South-West Africa People's Organisation
Encyclopedia
The South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) (German
: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO, Afrikaans: Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volk-Organisasie, SWAVO) is a political party
and former liberation movement
in Namibia
. It has been the governing party in Namibia since achieving independence in 1990. The party won 75.1% of popular votes and 55 out of 78 seats in the parliamentary election
held on November 15, 2004.
Though the organization rejected the term "South West Africa
" and insisted on replacing it with "Namibia
", the organization's own name—derived from the territory's old name—was already too deeply rooted to be changed. However, the original full name is no longer used and only the acronym remains; the party's official name is SWAPO Party of Namibia.
gave South-West Africa, formerly a German colony
, to the United Kingdom as a mandate
under the title of South Africa
. When the National Party
won the 1948 election in South Africa and subsequently introduced apartheid legislation, these laws also extended into South-West Africa which was the de facto
fifth province of South Africa.
SWAPO was founded on 19 April 1960 by Andimba Toivo ya Toivo
as the successor of the Ovamboland
People's Congress, an organisation established in 1957 and renamed into Ovamboland People's Organisation in 1959.
The reason for the renaming was that although the organisation had its base among the Ovambo people of northern Namibia it wanted to be representative of all Namibians.
During 1962 SWAPO had emerged as the dominant nationalist organization for the Namibian people, co-opting other groups such as the South West Africa National Union (SWANU), and in 1976 the Namibia African People's Democratic Organisation
. SWAPO used guerrilla tactics to fight the South African military. On 26 August 1966 the first major clash of the conflict took place, when a unit of the South African Police, supported by South African Air Force, exchanged fire with SWAPO forces. This date is generally regarded as the start of what became known in South Africa as the Border War
. In 1972 the United Nations General Assembly
recognised SWAPO as the 'sole legitimate representative' of Namibia's people. The Norwegian
government began giving aid directly to SWAPO in 1974.
Angola
gained its independence on November 11, 1975 following its war for independence. The leftist Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola
(MPLA), supported by Cuba and the Soviet Union
, came to power. The MPLA offered SWAPO bases in Angola to launch attacks against the South African military in March 1976.
abuses against suspected spies during the independence struggle. One of which includes the Breaking the Wall of Silence
(BWS), which was founded by those detainees to press the SWAPO-government on the issue. SWAPO denies serious infractions and claims anything that did happen was in the name of liberation. The stories of the detainees begins with a series of successful South African raids that made the SWAPO leadership believe spies existed in the movement. Hundreds of SWAPO cadres were imprisoned, tortured and interrogated.
In 2005 the P.E.A.C.E. Centre conducted an extensive study on the situation Namibian ex-fighters and their families fifteen years after Independence. The resultant ebook investigates the post-independence situation of those who fought on both sides of the Namibian Liberation War. Data from this research indicate that ex-fighters exhibit symptoms of long-term post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The findings indicate there is a correlation between the life circumstances of ex-fighters and their lack of resilience to traumatic war experiences, with resiliency being linked to a number of protective factors such as the socio-economic situation of the survivors, their socio-political environment, their social support networks and their cognitive processes.
It is argued that in the case of Namibian ex-fighters, long term psychological distress is different from a simple PTSD diagnosis because the survivor have almost invariably gone almost two decades without seeking treatment. Moreover, during this time, the ex-fighters have also been exposed to additional social and psychological stressors which, for a person not suffering from long-term psychological distress would only have a fleeting impact, but for a sufferer of long-term psychological distress, each life incident could reduce the survivor's resilience to trauma as well as triggering "flashbacks".
, elected as Namibia's first President. Nujoma had the constitution changed so he could run for a third term in 1999, but in 2004 he was replaced as the SWAPO presidential candidate by Hifikepunye Pohamba
, who was described as Nujoma's hand-picked successor.
