The article reports on SWAPO's participation in independence talks, its political and economic programme for Namibia, and the repression faced by SWAPO officials and supporters by South African authorities in Namibia. It details police and military actions against demonstrations and rallies in Windhoek, Rundu, Tsumeb, Grootfontein, and other towns, including the use of force, arrests, and intimidation. The article also describes efforts by South African and right-wing groups to resist the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 435 and Namibian independence.
International Defence and Aid Fund (IDAF)Rundu
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This issue reports on the release of SWAPO leader Herman Toivo ja Toivo, his public reaffirmation of SWAPO's mission, and the continued detention of Kassinga survivors. It features court actions to free detainees, detailed lists of those imprisoned, and affidavits documenting torture and unlawful detention under Proclamation AG9. It covers new detentions, student protests, pass law convictions, school boycotts, the Alexandra bus boycott, forced removals, and increasing repression in Namibia and Venda. Major sections report on death in detention, political trials, abuses by security forces, and a growing list of detainees. The newsletter also documents the high-profile trial of journalist Gwen Lister and the deportation of British researcher Alun Roberts.
Issue 50 covers the widespread rejection of South Africa’s new constitution by black communities, intensified state repression through arrests, treason trials, and censorship. It documents the brutal crackdown on the United Democratic Front (UDF), mass arrests in Namibia’s Kavango region, detentions of students and clergy, torture, trials under the Internal Security Act, and township resistance. The issue also includes coverage of Inkatha violence, the banning of political meetings, police shootings, and hanging secrecy policies. An obituary for Alex Hepple is included.
Issue 49 focuses on violent repression of SWAPO activism in Namibia during the UN Secretary-General’s visit, the ongoing arrests and torture of activists, and bans on key political figures. It includes detailed lists of restricted and detained persons, coverage of constitutional resistance through the UDF’s launch, and increasing detentions of students and trade unionists in South Africa. It also highlights the torture of detainees, psychiatric abuse, and the use of treason trials to suppress dissent. The issue documents major political trials, mass protests, state censorship, and population clearances in the Kavango region of Namibia.
This issue covers the imposition of strict military censorship in Namibia by the SADF, the deaths of detainees including Kasire Thomas and Johannes Kakuva, mass arrests under Proclamation AG9, forced labour of prisoners, torture trials and revelations, and systemic suppression of opposition to apartheid-era constitutional reforms. It highlights SWAPO resistance, the banning of the Namibia Report by Archbishop Denis Hurley, police raids on churches, the Mawaala sabotage trial, and trials of numerous ANC activists. A statistical roundup of detentions and court cases also illustrates escalating state violence.
Issue 45 provides detailed accounts of repression through tightened pass laws, the criminalisation of residency, and the use of state security forces to restrict African movement and employment. The issue features an obituary tribute to Canon John Collins and reports on mass detentions, child imprisonment, police violence, and political trials of ANC and SWAPO members. It also includes updates on union suppression, school and student protests, the Maseru Raid, Namibia detentions, and Angola incursions. A full review of the 1982 armed struggle is included, with statistical breakdowns of sabotage operations, and evidence of state disinformation regarding guerrilla activity. Ciskei repression and its 'Sword of the Nation' squad are also featured.