Ex-Detainee’s Request For Justice

THERE is a great deal of conflicting interest in the latest ICC – Ya Nangoloh – Nujoma saga, which in itself is a misnomer.

It is not a Nujoma – Phil personal vendetta or fight but indeed a national issue. This wave is but just one of the many to have rocked the Swapo boat so often in the past and will continue relentlessly to batter that edifice into the future.My interest is not the ICC dimension but with way we as Namibians have dealt with the question of Swapo human rights violations.There are questions Swapo is refusing to attend to.These questions are painful to the afflicted and embarrassing to the ruling party.But these questions beg for answers.It is interesting to note that Swapo ex-detainees or the Break the Wall of Silence (BWS) are not really in the middle of this brawl, as it were.And that is good.But we as ex-detainees have got a problem.We are in a sense still part of the missing.We are still not contented after 17 years.We feel somewhat tolerated but not accepted.This label still remains a thorn and brings unease.Allow me to mention some unresolved issues and current status of our group and the relatives of the missing: We demanded an apology for having been tortured, humiliated and kept in dungeons while being innocent.Swapo has been ever silent and refuses to recognise our position or to address the issue so find closure and move on.The above implies that we are not specifically pardoned from the perceived crime or treachery.Therefore, we cannot get certain jobs and all other national benefits as long as we wear the ex-detainee jacket.As for those ex-detainees who got jobs, they are resorting to distorting their CV’s – cutting out the many years they spent in the dungeons.Once they get jobs, they shut up about their experiences and trauma.Spouses of missing persons cannot proceed to institute divorce proceedings while the status of the missing spouse is unknown.Insurance and financial institutions do not necessarily pay out without a death certificate.And the missing persons have not been officially declared dead.And is it right to change a will that has been credited to what is now a missing person? The ex-detainees who served as Plan fighters are not clearly defined in the newly established Ministry of Veteran Affairs.We were even uncertain to join the ex-Plan fighters in their recent demonstrations in Windhoek for fear they might not want to be associated with “spies”.Relationships among former comrades who fought from the same trenches and even family members are damaged.The bug of suspicion, guilt, and blame on all sides has bitten deep.It is complex and painful.Human beings find closure and accept death upon burying a beloved one.It is perhaps practically difficult (though not impossible in some cases) to return remains of those who died in exile.Then we might accept a symbolic funeral and an edifice proclaiming the “unknown detainee” or as Swapo might like to put it: “For those who died in the cross-fire”.The heroes celebration in the north just did that and commendably so.However, that memorial service, the recently published Black Book with names of heroes who died in the liberation struggle and the earlier book, ‘Their Blood Waters our Freedom’ have glaringly ignored the names of notable heroes who have disappeared in Swapo security hands.Ex-detainees also do not qualify for the Medals they decorate “heroes” with! Most painful is the memory of our beloved brothers and sisters we left behind in the dungeons.We suffer from trauma and haunting nightmares that make us feel guilty for not having done enough to secure their return to home.We as Namibians have betrayed these fine fighters and the sad part is there is no trace of them.They have disappeared in thin air.Since our return on July 4, 1989 we challenged Swapo and the churches and indeed society to address and bring this ugly chapter to a close.We tabled numerous motions in the parliament to no avail.We spoke to international human rights bodies including the United Nations (UNTAG) who in shameless bias eroded our pleas.We tried to engage the churches under CCN, International Red Cross (ICRC), etc.to no avail.We appealed on following the example of the South African model of Truth and Reconciliation and indeed the ANC’s handling of their own detainee drama.More recently Kala Gertze of (the now disintegrating) COD tabled the motion in parliament seeking closure.It was a compromising motion seeking healing, not revenge; acceptance on both sides and not denial.The motion was utterly and grossly rejected by the Swapo parliamentarians.After this shocking behaviour of Swapo, Gertze told reporters that the only road now was to take the case to an international audience.What else could he say? Were the tears of the mothers of missing children and the ex-detainees who expectantly packed the National Assembly galleries to be dried by a simple vote rejecting the motion? It is indeed regrettable that the issue is now blurred by the names of two persons, i.e.ya Nangoloh and Nujoma.More lamentable is the subsequent nature of the debate, especially the outcries from the Swapo groups.The threats and the attack on the person of Phil ya Nangoloh are alarming and make those of us with experience of the Swapo security brutality shiver with apprehension.The threats to withdraw national reconciliation and the battle cries to take up bazookas are a sure sign of the immaturity and flimsiness of this nation.It is equally regrettable that the person of Sam Nujoma must be summoned to an International Court perceived to be only for butchers of their nations.We all, in one way or another, have respect and admiration for this father figure who stood for his entire life for the cause of independence.We know that most of this detainee saga was out of his hands and the blame should squarely be place on the Swapo security apparatus.Unfortunately, Mr Nujoma was the head of that organisation.I personally would not like to see him in the dock but at his house or farm here in Namibia so we can amicably discuss the issue.The man I want to see in court is General Salomon Jesus Hawala.He is the man with answers to most of our questions.He was the architect of the spy drama that almost destroyed the struggle for independence.He knows where the missing persons – or their remains – are.The bottom line is that no amount of threats and demonstrations will stop the questions and the bitterness.The ex-detainees have never threatened but only requested audience for 17 years.We will not even accept the one-way ticket out of Namibia as proposed by the State President.We fought equally for this country and are proud Namibians.And so, since there is no forum for