SWAPO opposes truth commission

A call by the Namibian National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) for the establishment of a truth commission to examine human rights abuses during the independence struggle has been sharply criticised by the ruling South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO). A statement from SWAPO received by IRIN said that "the campaign to open old wounds may make some people feel good, but whether it will solve an extremely serious problem of the past is another matter." It added that "those engaged in this reckless adventure should be on notice that the ugly devil would be in the details." But a spokesman for the NSHR told IRIN on Monday that there was a moral and legal need for such a commission. "If South Africa can have such a process why can't Namibia?" asked the spokesman. "We are calling for a public apology to victims and their families. We need to know what happened to those missing people." According to the NSHR, "both SWAPO and apartheid South Africa committed untold torture against hundreds of Namibian prior to independence." The human rights group alleged that over 4,000 Namibians who were in exile with SWAPO remain "unaccounted for". In response, SWAPO said it deliberately adopted a policy of national reconciliation at independence in 1989. "The policy was intended to guard against the fact that if the Namibian people allow themselves to engage in witch-hunting and retribution, the consequences of such an exercise will not be in the best interest of peace and stability in Namibia," the SWAPO statement said.