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The Caprivi secessionist crisis

Namibia's Caprivi secessionist crisis is being transformed into a regional problem as reports of backing for the separatists by the Angolan rebel UNITA movement have prompted a rush of offers of support to the Namibian government by neighbouring countries. UNITA troops were reportedly among the Caprivi Liberation Army (CLA) rebels captured after last Monday's attack on the regional capital of Katima Mulilo, diplomats told IRIN. CLA fighters are believed to have been trained in Angola by UNITA, and struck into Caprivi from across the border in western Zambia. Last week, Zimbabwe pledged military support to the Namibian government and Zambian security forces have joined Namibian troops in joint operations to root out CLA bases in Zambia. In a surprise visit to Katima Mulilo on Saturday, Namibian President Sam Nuyoma told a public rally: "We have learned that the secessionists have gone to the Republic of Zambia and into UNITA-controlled Angola. And our forces will follow them there." A convergence of interests The diplomats said a convergence of interests link exiled separatist CLA leader Mishake Muyongo to UNITA. For UNITA chieftan, Jonas Savimbi, the destabalisation of Caprivi could act as a warning to Windhoek not to contemplate direct military support for the Angolan government, analysts told IRIN. For Muyongo, UNITA offers the necessary military support for his long-standing secessionist ambitions. A heavy government security crackdown in Caprivi could also win him fresh recruits. The Namibian news agency, citing security sources, reported last week that 500 Caprivians had fled across the border to join the CLA in the wake of the Katima Mulilo raid. Caprivi - a colonial anachronism - is a fertile strip of land running across northern Namibia, sharing borders with Angola, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Historically the region was under the sway of the Lozi Barotseland kingdom in Zambia, and the cultural ties remain. During South African colonial administration, Caprivi was governed directly from Pretoria rather than Windhoek, reinforcing for some the sense of its separate identity. Muyongo, a member of the Mafwe royal family that trace their lineage to pre-colonial Barotseland, was a vice-president of the ruling SWAPO party until he was expelled over the Caprivi issue. He then became a leading light in the pre-independence ruling Democratic Turnhalle Alliance, and president of the party in opposition until he was removed last year following reports of his sponsorship of the CLA. He has, however, wielded significant political power in eastern Caprivi, in part through an alliance with a former Mafwe chief, Boniface Mamili. Both men fled to Botswana last year after the discovery of a CLA training camp in their Linyanti home region. The view of the secessionists Caprivi secessionists, aiming at incorporation within a revived Barotseland, argue that their region has been marginalised by SWAPO, which has instead invested in its northern Ovamboland stronghold - the most populated area of the country. The government is also accused of having dabbled in the ethnic politics of the region, weakening Mafwe influence in eastern Caprivi. But while Caprivi is the second poorest region in Namibia, independent economists say it has not been starved of government spending. Mafwe tribal elders also told IRIN that Muyongo and Mamili "deliberately blocked" government development projects in Caprivi. Eastern Caprivi's three key ethnic leaders, including the new Mafwe Chief George Mamili, have rallied to the government's side and condemned Muyongo's secessionism as "a dream that will never be realised." Government officials say Muyongo does not not represent the sentiments of the 110,000 Caprivians, and he cannot even count on the backing of his Linyanti region. They point out that around half of the 2,500 Caprivi refugees that fled with the CLA leadership into asylum in Botswana have since returned home. Development, not war But Muyongo has been able to attract support, with reports last month that several hundred CLA fighters were undergoing training in Angola. However, according to Mafwe elder, Society Shozwa, they were "tricked" by Muyongo who promised them scholarships and top jobs within a "liberated" Caprivi. "Caprivi doesn't want war it wants development," Chief George Mamili told IRIN. "If the fighting continues it is our kith and kin who are the ones who are going to be killed. It won't be Muyongo, he's in Denmark." Mafwe elder Brian Lubehile added: "Nobody supports this thing. If these people (the CLA) wanted to go ahead with their idea (of secession) why didn't they talk to the government first instead of going for war?"

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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