Namibia And Human Rights

EDITOR please allow me space in your newspaper to air my views concerning the article of today July 22 Thursday ‘Namibia’s human rights record under scrutiny.’ First of all I am happy that the report is under scrutiny because our leaders think they can confound everyone.

I am so dismayed by the presentations made by our representative, Uutoni Nujoma, Namibia’s co-ordinator. In my view I don’t see how he could possibly justify the delays in the Caprivi treason case as being the fault of the suspects by even saying the case was being delayed because of “the intransigence and uncooperative attitude of the accused persons”, while in reality all Namibians know it is actually delayed by our justice and the government officials like Paulus Kapia who think they themselves are the judges by counter arguments against the rulings of our able and educated Justice Hoff.I am also stunned about the fact that the National Society for Human Rights was not included as one of the centres were people could get redress because I am aware that they too do assist violated people as seen in their Human Rights report 2003, they have assisted many and are continuing to do so.Does that not count for anything, or is it because they are an NGO and are veiwed to be anti government? In my view if the report of the National Society for Human Rights can be verified then they surely are worth inclusion in the report as givers of redress.Why should our representative Uutoni Nujoma justify the current human rights situation by saying “Despite its limited financial and technical resources, Namibia would fulfil its obligations under the covenant”.If you have been a Namibian for as long as I have been you are able to detect that we don’t need financial assistance to contruct our human rights situation, but we rather need responsible and transparent leaders who knows what is important and what consitutes human centred development; leaders who would not, while people are dying of hunger, put so much money aside to build a state house.Let us give credit where it is due.I further would like to urge the office of the human rights commission and other stake holders to attend the NSHR human rights report launch at the Thuringerhof Hotel on August 3 2004, at 11’clock to come and get facts on the real human rights condition of our country for future reference, scrutiny and comparison.Nadia Ihuhua WindhoekIn my view I don’t see how he could possibly justify the delays in the Caprivi treason case as being the fault of the suspects by even saying the case was being delayed because of “the intransigence and uncooperative attitude of the accused persons”, while in reality all Namibians know it is actually delayed by our justice and the government officials like Paulus Kapia who think they themselves are the judges by counter arguments against the rulings of our able and educated Justice Hoff.I am also stunned about the fact that the National Society for Human Rights was not included as one of the centres were people could get redress because I am aware that they too do assist violated people as seen in their Human Rights report 2003, they have assisted many and are continuing to do so.Does that not count for anything, or is it because they are an NGO and are veiwed to be anti government? In my view if the report of the National Society for Human Rights can be verified then they surely are worth inclusion in the report as givers of redress.Why should our representative Uutoni Nujoma justify the current human rights situation by saying “Despite its limited financial and technical resources, Namibia would fulfil its obligations under the covenant”.If you have been a Namibian for as long as I have been you are able to detect that we don’t need financial assistance to contruct our human rights situation, but we rather need responsible and transparent leaders who knows what is important and what consitutes human centred development; leaders who would not, while people are dying of hunger, put so much money aside to build a state house.Let us give credit where it is due.I further would like to urge the office of the human rights commission and other stake holders to attend the NSHR human rights report launch at the Thuringerhof Hotel on August 3 2004, at 11’clock to come and get facts on the real human rights condition of our country for future reference, scrutiny and comparison.Nadia Ihuhua Windhoek