The mailing says Southern Africa is possibly on the brink of one of the most momentous actions in the region since Rhodesia became Zimbabwe; Cuban troops are now withdrawing from Angola and South Africa troops have already left the southern part of the country; presently, April 1, 1989 is the date set for the beginning of the independence process in Namibia; this should signal the withdrawal of the 100,000 South African troops that have been illegally occupying Namibia for more than 20 years; with the withdrawal of the apartheid army, United Nations Security Council Resolution 435, detailing the internationally approved independence plan for Namibia, can begin to be implemented; while we must...
The mailing says Southern Africa is possibly on the brink of one of the most momentous actions in the region since Rhodesia became Zimbabwe; Cuban troops are now withdrawing from Angola and South Africa troops have already left the southern part of the country; presently, April 1, 1989 is the date set for the beginning of the independence process in Namibia; this should signal the withdrawal of the 100,000 South African troops that have been illegally occupying Namibia for more than 20 years; with the withdrawal of the apartheid army, United Nations Security Council Resolution 435, detailing the internationally approved independence plan for Namibia, can begin to be implemented; while we must view the Angolan Peace Accords positively, we must not relent in our struggle to end U.S. support for apartheid dominance in southern Africa. The mailing says the apartheid government is notorious for signing treaties and breaking them; we must be vigilant; with the apartheid regime on its borders a great challenge for a majority-ruled Namibia exists; apartheid is destroying lives inside South Africa and has little interest in relinquishing its economic dominance in the region; we cannot be lulled into a sense of apathetic inaction that sometimes accompanies important victories; the movement towards independence in Namibia is at a crucial point; please read the enclosed Action Alert and respond. The mailing says it is important to organize specific activities to focus the anti-apartheid movement's energy on the struggle for independence i n Namibia; any nation emerging from 100 years of colonial occupation has much to overcome. In many ways, the most crucial struggle for Namibia's survival will begin after elections are held in November, 1989; over the next year, possibly hundreds of thousands of Namibians will be returning home and will need housing, jobs, food and clothing; families, apart for years, will be reunited; the educational system, primed to teach inferior "bantu" education, will need trained teachers, new equipment, supplies and books; health care, largely unavailable in rural areas will need to be made available to all who need it; wounds left over from military occupation, corruption, and collaboration will have to be healed. The mailing says now is the time for action. The mailing says Fund-raising campaigns that will generate necessary monies for material aid have to be launched; teams of activist observers from the U.S. that will monitor the elections need to make plans to travel to Namibia; support for SWAPO as it continues to struggle on behalf of all of the people of Namibia must be increased; letters to Congress supporting immediate and long term development assistance for the people of Namibia and other actions are needed now! The mailing discusses SWAPO (South West African People's Organization).
