April 1: Nujoma lays the blame at Thatcher’s door

SWAPO President Sam Nujoma yesterday denied that he is to blame for the fighting which broke out between Plan fighters and South African forces in the North on April 1 1989.

Hundreds of members of Swapo’s armed wing were killed. The resulting ‘nine-day war’ also nearly derailed the United Nations peace plan for Namibia.Nujoma’s denial comes in the wake of the discovery of several mass graves in the former war zone.The skeletal remains are believed to be mainly those of former Swapo combatants.’IT WASN’T ME’ The Swapo President pinned the tragedy of April 1 on former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and South African and United Nations officials.Addressing a media briefing in Windhoek, he said he “commanded the demobilisation of Plan fighters inside Namibia” to assemble and contact the United Nations military component [Untag] “so that they [fighters] could be confined to bases”.April 1 was the implementation date of UN Resolution 435, which set out the route for Namibia’s independence.Nujoma accused Thatcher, former South African Foreign Affairs Minister Pik Botha, former UN Secretary General Representative Martti Ahtisaari and South Africa Administrator General Louis Pienaar of orchestrating the April 1 tragedy.He said they were responsible for “the brutal killing of hundreds of Swapo freedom fighters”.Nujoma claimed that Thatcher sneaked into Namibia on March 31 1989 and held a secret meeting with the other three and that they had decided to attack Plan combatants the next day.Reacting to media reports which claimed that he, as commander in chief of Swapo’s military wing, had ordered the former Plan fighters to cross into Namibia from Angola and launch attacks, he claimed that Plan soldiers were already at bases in Namibia when they were attacked.Nujoma’s statement was made less than 24 hours after the Swapo Politburo met in Windhoek and discussed the issue of the mass graves found in Namibia’s former war zone.”Swapo has been well aware that Thatcher’s visit to Namibia, which was shrouded in secrecy, was not just a coincidence but a well-calculated plot to prevent the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 435 and put the blame on Swapo and its President,” Nujoma said yesterday.According to newspaper reports at the time, Thatcher arrived in Namibia on April 1.He charged that South Africa did not want the implementation of Resolution 435 because it feared Swapo’s overwhelming support.According to Nujoma, Plan fighters had guerrilla bases in Namibia from where they regularly attacked SA military bases such as Eenhana, Oshakati, Ruacana, Okatope, Okongo and Okalongo.”Not from Angola, as reported in the media.It should be well understood that in guerrilla warfare tactics, the guerrillas do not have permanent bases so that they can avoid detection by the enemy troops,” the Swapo leader said.He also quoted a part of Resolution 435 stating that “all Plan combatants inside Namibia will be confined to bases, while the South African forces should be confined to bases at Grootfontein or Oshivelo or both”.According to Nujoma the South African forces had defied the order by being outside their bases or in the war zone on April 1 1989.”Yet, as the then Commander-in-Chief of Plan, the President of Swapo commanded the demobilisation of our Plan combatants inside Namibia to assemble and contact the Untag military component so that they could be confined to bases inside Namibia, which they did on April 1 1989,” he said.Nujoma said Swapo had never been aware of the mass graves that were discovered recently.He called on South Africans and Namibians to “reveal more about the killing of innocent Namibians”.Nujoma said Government had built Heroes Acre for fallen heroes and, once all forensic investigations were completed, those in the mass graves would receive dignified burials.Last week, South Africa’s former Defence Minister, Magnus Malan, and former SA Defence Force (SADF) chief Constand Viljoen denied knowledge of the mass graves, although they are mainly near former South African army bases.The Eenhana base was home to the SADF’s 54 Battalion during the war.Viljoen said burying dead guerrillas was a police function.The resulting ‘nine-day war’ also nearly derailed the United Nations peace plan for Namibia.Nujoma’s denial comes in the wake of the discovery of several mass graves in the former war zone.The skeletal remains are believed to be mainly those of former Swapo combatants.’IT WASN’T ME’ The Swapo President pinned the tragedy of April 1 on former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and South African and United Nations officials.Addressing a media briefing in Windhoek, he said he “commanded the demobilisation of Plan fighters inside Namibia” to assemble and contact the United Nations military component [Untag] “so that they [fighters] could be confined to bases”.April 1 was the implementation date of UN Resolution 435, which set out the route for Namibia’s independence.Nujoma accused Thatcher, former South African Foreign Affairs Minister Pik Botha, former UN Secretary General Representative Martti Ahtisaari and South Africa Administrator General Louis Pienaar of orchestrating the April 1 tragedy. He said they were responsible for “the brutal killing of hundreds of Swapo freedom fighters”.Nujoma claimed that Thatcher sneaked into Namibia on March 31 1989 and held a secret meeting with the other three and that they had decided to attack Plan combatants the next day.Reacting to media reports which claimed that he, as commander in chief of Swapo’s military wing, had ordered the former Plan fighters to cross into Namibia from Angola and launch attacks, he claimed that Plan soldiers were already at bases in Namibia when they were attacked.Nujoma’s statement was made less than 24 hours after the Swapo Politburo met in Windhoek and discussed the issue of the mass graves found in Namibia’s former war zone.”Swapo has been well aware that Thatcher’s visit to Namibia, which was shrouded in secrecy, was not just a coincidence but a well-calculated plot to prevent the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 435 and put the blame on Swapo and its President,” Nujoma said yesterday.According to newspaper reports at the time, Thatcher arrived in Namibia on April 1.He charged that South Africa did not want the implementation of Resolution 435 because it feared Swapo’s overwhelming support.According to Nujoma, Plan fighters had guerrilla bases in Namibia from where they regularly attacked SA military bases such as Eenhana, Oshakati, Ruacana, Okatope, Okongo and Okalongo.”Not from Angola, as reported in the media.It should be well understood that in guerrilla warfare tactics, the guerrillas do not have permanent bases so that they can avoid detection by the enemy troops,” the Swapo leader said.He also quoted a part of Resolution 435 stating that “all Plan combatants inside Namibia will be confined to bases, while the South African forces should be confined to bases at Grootfontein or Oshivelo or both”.According to Nujoma the South African forces had defied the order by being outside their bases or in the war zone on April 1 1989.”Yet, as the then Commander-in-Chief of Plan, the President of Swapo commanded the demobilisation of our Plan combatants inside Namibia to assemble and contact the Untag military component so that they could be confined to bases inside Namibia, which they did on April 1 1989,” he said.Nujoma said Swapo had never been aware of the mass graves that were discovered recently.He called on South Africans and Namibians to “reveal more about the killing of innocent Namibians”.Nujoma said Government had built Heroes Acre for fallen heroes and, once all forensic investigations were completed, those in the mass graves would receive dignified burials.Last week, South Africa’s former Defence Minister, Magnus Malan, and former SA Defence Force (SADF) chief Constand Viljoen denied knowledge of the mass graves, although they are mainly near former South African army bases.The Eenhana base was home to the SADF’s 54 Battalion during the war.Viljoen said burying dead guerrillas
was a police function.