nun sind wir bereits beim 100-sten Blog angekommen! Dieses Jubiläum möchten wir dem Thema "Pressefreiheit" widmen, für die es in vielen Ländern der Welt zu kämpfen gilt. Nicht so in Namibia, wie wir anhand des Themas "Landbesetzung" (siehe Blog vom letzten Wochenende) aufzeigen möchten. Über dieses Thema wurde in verschiedenen Zeitungen viel berichtet
Was bisher geschah:
Die aufmupfigen Aktionen von Job Amupanda und dessen Mitstreiterinnen heizen die Gemüter im Lande auf, und es wird immer klarer, dass viele Menschen mit diversen Amtsträgern und Politikern nicht einverstanden sind, vor allem, da diese oft auch ihre Macht für den eigenen Reichtum missbrauchen. Diese Thematik ist natürlich ein gefundenes Fressen für die Journalisten und Artikel von Leser/innen und fast alle Zeitungen berichteten über diese Missstände.
So war ein sehr brisantes SMS von einem Leser mit folgendem Inhalt im "Namibian" zu lesen:
Please explain this to me. Swapo leaders went into exile to launch the liberation struggle in order to ensure that every citizen of this country lives a better and dignified life. They are now in charge of the country but they are refusing to give us that life they were fighting for. Did our leaders become selfish after gaining power or is it simply that they forgot the objectives of the struggle?
Uebersetzung: Bitte, erklärt mir folgendes: Die Swapo Führung ging ins Exil um die Freiheit von unserem Land vorzubereiten und zu kämpfen, sodass jede Person in diesem Land ein besseres und würdevolleres Leben leben kann. Diese Personen sind nun die Leader dieses Landes, doch die gleichen Personen verweigern uns nun die Dinge, für diese sie hart gekämpft haben. Sind nun unsere eigenen Leader selber egoistisch nachdem sie an die Macht gekommen sind oder haben sie einfach vergessen, wofür sie gekämpft haben?
Was uns immer wieder sehr erstaunt, ist die kritische Berichterstattung der politischen Zustände. Kritische Berichte über die Mehrheitspartei und einzelne Politiker der SWAPO (80 % der Sitze im Parlament) werden geduldet und immer wieder wird erwähnt, dass die Pressefreiheit ein rares Gut ist, das gepflegt werden muss. Doch warum wird unabhängige Presse in Namibia derart hochgehalten?
Die Pressefreiheit in Namibia ist eng verbunden mit der Persönlichkeit Gwen Lister. Sie wurde 1951 unter dem Appartheidssystem Südafrikas geboren, studierte Journalismus und gründete 1978 zusammen mit einem Weggenossen den "Windhoek Observer". Zu der Zeit war der Freiheitskampf der SWAPO in vollem Gange und das weisse Appartheitsregime führte einen erbitterten Propagandakampf gegen die politische Bewegung, die als kommunistische, terroristische Organisation, und als "Schwarze Gefahr" in der "Weissen" Presse bezeichnet wurde. Gwen Lister gab der SWAPO in ihren gut recherchierten Artikeln ein menschliches Angesicht. Auch verfasste sie kritische Berichte über das Appartheitssystem in Namibia ihrer weissen Landsfrauen und -männer. Das Fass zum Überlaufen brachte ein Bericht, in dem sie 1984 von Gesprächen der SWAPO mit der UNO über eine mögliche Unabhängigkeit Namibias berichte. Die Zeitung wurde daraufhin vom südafrikanischem Regime mit einem Bann belegt. Ein Jahr später gründete Lister den "Namibian". Die Zeitung veröffentlichte Berichte über Gräueltaten der Südafrikanischen Armee in Namibia und den Versuch der weissen Regierung die Polizeigesetze zu verschärfen um die schwarze Bevölkerung ruhig zu stellen. Nun versuchte man sie ganz zum Schweigen zu bringen. Sie entging einem Vergiftungmord und einem Brandanschlag der Redaktion des Namibian. Doch sie schrieb immer weiter gegen die Zustände an und liess sich nicht einschüchtern und erlebte die Deklaration der Unabhängigkeit von Namibia im Jahre 1991.
