Government admits to human rights abuses in Caprivi

The Namibian government has admitted to human rights abuses committed by its security forces in the Caprivi Strip, following a separatist attack 2 August on the region's capital, Katima Mulilo. News reports in South Africa, Namibia and Zambia quoted the Defence Minister, Erkki Nghimtina as saying: "Definitely we made some mistakes, regarding human rights violations." But he: "Most incidents took place in the first few days after the attack." He said that the incidents could be attributed to "emotions running high after police officers and soldiers were shot, killed and wounded by the rebels." The government said 14 people died in the attack - the first of its kind since Namibia's independence from South Africa in 1990. The authorities also declared a state of emergency and closed the borders with Angola, Botswana and Zambia. In a statement sent to IRIN on this week, the Namibian Society for Human Rights (NSHR) said that "extensive human rights violations perpetrated mainly by the Special Field Force and have continued unabated in the volatile Caprivi Region." The NSHR said that an estimated 150 people were detained on Wednesday in Katima Mulilo and that the society estimated that the number of people detained "could have reached 500." 'Business Day' in South Africa reported on Friday that health officials in Katima Mulilo had confirmed that human rights abuses had taken place. Officials said that people had been shot, whipped and tortured. According to 'The Namibian', Nghimtina said that those security force members who used "extra-judicial actions" would be punished. Meanwhile the head of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF), Major General Martin Shalli said that there was no need for an independent group to monitor the security forces, saying that they could check on themselves. At a media briefing on Tuesday, Shalli said that people detained without trial in terms of the emergency regulations had not been given access to their lawyers. But Judge Simpson Mtambanengwe, chairman of the Emergency Advisory Board in Namibia, said that the security forces were not allowed to deny detainees held under the state of emergency access to their lawyers.