Sunday 17 August 2014

Can Namibia save its Constitution from being amended?

After a week of discussions and demonstrations, there still is no final result to be reported. Can we save our Constitution from being amended arbitrarily by the SWAPO government with its two thirds majority?

Some how I have grave doubts today.

Quite a few public persons have spoken out against the proposed amendments.
Human rights organizations have initiated a campaign in opposition to the bill being passed, but the people as such are still too ill informed and too intimidated to really speak up. AND the rest of the world is too busy with their own problems to think of supporting a small African nation like Namibia.


The ONLINE PETITION has come to a standstill at a mere 250 signatures. This by no means reflects the convictions of the Namibian people, but their intimidated status.  It isn't a question of not having access to the internet either, because many of them have that via their i-phones these days. NO, fear of retribution keeps them from speaking up in public or sharing the link with others. 
The DEMONSTRATION  in Windhoek did not deliver any meaningful turn up and information about it is being hidden. Sure, it was arranged on short notice and only advertised via social media, but once again, fear of retribution kept the turnout low, especially after riot police was deployed the previous week at a meeting organized by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.
It remains to be seen if the CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT  by Misa will deliver any results at all. 

So, the coming week will most probably see the bill being passed by the two thirds majority in parliament. SWAPO wants a one party dictatorship and they will get it, come high or low water. That is why they did not ratify the AFRICAN CHARTER ON DEMOCRACY, ELECTIONS AND GOVERNANCE.









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