Former Prime Minister Hage Geingob
was elected to succeed Pohamba as Vice-President at the same congress, and Minister of Justice Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana
was elected as Secretary-General, becoming the first woman to hold that position. At the congress, Pohamba was renominated as SWAPO's presidential candidate for the 2009 election. SWAPO is a full member of the Socialist International
. and was a member of the Non-Aligned Movement
before the independence of Namibia.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO, Afrikaans: Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volk-Organisasie, SWAVO) is a political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
and former liberation movement
Liberation movement
A liberation movement is an organization leading a rebellion against a colonial power or national government, often seeking independence based on a nationalist identity and an anti-imperialist outlook.-See also:*Anti-imperialism...
in Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
. It has been the governing party in Namibia since achieving independence in 1990. The party won 75.1% of popular votes and 55 out of 78 seats in the parliamentary election
Namibian parliamentary election, 2004
General elections were held in Namibia on 15 and 16 November 2004 to elect the President and National Assembly. The National Assembly election resulted in a landslide win for SWAPO, which won 55 of the 78 seats with over 75% of the vote. SWAPO's candidate for president, Hifikepunye Pohamba, won the...
held on November 15, 2004.
Though the organization rejected the term "South West Africa
South West Africa
South-West Africa was the name that was used for the modern day Republic of Namibia during the earlier eras when the territory was controlled by the German Empire and later by South Africa....
" and insisted on replacing it with "Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
", the organization's own name—derived from the territory's old name—was already too deeply rooted to be changed. However, the original full name is no longer used and only the acronym remains; the party's official name is SWAPO Party of Namibia.
History
After World War I the League of NationsLeague of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
gave South-West Africa, formerly a German colony
German colonial empire
The German colonial empire was an overseas domain formed in the late 19th century as part of the German Empire. Short-lived colonial efforts by individual German states had occurred in preceding centuries, but Imperial Germany's colonial efforts began in 1884...
, to the United Kingdom as a mandate
League of Nations mandate
A League of Nations mandate was a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I, or the legal instruments that contained the internationally agreed-upon terms for administering the territory on behalf of the League...
under the title of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. When the National Party
National Party (South Africa)
The National Party is a former political party in South Africa. Founded in 1914, it was the governing party of the country from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994. Members of the National Party were sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats. Its policies included apartheid, the establishment of a...
won the 1948 election in South Africa and subsequently introduced apartheid legislation, these laws also extended into South-West Africa which was the de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
fifth province of South Africa.
SWAPO was founded on 19 April 1960 by Andimba Toivo ya Toivo
Andimba Toivo ya Toivo
Herman Andimba Toivo ya Toivo is a Namibian politician who was active in the independence movement. He was a founding member of the Ovamboland People's Congress in 1957, at the beginning of the independence movement....
as the successor of the Ovamboland
Ovamboland
Ovamboland was the name given by English-speaking visitors to the land occupied by the Ovambo people in what is now northern Namibia and southern Angola...
People's Congress, an organisation established in 1957 and renamed into Ovamboland People's Organisation in 1959.
The reason for the renaming was that although the organisation had its base among the Ovambo people of northern Namibia it wanted to be representative of all Namibians.
During 1962 SWAPO had emerged as the dominant nationalist organization for the Namibian people, co-opting other groups such as the South West Africa National Union (SWANU), and in 1976 the Namibia African People's Democratic Organisation
Namibia African People's Democratic Organisation
The Namibia African People's Democratic Organisation was a political party in Namibia, based amongst the Damara people. It was founded in 1970.In 1972 NAPDO joined the National Convention ....
. SWAPO used guerrilla tactics to fight the South African military. On 26 August 1966 the first major clash of the conflict took place, when a unit of the South African Police, supported by South African Air Force, exchanged fire with SWAPO forces. This date is generally regarded as the start of what became known in South Africa as the Border War
South African Border War
The South African Border War, commonly referred to as the Angolan Bush War in South Africa, was a conflict that took place from 1966 to 1989 in South-West Africa and Angola between South Africa and its allied forces on the one side and the Angolan government, South-West Africa People's...
. In 1972 the United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
recognised SWAPO as the 'sole legitimate representative' of Namibia's people. The Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
government began giving aid directly to SWAPO in 1974.
Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
gained its independence on November 11, 1975 following its war for independence. The leftist Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola
Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola
The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola - Labour Party is a political party that has ruled Angola since the country's independence from Portugal in 1975...
(MPLA), supported by Cuba and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, came to power. The MPLA offered SWAPO bases in Angola to launch attacks against the South African military in March 1976.
Controversy within the movement
Various groups have claimed that SWAPO committed serious human rightsHuman rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
abuses against suspected spies during the independence struggle. One of which includes the Breaking the Wall of Silence
Breaking the Wall of Silence
Breaking the Wall of Silence is a non-governmental organization in Windhoek, Namibia. It is named after Siegfried Groth book Namibia – Breaking the Wall of Silence, and was formed at the occasion of the book's release in 1996....