Im selben Jahr hatte sie den Co-Vorsitz der UNESCO Konferenz für "freie, unabhängige und pluralistische afrikanische Medien" inne. Ein Resultat dieser Konferenz ist die sogenannte Windhoek Deklaration, die die Pressefreiheit Afrikas und die Demokratisierung der Welt verbindet. Der Tag dieser Deklaration, nämlich der 3. Mai, ist seither der Internationale Tag der Pressefreiheit.
Auch heute noch meldet sich Gwen Lister zu Wort und kämpft für gleiche Rechte für alle und Humanität. Ihr Verhältnis zur SWAPO hat sich aber seither offenkundig abgekühlt, wie man im Artikel von letzter Woche nachlesen kann.
OPINIONS - COLUMNS | 2015-02-27
Political Perspective
By Gwen Lister
THE political stand-off between the ruling Swapo party, and youth activist Job Amupanda and his 'Affirmative Repositioning' initiative, accompanied by sometimes nasty exchanges, is simply going to lead us on a collision course.
While the AR protagonists have not by any means got right on their side all the time, Swapo have handled things badly through its main spokesperson, secretary general Nangolo Mbumba. And I am not entirely sure why the ruling party, rather than government, is taking the lead in this. This surely is a national, rather than a party political issue.
ON the 'Affirmative Repositioning' side of things, I believe the group has done one thing well, which is to put the issue of inaccessibility caused by high property prices and rentals squarely on the agenda. They also conscientised the nation through the campaign to drive mass plot applications at local municipalities, but they did wrong to stake their individual claims to erven.
The problem with Swapo's response is that they have failed to separate the issues: the 'land grabs' on the one hand, and the push to get youth to apply for plots on the other. The former is illegal, the other clearly not. They also made the mistake of suspending ringleaders from Swapo instead of putting an immediate stop to land claims, and they continued with a verbal onslaught and threats towards any who supported or sympathised.
This in turn further polarised the situation. Instead they should have given immediate attention to the underlying issues which sparked the AR campaign, which would have been the best way to defuse and not escalate things.
These issues are, in my view: lack of housing for the poor; the exorbitantly high prices which make it difficult for anyone but the rich to buy property; and the equally unaffordable rental market.
On Twitter I said that the way for Swapo/government to tackle the issue is not to have a war of words, or attrition, but to DO something about the underlying causes. I suggested that immediate steps that could be taken include lowering property prices (valuation would play a key role); instituting rent control, and finally, making subsidised housing available for the poor.
If we did this, I argued, the rest could take care of themselves. Some of these steps need not take months, or years, to be put into place. Rent control, for example, which will enable youth and people starting out in their working lives to find reasonably-priced accommodation, can speedily be legislated. Inspections, to determine fairness, could be put in place to curb the rampant greed on the part of those charging several thousand dollars for the rental of a garage space, for example.
So while Swapo have clearly handled things in a ham-fisted manner, there are important considerations underpinning the drive for plots which also need to be addressed.
Both sides make the mistake of stating, by implication, that ownership of land is a right. I disagree, both in the rural and urban context. And I don't believe it is either possible, or probable, that this will happen, and it is holding out false hope to the general populace by implying that this should be so.
The “we all need land” comment of Mbumba is bordering on the irresponsible. We don't. Ownership of land/property comes with major (financial and other) responsibilities which tend to be overlooked. Instead, I believe people have the right to decent housing. In other words, a roof over their heads. This is where the emphasis should fall, and not on 'ownership' as such. And while there should be affordable access to housing for the lower/middle class, the main priority should always be the poor.
The AR campaign has lost sight of this priority, merely encouraging all youth to register for plots, and some of these may be, and probably are, young people of some privilege. I doubt there has been analysis of the nearly 15 000 applications lodged with the City of Windhoek, but I'd be surprised if any but a handful come from the ranks of those who are truly marginalised.
But aside from these concerns, government needs to move and move fast on this matter. They cannot afford to make long-term promises because patience is running out. Most, if not all government officials own land, probably urban and rural and even communal. Many are chequebook farmers themselves with properties acquired through soft loans and veterans packages. They have to have understanding for the sentiments behind the mass land action movement and take concrete steps to assure that property ownership, if not for all, is at least within reach of those who want it.
