Police and AR agree on march

AN AGREEMENT has been reached between the police and the Affirmative Repositioning movement, with the date of the march against the new parliament building remaining 16 June.

Police and the AR movement have been wrestling over the march on Youth Day after police Inspector General Sebastian Ndeitunga announced that there will be a ban on demonstrations between 13 and 18 June because of important international events in the country during that time.

Although the signed document indicates that the parties had not reached consensus over the venue, AR leader Job Amupanda yesterday said it was decided after further deliberations that the demonstrators will not be allowed to come close to parliament as it will be marked as a ‘cordoned-off’ area during the visit of the Indian president.

He said police at first suggested that they stop their march under the Wernhil Park mall bridge, but the AR did not welcome that idea.

Amupanda said they finally reached an agreement with Ndeitunga over the weekend that the demonstrators will stop at Snyman Circle in Ausspannplatz, where the Speaker of the National Assembly Peter Katjavivi is expected to receive their petition.

Demonstrators will start with the march at 09h00 on Thursday morning from the Katutura Multipurpose Centre towards Snyman Circle, and hand over the petition to the Speaker at around 13h00. In the agreement, Ndeitunga committed to making sure that Katjavivi accepts the petition.

“If he [Katjvavivi] and friends, or somebody from the Speaker’s office does not come, we will turn around and go where they are [to parliament], whether they are in session or not. So, they must take us seriously,” Amupanda stated.

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