(BWS), which was founded by those detainees to press the SWAPO-government on the issue. SWAPO denies serious infractions and claims anything that did happen was in the name of liberation. The stories of the detainees begins with a series of successful South African raids that made the SWAPO leadership believe spies existed in the movement. Hundreds of SWAPO cadres were imprisoned, tortured and interrogated.
In 2005 the P.E.A.C.E. Centre conducted an extensive study on the situation Namibian ex-fighters and their families fifteen years after Independence. The resultant ebook investigates the post-independence situation of those who fought on both sides of the Namibian Liberation War. Data from this research indicate that ex-fighters exhibit symptoms of long-term post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The findings indicate there is a correlation between the life circumstances of ex-fighters and their lack of resilience to traumatic war experiences, with resiliency being linked to a number of protective factors such as the socio-economic situation of the survivors, their socio-political environment, their social support networks and their cognitive processes.
It is argued that in the case of Namibian ex-fighters, long term psychological distress is different from a simple PTSD diagnosis because the survivor have almost invariably gone almost two decades without seeking treatment. Moreover, during this time, the ex-fighters have also been exposed to additional social and psychological stressors which, for a person not suffering from long-term psychological distress would only have a fleeting impact, but for a sufferer of long-term psychological distress, each life incident could reduce the survivor's resilience to trauma as well as triggering "flashbacks".
Independence
When Namibia gained its independence in 1990 SWAPO became the dominant political party, with its head, Sam NujomaSam Nujoma
Samuel Daniel Shafiishuna Nujoma is a Namibian politician who was the first President of Namibia from 1990 to 2005. He led the South-West Africa People's Organisation in its long struggle against South African rule and took office as President when Namibia obtained independence on 21 March 1990...
, elected as Namibia's first President. Nujoma had the constitution changed so he could run for a third term in 1999, but in 2004 he was replaced as the SWAPO presidential candidate by Hifikepunye Pohamba
Hifikepunye Pohamba
Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba is the second and current President of Namibia. He won the 2004 and 2009 presidential elections overwhelmingly as the candidate of the South West Africa People's Organisation ruling party, taking office in March 2005. He has also been the President of SWAPO since...
, who was described as Nujoma's hand-picked successor.
Former Prime Minister Hage Geingob
Hage Geingob
Hage Geingob is a Namibian politician who was the first Prime Minister of Namibia following its independence, serving from 1990 to 2002...
was elected to succeed Pohamba as Vice-President at the same congress, and Minister of Justice Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana
Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana
Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana is a Namibian politician and the Secretary-General of the South-West Africa People's Organization ....
was elected as Secretary-General, becoming the first woman to hold that position. At the congress, Pohamba was renominated as SWAPO's presidential candidate for the 2009 election. SWAPO is a full member of the Socialist International
Socialist International
The Socialist International is a worldwide organization of democratic socialist, social democratic and labour political parties. It was formed in 1951.- History :...
. and was a member of the Non-Aligned Movement
Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement is a group of states considering themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc. As of 2011, the movement had 120 members and 17 observer countries...
before the independence of Namibia.
See also
- Namibia African People's Democratic OrganisationNamibia African People's Democratic OrganisationThe Namibia African People's Democratic Organisation was a political party in Namibia, based amongst the Damara people. It was founded in 1970.In 1972 NAPDO joined the National Convention ....
- Namibian War of IndependenceNamibian War of IndependenceSee also South African Border War.The Namibian War of Independence, also known as the South African Border War, which lasted from 1966 to 1988, was a guerrilla war, which the nationalist South-West Africa People's Organization and others, fought against the apartheid government in South...
- Popular Movement for the Liberation of AngolaPopular Movement for the Liberation of AngolaThe People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola - Labour Party is a political party that has ruled Angola since the country's independence from Portugal in 1975...
- South African Border WarSouth African Border WarThe South African Border War, commonly referred to as the Angolan Bush War in South Africa, was a conflict that took place from 1966 to 1989 in South-West Africa and Angola between South Africa and its allied forces on the one side and the Angolan government, South-West Africa People's...
- South West Africa National Union
External links
- Website of SWAPO
- Website of the SWAPO Youth League
- "Namibian Voters Deny Total Power to SWAPO," by Michael Johns, The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, November 19, 1989.