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SWAPO President Sam Nujoma on 24 november 2005 denied that he is to blame for the fighting which broke out between Plan fighters and South African forces in the North on April 1 1989.

Hundreds of members of Swapo’s armed wing were killed. The
resulting ‘nine-day war’ also nearly derailed the United Nations peace plan for Namibia.

Nujoma’s denial comes in the wake of the discovery of several
mass graves in the former war zone.

The skeletal remains are believed to be mainly those of former
Swapo combatants.

‘IT WASN’T ME’ The Swapo President pinned the tragedy of April 1
on former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and South African and United Nations officials.

Addressing a media briefing in Windhoek, he said he “commanded
the demobilisation of Plan fighters inside Namibia” to assemble and
contact the United Nations military component [Untag] “so that they
[fighters] could be confined to bases”.

April 1 was the implementation date of UN Resolution 435, which
set out the route for Namibia’s independence.

Nujoma accused Thatcher, former South African Foreign Affairs
Minister Pik Botha, former UN Secretary General Representative
Martti Ahtisaari and South Africa Administrator General Louis
Pienaar of orchestrating the April 1 tragedy.

He said they were responsible for “the brutal killing of
hundreds of Swapo freedom fighters”.

Nujoma claimed that Thatcher sneaked into Namibia on March 31
1989 and held a secret meeting with the other three and that they
had decided to attack Plan combatants the next day.

Reacting to media reports which claimed that he, as commander in
chief of Swapo’s military wing, had ordered the former Plan
fighters to cross into Namibia from Angola and launch attacks, he
claimed that Plan soldiers were already at bases in Namibia when
they were attacked.

Nujoma’s statement was made less than 24 hours after the Swapo
Politburo met in Windhoek and discussed the issue of the mass
graves found in Namibia’s former war zone.

“Swapo has been well aware that Thatcher’s visit to Namibia,
which was shrouded in secrecy, was not just a coincidence but a
well-calculated plot to prevent the implementation of the UN
Security Council Resolution 435 and put the blame on Swapo and its
President,” Nujoma said yesterday.

According to newspaper reports at the time, Thatcher arrived in
Namibia on April 1.

He charged that South Africa did not want the implementation of
Resolution 435 because it feared Swapo’s overwhelming support.

According to Nujoma, Plan fighters had guerrilla bases in
Namibia from where they regularly attacked SA military bases such
as Eenhana, Oshakati, Ruacana, Okatope, Okongo and Okalongo.

“Not from Angola, as reported in the media.

It should be well understood that in guerrilla warfare tactics,
the guerrillas do not have permanent bases so that they can avoid
detection by the enemy troops,” the Swapo leader said.

He also quoted a part of Resolution 435 stating that “all Plan
combatants inside Namibia will be confined to bases, while the
South African forces should be confined to bases at Grootfontein or
Oshivelo or both”.

According to Nujoma the South African forces had defied the
order by being outside their bases or in the war zone on April 1
1989.

“Yet, as the then Commander-in-Chief of Plan, the President of
Swapo commanded the demobilisation of our Plan combatants inside
Namibia to assemble and contact the Untag military component so
that they could be confined to bases inside Namibia, which they did
on April 1 1989,” he said.

Nujoma said Swapo had never been aware of the mass graves that
were discovered recently.

He called on South Africans and Namibians to “reveal more about
the killing of innocent Namibians”.

Nujoma said Government had built Heroes Acre for fallen heroes
and, once all forensic investigations were completed, those in the
mass graves would receive dignified burials.

Last week, South Africa’s former Defence Minister, Magnus Malan,
and former SA Defence Force (SADF) chief Constand Viljoen denied
knowledge of the mass graves, although they are mainly near former
South African army bases.

The Eenhana base was home to the SADF’s 54 Battalion during the
war.

Viljoen said burying dead guerrillas was a police function.

The resulting ‘nine-day war’ also nearly derailed the United
Nations peace plan for Namibia.Nujoma’s denial comes in the wake of
the discovery of several mass graves in the former war zone.The
skeletal remains are believed to be mainly those of former Swapo
combatants.‘IT WASN’T ME’ The Swapo President pinned the tragedy of
April 1 on former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and
South African and United Nations officials.Addressing a media
briefing in Windhoek, he said he “commanded the demobilisation of
Plan fighters inside Namibia” to assemble and contact the United
Nations military component [Untag] “so that they [fighters] could
be confined to bases”.April 1 was the implementation date of UN
Resolution 435, which set out the route for Namibia’s independence.Nujoma accused Thatcher, former South African Foreign
Affairs Minister Pik Botha, former UN Secretary General Representative Martti Ahtisaari and South Africa Administrator
General Louis Pienaar of orchestrating the April 1 tragedy. He said
they were responsible for “the brutal killing of hundreds of Swapo
freedom fighters”.Nujoma claimed that Thatcher sneaked into Namibia
on March 31 1989 and held a secret meeting with the other three and
that they had decided to attack Plan combatants the next
day.Reacting to media reports which claimed that he, as commander
in chief of Swapo’s military wing, had ordered the former Plan
fighters to cross into Namibia from Angola and launch attacks, he
claimed that Plan soldiers were already at bases in Namibia when
they were attacked.Nujoma’s statement was made less than 24 hours
after the Swapo Politburo met in Windhoek and discussed the issue
of the mass graves found in Namibia’s former war zone.“Swapo has
been well aware that Thatcher’s visit to Namibia, which was
shrouded in secrecy, was not just a coincidence but a
well-calculated plot to prevent the implementation of the UN
Security Council Resolution 435 and put the blame on Swapo and its
President,” Nujoma said yesterday.According to newspaper reports at
the time, Thatcher arrived in Namibia on April 1.He charged that
South Africa did not want the implementation of Resolution 435
because it feared Swapo’s overwhelming support.According to Nujoma,
Plan fighters had guerrilla bases in Namibia from where they
regularly attacked SA military bases such as Eenhana, Oshakati,
Ruacana, Okatope, Okongo and Okalongo.“Not from Angola, as reported
in the media.It should be well understood that in guerrilla warfare
tactics, the guerrillas do not have permanent bases so that they
can avoid detection by the enemy troops,” the Swapo leader said.He
also quoted a part of Resolution 435 stating that “all Plan
combatants inside Namibia will be confined to bases, while the
South African forces should be confined to bases at Grootfontein or
Oshivelo or both”.According to Nujoma the South African forces had
defied the order by being outside their bases or in the war zone on
April 1 1989.“Yet, as the then Commander-in-Chief of Plan, the
President of Swapo commanded the demobilisation of our Plan
combatants inside Namibia to assemble and contact the Untag
military component so that they could be confined to bases inside
Namibia, which they did on April 1 1989,” he said.Nujoma said Swapo
had never been aware of the mass graves that were discovered
recently.He called on South Africans and Namibians to “reveal more
about the killing of innocent Namibians”.Nujoma said Government had
built Heroes Acre for fallen heroes and, once all forensic
investigations were completed, those in the mass graves would
receive dignified burials.Last week, South Africa’s former Defence
Minister, Magnus Malan, and former SA Defence Force (SADF) chief
Constand Viljoen denied knowledge of the mass graves, although they
are mainly near former South African army bases.The Eenhana base
was home to the SADF’s 54 Battalion during the war.Viljoen said
burying dead guerrillas was a police function.

Christof Maletsky in the Namibian newspaper of 25 November 2005