Democracy’s Big Test

THESE are difficult times for Namibia.

The heart and soul of your democracy is being tested by the human rights questions that are being raised. It is troubling to watch the reaction of your president, as well as the thumb-sucking sycophants at Swapo Youth League.And then to read Theo-Ben Gurirab’s attacks on the media for reporting the bad news (from Swapo’s point of view) makes me shake my head in disbelief.My three visits to your country between 2001 and 2007 left me with a sense of slippage in your journey toward a vibrant democracy.I watched and read with dismay your attempts to “take back” farms and turn them over to your black citizens.To follow the path blazed by Zimbabwe’s Mugabe struck me as quite mad.Without proper training in animal husbandry and sustainable crop development, the government is creating a scenario in which subsistence farming becomes the standard.Now your president’s taunts to critics to get out of Namibia – with the government paying the freight to encourage naysayers to leave – simply is sad.Why is killing the messenger the best way to proceed? Why is the government incapable of listening to the messages and the reports? No one ever promised that democracy would be easy.But your journey is taking you down the wrong road to a healthy, open and dynamic future.Embracing freedom as opposed to despotic autocracy means you must put up with critics.You must make room for those who cry out in the wilderness about the wrongness of the government’s journey.Why is it so difficult for Swapo to see and understand this message? Perhaps it would be more useful if Swapo leaders could look inside themselves and the party in a self-critical way.Swapo, it seems to me, has lost sight of the fact that they need to represent all Namibians more fairly.There needs to be much more representation of the Damaras, the Hereros, the Namas, the San and the many other groups that make up Namibian society.If that is not accomplished – and soon – your country will slide farther backwards into the tribalism that all fear so much.Robert S. Mellis Florida, USAIt is troubling to watch the reaction of your president, as well as the thumb-sucking sycophants at Swapo Youth League.And then to read Theo-Ben Gurirab’s attacks on the media for reporting the bad news (from Swapo’s point of view) makes me shake my head in disbelief.My three visits to your country between 2001 and 2007 left me with a sense of slippage in your journey toward a vibrant democracy.I watched and read with dismay your attempts to “take back” farms and turn them over to your black citizens.To follow the path blazed by Zimbabwe’s Mugabe struck me as quite mad.Without proper training in animal husbandry and sustainable crop development, the government is creating a scenario in which subsistence farming becomes the standard.Now your president’s taunts to critics to get out of Namibia – with the government paying the freight to encourage naysayers to leave – simply is sad.Why is killing the messenger the best way to proceed? Why is the government incapable of listening to the messages and the reports? No one ever promised that democracy would be easy.But your journey is taking you down the wrong road to a healthy, open and dynamic future.Embracing freedom as opposed to despotic autocracy means you must put up with critics.You must make room for those who cry out in the wilderness about the wrongness of the government’s journey.Why is it so difficult for Swapo to see and understand this message? Perhaps it would be more useful if Swapo leaders could look inside themselves and the party in a self-critical way.Swapo, it seems to me, has lost sight of the fact that they need to represent all Namibians more fairly.There needs to be much more representation of the Damaras, the Hereros, the Namas, the San and the many other groups that make up Namibian society.If that is not accomplished – and soon – your country will slide farther backwards into the tribalism that all fear so much. Robert S. Mellis Florida, USA