Letter from US Congress raises some eyebrows

THE House Committee on Foreign Affairs of the United States Congress has reportedly asked Namibia to change its policy on the dispute between Israel and Palestine.

The committee wants Namibia to support the US stand against Palestine and to vote in their favour on Israel-related resolutions in the United Nations General Assembly.
‘As the United States has demonstrated with our Millennium Challenge grant and the programmes sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), we value the partnership our countries have undertaken to help improve the lives of Namibia’s citizens,’ the committee wrote in the first paragraph of a letter to Prime Minister Nahas Angula.
The letter is dated November 21 and has 26 signatories. The committee is comprised of 50 members.
Among others, the committee’s job is to review the planning, budgeting and implementation of US foreign assistance programmes and also to look after the interests of American companies abroad.
The US Embassy declined to comment on the authenticity or contents of the letter.
Prime Minister Nahas Angula confirmed receiving the letter but expressed doubt over its authenticity since it came by fax.
He said the letter would not influence Namibia’s known stance on the issue or affect the country’s diplomatic relations with Israel.
The letter states that, despite good relations between the US and Namibia, the latter continues to cast opposing votes on many issues of importance to the US.
‘A recent US State Department report examining voting practices at the 2007 session of the UN General Assembly reveals that Namibia and the United States voted similarly only 7,2 per cent of the time. We find it difficult to believe our countries have such significantly different views as the UN voting patterns demonstrate,’ the letter said.
The committee said of the 18 resolutions directed against Israel, Namibia voted for 12 and abstained on six while the US voted against all of them.
It said the US is committed to peace and reconciliation in the Middle East and wants to avoid steps that would further divide Israel and Palestine.
‘Therefore, we respectfully request that you join with the United States in furthering the mission of the United Nations by seeking a fair hearing for both Israel and the Palestinians, and by voting against one-sided resolutions,’ the letter said.
The letter came at roughly the same time that Namibians were debating whether the country should accept the US$305 million Millennium Challenge grant, which is aimed at fighting poverty through projects dealing with tourism and education.
The agreement has already gone through Parliament after both Namibia and the United States denied any trade-off of on Etosha National Park.
They said the document that sparked controversy over lodge concessions in Etosha National Park had been leaked before the details had been finalised.
The controversy erupted after a document was leaked, which said that the Ministry of Environment would award two lodges or exclusive access concessions for Etosha and an additional two lodges within other national parks in northern Namibia, with a minimum term of 10 years and allocated through competitive bidding, to private sector and conservancy joint ventures.
Swapo Party Youth League leaders said that cast doubt over the money given by the US government, as it was not clear whether it opened a door for American investors to take over Namibia’s prime tourism area.
The Director General of the National Planning Commission, Peter Katjavivi, earlier said there were ‘no hidden agendas, … no sinister plans’ attached to the grant, and that Namibia had requested the grant.
He said the final document specified that the lodges would be built outside Etosha.