western contact group

Description

The Namibian War of Independence, also known as the South African Border War, which lasted from 1966 to 1988, was a guerrilla war, which the nationalist South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) and others, fought against the apartheid government in South Africa. South Africa had administered what was then still known as South West Africa since it captured the German territory during World War I. In 1966 the United Nations General Assembly revoked South Africa's mandate to govern South-West African territory and declared that it was under direct UN administration. South Africa refused to recognize this resolution and continued to administer the territory de facto. On August 26, 1966, SWAPO guerilla forces launched an attack against the South African Defence Force at Omugulugwombashe. It was the first armed battle in the Namibian struggle for independence. In commemoration of the day, August 26 is a public holiday in Namibia. It is recognized by the United Nations as Namibia Day but Namibians refer to it as Heroes' Day. The war ended with the independence of Namibia on 21 March 1990 and elections which saw SWAPO win 55 of 72 seats in the National Assembly of Namibia, enabling them to form a national government. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namibian_War_of_Independence In 1977, the Western Contact Group (WCG) was formed including Canada, France, West Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. They launched a joint diplomatic effort to bring an internationally acceptable transition to independence for Namibia. The WCG's efforts led to the presentation in 1978 of Security Council Resolution 435 for settling the Namibian problem. The settlement proposal, as it became known, was worked out after lengthy consultations with South Africa, the front-line states (Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe), SWAPO, UN officials, and the Western Contact Group. It called for the holding of elections in Namibia under UN supervision and control, the cessation of all hostile acts by all parties, and restrictions on the activities of South African and Namibian military, paramilitary, and police. South Africa agreed to cooperate in achieving the implementation of Resolution 435. Nonetheless, in December 1978, in defiance of the UN proposal, it unilaterally held elections, which were boycotted by SWAPO and a few other political parties. South Africa continued to administer Namibia through its installed multiracial coalitions and an appointed Administrator-General. Negotiations after 1978 focused on issues such as supervision of elections connected with the implementation of the settlement proposal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Namibia