African Activist Archive

Letter from the Africa Resource Center (ARC) delivered by hand to members of the Oakland City Council asks the Council not to remove Namibia from the South Africa Divestment Ordinance at this time. The election in Namibia has occurred, but ARC urges delay in removing Namibia for several reasons. Namibia has not yet gained its independence from South Africa. The recent elections were to elect representatives to the Constitutional Assembly, the body that is now drafting the new Constitution, which is supposed to be adopted in April 1990. In the meantime, the basic structure of apartheid still exists, and ratification of the Constitution, coupled with South Africa's acceptance of it, will be crucial to insuring independence. The current South Africa Divestment Ordinance stipulates that "with regard to sections addressing Namibia, the duration should be until Namibia becomes self-governing as defined by United Nations resolution 385 (1976)." Sections 10, and 11 a, b and c have not yet been fully implemented. Also, South Africa has merely changed the name of its feared Koevoet Namibian security forces to SWAPOL (South West African Police) and now calls them Namibian civilian police. Considering South Africa's historical intransigence with respect to past timetables and agreements, one cannot take achieving true independence for granted. For these reasons, SWAPO (the South West African People's Organization) cautions against changing the Ordinance at this delicate juncture. At a minimum, ARC urges a 2-4 month monitoring of the transition after independence. The letter references a publication by the Catholic Institute for International Relation (CIIR).

African Activist Archive

[Dear Council Member: It has come to our attention that you intend to modify the South Africa Divestment Ordinance to delete reference to Namibia at this evening's Council Meeting.]

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