A solution, I believe, is within our reach in order to prevent confrontation and even possible physical conflict, if there is political will to do so. It's up to government to stop the witch-hunt, own up to the problem, take it out of the hands of the ruling party, and set in motion immediate steps to make available decent and affordable housing for all.
Follow me on Twitter: @GwenLister1
ON the 'Affirmative Repositioning' side of things, I believe the group has done one thing well, which is to put the issue of inaccessibility caused by high property prices and rentals squarely on the agenda. They also conscientised the nation through the campaign to drive mass plot applications at local municipalities, but they did wrong to stake their individual claims to erven.
The problem with Swapo's response is that they have failed to separate the issues: the 'land grabs' on the one hand, and the push to get youth to apply for plots on the other. The former is illegal, the other clearly not. They also made the mistake of suspending ringleaders from Swapo instead of putting an immediate stop to land claims, and they continued with a verbal onslaught and threats towards any who supported or sympathised.
This in turn further polarised the situation. Instead they should have given immediate attention to the underlying issues which sparked the AR campaign, which would have been the best way to defuse and not escalate things.
These issues are, in my view: lack of housing for the poor; the exorbitantly high prices which make it difficult for anyone but the rich to buy property; and the equally unaffordable rental market.
On Twitter I said that the way for Swapo/government to tackle the issue is not to have a war of words, or attrition, but to DO something about the underlying causes. I suggested that immediate steps that could be taken include lowering property prices (valuation would play a key role); instituting rent control, and finally, making subsidised housing available for the poor.
If we did this, I argued, the rest could take care of themselves. Some of these steps need not take months, or years, to be put into place. Rent control, for example, which will enable youth and people starting out in their working lives to find reasonably-priced accommodation, can speedily be legislated. Inspections, to determine fairness, could be put in place to curb the rampant greed on the part of those charging several thousand dollars for the rental of a garage space, for example.
So while Swapo have clearly handled things in a ham-fisted manner, there are important considerations underpinning the drive for plots which also need to be addressed.
Both sides make the mistake of stating, by implication, that ownership of land is a right. I disagree, both in the rural and urban context. And I don't believe it is either possible, or probable, that this will happen, and it is holding out false hope to the general populace by implying that this should be so.
The “we all need land” comment of Mbumba is bordering on the irresponsible. We don't. Ownership of land/property comes with major (financial and other) responsibilities which tend to be overlooked. Instead, I believe people have the right to decent housing. In other words, a roof over their heads. This is where the emphasis should fall, and not on 'ownership' as such. And while there should be affordable access to housing for the lower/middle class, the main priority should always be the poor.
The AR campaign has lost sight of this priority, merely encouraging all youth to register for plots, and some of these may be, and probably are, young people of some privilege. I doubt there has been analysis of the nearly 15 000 applications lodged with the City of Windhoek, but I'd be surprised if any but a handful come from the ranks of those who are truly marginalised.
But aside from these concerns, government needs to move and move fast on this matter. They cannot afford to make long-term promises because patience is running out. Most, if not all government officials own land, probably urban and rural and even communal. Many are chequebook farmers themselves with properties acquired through soft loans and veterans packages. They have to have understanding for the sentiments behind the mass land action movement and take concrete steps to assure that property ownership, if not for all, is at least within reach of those who want it.
A solution, I believe, is within our reach in order to prevent confrontation and even possible physical conflict, if there is political will to do so. It's up to government to stop the witch-hunt, own up to the problem, take it out of the hands of the ruling party, and set in motion immediate steps to make available decent and affordable housing for all.
Follow me on Twitter: @GwenLister1
Wir empfingen grosse Ehrfurcht dafür, dass Gwen Lister in Namibia die Pressefreiheit ermöglicht hat. Doch wir befürchten, dass dieses Gut angezählt ist. Die SWAPO wird immer mächtiger und eine Opposition, die den Namen verdient, ist nicht auszumachen. Nun versucht man einem Jungpolitiker das Maul zu stopfen, der eigentlich nur den Finger auf eine Wunde des politischen Systems hält. Nicht auszudenken, wie die Politik reagieren würde, wenn die so friedfertigen Namibier plötzlich in Massen aufmucken würden und eine wirkliche Gefahr für die SWAPO werden könnten. Würde die Pressefreiheit weiter derart hochgehalten werden?
No comments:
Post a Comment