Namvet goes international

Despite attempts to derail the planned petitioning of Western embassies and institutions over alleged unfair treatment and discrimination at the hands of the Namibian government, the former SWATF/Koevoet members delivered their first entreaty to the British High Commission yesterday.
The ex-soldiers, however, had changed their initial intention to start their march on Sunday and sleep along the way as they go from one embassy to the next over the course of this week, after extensive talks with the Namibian police chief Inspector-General Sebastian Ndeitunga last week.
They say they will now go back and forth between the embassies and the Red Flag Commando Hall where they are continuing with their sit-in demanding for war veteran status from the government.
In their petition received at the British High Commission the ex-soldiers say they are being denied the enjoyment of equal opportunities in the country which they call home for their offspring.
They reiterated their claim that the Veterans Act of 2008 is discriminatory because it only recognises those who have fought on the side of Swapo.
SWATF/Koevoet have in the past asked the Swapo-led government to amend the Act to provide for all former soldiers regardless and irrespective of which side they have fought during the protracted armed conflict.
They argue that the Veterans Act is at variance with the general definition of what a war veteran is internationally defined as, adding that the Act is also inconsistent with the general essence of the doctrine on disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration espoused by the United Nations (UN).
The petitioners led under the auspices of the Namibia War Veterans Trust (Namvet) said the Namibian government’s conduct since independence has caused them and their descendants “sustained loss” of human security, human dignity, financial losses, senior benefits and other values.
Namvet charged that high-ranking state party officials have “persistently engaged in acts of overt hostility and/or vengeance” against former SWATF/Koevoet members, including “propaganda of war and other forms of hate speech”.
The ex-soldiers are asking the international community to put pressure on the Namibian State to “reimburse” them “for all losses and humiliation” and to provide comprehensive psycho-social counselling, adequate healthcare and medical support that includes home-based care, to assist in the reintegration of the ex-soldiers into civilian society, and provide training.
These ex-soldiers also demand to be considered for land resettlement as is provided to the recognised war veterans.
Catherine Sasman