this issue in Namibia, the ICC route might bring a new dimension to our quest for justice! H Pieters Ex-detainee, WindhoekThis wave is but just one of the many to have rocked the Swapo boat so often in the past and will continue relentlessly to batter that edifice into the future.My interest is not the ICC dimension but with way we as Namibians have dealt with the question of Swapo human rights violations.There are questions Swapo is refusing to attend to.These questions are painful to the afflicted and embarrassing to the ruling party.But these questions beg for answers.It is interesting to note that Swapo ex-detainees or the Break the Wall of Silence (BWS) are not really in the middle of this brawl, as it were.And that is good.But we as ex-detainees have got a problem.We are in a sense still part of the missing.We are still not contented after 17 years.We feel somewhat tolerated but not accepted.This label still remains a thorn and brings unease.Allow me to mention some unresolved issues and current status of our group and the relatives of the missing: We demanded an apology for having been tortured, humiliated and kept in dungeons while being innocent.Swapo has been ever silent and refuses to recognise our position or to address the issue so find closure and move on.The above implies that we are not specifically pardoned from the perceived crime or treachery.Therefore, we cannot get certain jobs and all other national benefits as long as we wear the ex-detainee jacket.As for those ex-detainees who got jobs, they are resorting to distorting their CV’s – cutting out the many years they spent in the dungeons.Once they get jobs, they shut up about their experiences and trauma.Spouses of missing persons cannot proceed to institute divorce proceedings while the status of the missing spouse is unknown.Insurance and financial institutions do not necessarily pay out without a death certificate.And the missing persons have not been officially declared dead.And is it right to change a will that has been credited to what is now a missing person? The ex-detainees who served as Plan fighters are not clearly defined in the newly established Ministry of Veteran Affairs.We were even uncertain to join the ex-Plan fighters in their recent demonstrations in Windhoek for fear they might not want to be associated with “spies”.Relationships among former comrades who fought from the same trenches and even family members are damaged.The bug of suspicion, guilt, and blame on all sides has bitten deep.It is complex and painful.Human beings find closure and accept death upon burying a beloved one.It is perhaps practically difficult (though not impossible in some cases) to return remains of those who died in exile.Then we might accept a symbolic funeral and an edifice proclaiming the “unknown detainee” or as Swapo might like to put it: “For those who died in the cross-fire”.The heroes celebration in the north just did that and commendably so.However, that memorial service, the recently published Black Book with names of heroes who died in the liberation struggle and the earlier book, ‘Their Blood Waters our Freedom’ have glaringly ignored the names of notable heroes who have disappeared in Swapo security hands.Ex-detainees also do not qualify for the Medals they decorate “heroes” with! Most painful is the memory of our beloved brothers and sisters we left behind in the dungeons.We suffer from trauma and haunting nightmares that make us feel guilty for not having done enough to secure their return to home.We as Namibians have betrayed these fine fighters and the sad part is there is no trace of them.They have disappeared in thin air.Since our return on July 4, 1989 we challenged Swapo and the churches and indeed society to address and bring this ugly chapter to a close.We tabled numerous motions in the parliament to no avail.We spoke to international human rights bodies including the United Nations (UNTAG) who in shameless bias eroded our pleas.We tried to engage the churches under CCN, International Red Cross (ICRC), etc.to no avail.We appealed on following the example of the South African model of Truth and Reconciliation and indeed the ANC’s handling of their own detainee drama.More recently Kala Gertze of (the now disintegrating) COD tabled the motion in parliament seeking closure.It was a compromising motion seeking healing, not revenge; acceptance on both sides and not denial.The motion was utterly and grossly rejected by the Swapo parliamentarians.After this shocking behaviour of Swapo, Gertze told reporters that the only road now was to take the case to an international audience.What else could he say? Were the tears of the mothers of missing children and the ex-detainees who expectantly packed the National Assembly galleries to be dried by a simple vote rejecting the motion? It is indeed regrettable that the issue is now blurred by the names of two persons, i.e.ya Nangoloh and Nujoma.More lamentable is the subsequent nature of the debate, especially the outcries from the Swapo groups.The threats and the attack on the person of Phil ya Nangoloh are alarming and make those of us with experience of the Swapo security brutality shiver with apprehension.The threats to withdraw national reconciliation and the battle cries to take up bazookas are a sure sign of the immaturity and flimsiness of this nation.It is equally regrettable that the person of Sam Nujoma must be summoned to an International Court perceived to be only for butchers of their nations.We all, in one way or another, have respect and admiration for this father figure who stood for his entire life for the cause of independence.We know that most of this detainee saga was out of his hands and the blame should squarely be place on the Swapo security apparatus.Unfortunately, Mr Nujoma was the head of that organisation.I personally would not like to see him in the dock but at his house or farm here in Namibia so we can amicably discuss the issue.The man I want to see in court is General Salomon Jesus Hawala.He is the man with answers to most of our questions.He was the architect of the spy drama that almost destroyed the struggle for independence.He knows where the missing persons – or their remains – are.The bottom line is that no amount of threats and demonstrations will stop the questions and the bitterness.The ex-detainees have never threatened but only requested audience for 17 years.We will not even accept the one-way ticket out of Namibia as proposed by the State President.We fought equally for this country and are proud Namibians.And so, since there is no forum for this issue in Namibia, the ICC route might bring a new dimension to our quest for justice! H Pieters Ex-detainee, Windhoek