patth (Patt Haring) (08/22/89)
Ported from PeaceNET/GreenNet: /* Written 12:02 am Aug 18, 1989 by gn:geonet in cdp:reg.safrica */ /* ---------- "NEW PROCLAMATION IMPEDES ELECTIONEE" ---------- */ FROM NAMIBIA SUPPORT COMMITTEE 'Public Gatherings Proclamation ' impedes election campaigning PRESS RELEASE FROM SWAPO ELECTION DIRECTORATE SWAPO of Namibia would like to express its atonishment and indignation about the publication and entering into effect of the Public Gatherings Proclamation, No. AG 23 of 1989. It is our sincere conviction that this proclamation not only constitutes a bad piece of law-making, but that it is contrary to the letter and the spirit of UN Security Council Resolution 435 and thre process of free and fair elections. The provision requiring three days prior notice before a meeting can be held is outrageous as it is incompatible with the right to free and uninhibited expression of views during the election campaign period. Moreover, the law gives police officers the right to determine the destiny of political parties by giving the police the possibility of refusing to issue permission for holdiing such a meeting. How can the police be made arbiters of the andependence process when they were party to the National Security Council meeting of September 1988? This meeting had the sole objective of discussing 'ways of preventing SWAPO from winning the independence elections'. How can SWAPOL, which has distinguished itself with its anti-SWAPO bias, be the referee in such a crucial, important issue? The recent premeditated arrest of SWAPO activists st Ndama in Kavango for allegedly contravening the regulations of this proclamation is a futher proof of its biassed application. The SWAPO activists arrested on the 13th August, 1989, at a dispersed SWAPO rally are comrades: Nimrod Muremi Raphael Dinyandu Aune Sindano At the time of arrest, many people who came to attend the rally were brutally kicked and beaten by armed policemen. They were also threatened with death. We find the Proclamation to be notorious, obnoxious, ultra-vires and uncalled for. SWAPO of Namibia calls for its prompt and unconditional repeal since it is null and void under Resolution 435. We need an effective election campaign free from encumberances such as the notorious Public Gatherings Proclamation. Finally, the most disquieting aspect of the law is the fact that it gives the police officers a licence to kill by by giving them the right to determine the 'reasonable' time limit in which an 'illegal' public gathering has to disperse, including the right to use firearms in order to disperse it. --- Patt Haring | UNITEX : United Nations patth@sci.ccny.cuny.edu | Information patth@ccnysci.BITNET | Transfer Exchange -=- Every child smiles in the same language. -=-