whichthe church has been doing in various dis-tricts, has come to a halt because of thedangers involved in traveling .

The Bishop said, however, that theword and love of God is growing de-spite the continuous shedding of blood.In the midst of these sufferings, faith inGod is being confirmed continuously,and Christians have learned to put theirtrust in Him .

Current Situation in Namibia

South Africa Suspected in Church School BombingBishop Kleopas Dumeni of the Evan-

gelical Lutheran Church in Namibia(ELOC) said he suspects that South Afri-cansoldiers were responsible for a bombblast at Oshigambo Lutheran High Schoolin northern Namibia on the night of Sat-urday, January 18.

None of the 213 pupils, ten teachers orother staff were hurt in the explosion,but extensive damage was caused to theschool's electrical system. In a detailedstatement to the police, Bishop Dumenisaid he "totally rejected" a press state-ment made by the South West AfricaTerritorial Force that "SWAPO terrorists"had carried out the sabotage attack.Instead, he stated, "I suspect membersof the South African Defense Force atthe Oshigambo army base to be respon-sible for this bomb explosion at theschool:'

The explosion happened at 10 :15 PM.

in the room housing the school's genera-tors. The engineer responsible for thegenerators said he saw two unidentifiedpeople in the vicinity of the engine roomsoon after 10 p M . The engineer tried toturn off the generators for the night, butwas stopped by a loud blast as he ap-proached. The resulting fire was soonout of control and damaged the roofand walls of the generator room, dieseldrums, engine oil drums and the wiring

Harare DeclarationIn a development of potentially far-

reachingsignificance for southern Africajustice advocacy in the United Statesand Canada, a gathering of Christianleaders from around the world has calledfor the independence ofNamibia and theend of South African apartheid "as amatter of urgency."

Meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe, lastDecember, representatives from theLutheran World Federation, the All-Africa Conference of Churches, theWorld Council of Churches and the WorldAlliance of Reformed Churches heardsouthern African Christians, includingNamibian Lutheran Bishop KleopasDumeni and South Africds Nobel laure-ate, Bishop Desmond Tutu > appeal forincreased Western pressure on the whiteminority government of South Africa.Among the resolutions passed in Hararewas a call for the imposition of mandato-ry, comprehensive economic sanctions

system together with the generators . Theloss is estimated to be $12,000–$15,000.

Bishop Dumeni said there were some"puzzling questions" concerning eventssurrounding the explosion. The previousweek, a white South African soldier hadentered the school premises at night andasked maintenance workers when thegenerators were turned on and off, butthey were unable to tell him . On Friday,January 17, the engineer himself wasconfronted by soldiers from the Oshi-gambo army base who asked him thesame question . He told them the sched-ule and reported the matter to the schoolprincipal . The following day, the princi-pal went to inspect the engine room andfound weapons and other evidence thattroops had been there the previous night.

Following the explosion, BishopDumeni made further enquiries aboutthe presence of government troops at theschool . A South African officer from theOshigambo base, 2nd Lieutenant M.Mouton, admitted that his soldiers hadbeen on school premises on the night ofthe 17th and left the arms, explainingthey had been informed of a plan tosabotage the generator. But the officerdenied that troops had returned to theschool on Saturday night—the night ofthe explosion.

against Pretoria and the declaration ofJune 16, 1986, as a day of prayer andadvocacy for the suffering peoples ofSouth Africa and Namibia . In the UnitedStates, a national, interdenominationalcommittee which includes the LCA, ALCand AELC, has been formed to coordi-nateimplementation of recommendationsthat came out of the Zimbabwe meeting.

The Harare Declaration is reprintedbelow

We leaders of churches from WesternEurope, North America, Australia, SouthAfrica and other parts of Africa, alongwith representatives of WCC (the WorldCouncil of Churches), WARC (the WorldAlliance of Reformed Churches), LWF(Lutheran World Federation) and AACC(the All Africa Conference of Churches)met here in Harare, Zimbabwe, fromthe 4th to the 6th of December,1985, onthe invitation of the World Council ofChurches.

We have come together to seek God'sguidance at this time of profound crisisin South Africa, and have committed

ourselves to a continuing theologicalreflection on the will of God for thechurch . We affirm that the moment oftruth (kairos) is now, both for SouthAfrica and the world community. Wehave heard the cries of anguish of thepeople of South Africa trapped in theoppressive structures of apartheid . In thismoment of immense potentiality, weagree that the apartheid structure isagainst God's will and is morally inde-fensible . The government has no credi-bility. We call for an end to the stateof emergency, the release of NelsonMandela and all political prisoners, thelifting of the ban on all banned move-ments, and the return of exiles . The trans-ferring of power to the majority of thepeople, based on universal suffrage isthe only lasting solution to the presentcrisis.

We understand and fully support thosein South Africa who are calling for theresignation of the government . We regardthis as the most appropriate and leastcostly process of change and as a contri-bution towards such a change . As weawait a new democratic and representa-tive government in South Africa, then:

1. We call on the church inside and out-sideSouth Africa to continue praying forthe people of South Africa and to observeJune 16th—the tenth anniversary of theSoweto uprising — as a world day ofprayer and fasting to er~d unjust rule inSouth Africa.

2. We call on the international commu-nity toprevent the extension, rolling over,or renewal of bank loans to the SouthAfrican government, banks, corporationsand para-state institutions.

3. We call on the international commu-nity to apply immediate and comprehen-sive sanctions on South Africa.

4. We call on the church inside and out-side South Africa to support South Afri-can movements working for the libera-tion of their country.

5. We welcome and support the recentdevelopments within the trade unionmovement for a united front againstapartheid.

6. We demand the immediate implemen-tation of the United Nations Resolution435 on Namibia.

We, gathered here, commit ourselvesto the implementation of the HarareDeclaration as a matter of urgency. Weare confident that the liberation of SouthAfrica will be liberation for all the peo-ple in the country, black and white.

Harare, 6th December 1985 .

Lutheran church in Katutura's black township in Windhoek.

Churches, International Community Reject"Interim Government"

Efforts by Western governments, theCouncil of Churches in Namibia andthe Namibian independence movementSWAPO to negotiate a peaceful end toSouth Africa's illegal administration ofNamibia suffered a major setback lastJune when Pretoria inaugurated an "in-terim government" in the disputed UnitedNations Trust Territory. The South Afri-can move, which amounts to a funda-mental and perhaps final rejection of theinternational blueprint for Namibianindependence, Security Council Resolu-tion 435, was denounced by SWAPO,the Namibian churches and the UnitedStates, which declared the unilateralaction "null and void"

Like a similar failed maneuver in 1978,the interim government is made up ofethnic political parties and white politi-cians loyal to Pretoria, grouped togetherin a formation called the Multi-Party Con-ference.

Nominally self-governing, the MPChas been given only very limited powersby the colonial authorities . In line withSouth Africa's divide-and-rule apartheidprinciples, each of the tribal parties inthe MPC has been delegated responsibil-ity for ethnic schools, housing, and healthprograms. But in practice such servicesare simply unavailable, with local gov-

ernment budgets going instead to patron-age for South African political supportersand large salaries for MPC officials . Fur-ther, the MPC's constituent parties wereappointed by South Africa, not electedby Namibians, and Pretoria's colonialmagistrate, the Administrator General,may overturn any decision of the interimgovernment not to his liking.

Defense and other national affairsremain firmly in South African hands,and the MPC has been barred fromrepealing the racist laws that protect theprivileges and power of Namibia's 70,000whites—who enjoy a standard of livingfar higher than that of their black fellowcitizens.

For all of these reasons, the Councilof Churches in Namibia, representing amajority of Namibians, responded to thepending establishment of the interim gov-ernment by noting, "The MPC has nodemocratic mandate nor support fromthe Namibian people, hence they cannotspeak on behalf of the majority of thepeople in our country?' The MPC, thecouncil predicted, "will only prolongsuffering and bloodshed amongst ourpeople . . . and delay the political settle-ment and independence of our country."

Fulfillment of the council's grim proph-ecy came on June 17, 1985, the day of the

inauguration of the MPC government,when South African army and policeunits attacked a peaceful demonstrationagainst the MPC in the black townshipof Katutura, outside the Namibian capi-tal, Windhoek.

According to an American eyewitness,Gary Nelson, "The crowd was peaceful.It was more of a celebration than a con-frontation" But as 1,500 people assem-bled for a march from the rally site to thetownship, South African troops in ar-mored cars surrounded the crowd and,without provocation or warning, attackedwith teargas and clubs.

"I saw the Koevoet (a feared counter-insurgency unit of the South Africanarmy) getting out of the trucks and throw-ing their batons at cars and beating thepeople;" Nelson said . "A young womanwas lying on'the ground, covering herhead with four Koevoet beating her?'

Far from being a government of rec-onciliation and national harmony, theMulti-Party Conference has served onlyto heighten divisions between Namibiansand tighten South Africa's oppressive gripon the country. Gary Nelson seemed tocapture the truth of the interim govern-ment on the day of its birth : "I have seenthe program of the celebration in thewhite part of town;' he noted. "It seemsthat at the time the beatings were takingplace, the official celebration was releas-ing white doves of peace ."

Dateline : Namibia is published by the Division for Mission in North America,Lutheran Church in America . Editors : John A. Evenson, Anne Leo Ellis andMichael Fleshman . Mailing Address: 231 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016.

©1986 DMNAILCA

Printed in U.S .A.

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