Namibia History

Namibia (National Flag)

Namibia (National Flag), The flag was first officially launched in 1990. Its colors are a combination of the colors of the political parties SWAPO and DTA. The golden sun represents life and energy, the red represents the strength of the people, the blue symbolizes the Atlantic, the green refers to the country's vegetation and natural resources, and the white represents peace and unity.

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Namibia (History)

Namibia (History), The first settlement in Namibia took place approximately 25,000 years ago and consisted of khoisan groups that nourished themselves as hunters and collectors. The first Bantu- speaking people brought between 500-1000 farms and animal husbandry to Namibia. The unmanageable Namib Desert protected the country from slave trade and meant that contact with Europeans before the early 19th century was very limited. About 1800 population consisted mainly of ovamboer that were agriculturalists, as well as in central and Sydnamibia here beets and namaer that was respectively. cattle and sheep keepers. The Namibian communities were organized into smaller units around local kings or chieftains, and there was a high degree of self-sufficiency.

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From 1842, the Rhine Mission Company established permanent mission stations in Namibia, and from 1870 Finnish missionaries settled in Ovamboland.

With Britain's annexation of Walvis Bay in 1878, Namibia was drawn into the colonial race. Germany annexed Namibia in 1884 as German South West Africa, primarily to protect German trade interests, and after 1893 a number of German farms were established. Then followed a series of armed conflicts, the largest being 1904-07, in which the Herero and Nama groups revolted. The uprising was brought defeated and up to half of the beets here and ²/₃ of namaerne perished. The massacres are considered the 20th century's first genocide. German colonial rule ended in 1915, when South African troops invaded Namibia as part of World War I. In 1920, South West Africa was made a mandate under the League of Nations, ruled by South Africa. The South Africans sought in 1933 and 1946 to annex Namibia, which was prevented by the League of Nations and later the United Nations. In the 1920's and 1930's a large number of white farms were established. In 1949 Namibia became a United Nations patronage area with the goal of preparing for independence. On the contrary, the South African government opposed and implemented apartheid laws just like in South Africa. From the late 1940's, anti-colonial resistance flared up again, and the nationalist movements SWANU (South West African National Union) and SWAPO(South West African People's Organization) was created respectively. 1959 and 1960. SWANU had its roots in the Hereroite, SWAPO among migrant workers predominantly from Ovamboland. To begin with, SWAPO used peaceful means, and it was not until 1966 that an armed struggle was decided. That same year, the UN General Assembly deprived South Africa of its patronage. South Africa came under increasing pressure from the international community as a result of apartheid policy and the illegal occupation of Namibia, culminating in the adoption of Security Council Resolution 435 in 1978, setting the rules for a UN-supervised Namibian transition to independence. Assisted by newly elected Conservative governments in the United States and Britain, South Africa succeeded in preventing the implementation of the resolution.

When South Africa accepted Namibia's independence under UN supervision in 1989, it was mainly due to increasing international criticism, sanctions against South Africa, its military problems in Angola and domestic political pressure. Elections to a Constituent Assembly were held in 1989 and SWAPO won 57% and DTA 28% of the vote. The Constitutional Assembly unanimously adopted a democratic constitution and Namibia gained independence on 21 March 1990. SWAPO leader Sam Nujoma was elected the country's first president. In the parliamentary election in 1994 the SWAPO more than ²/₃of the votes and hence the possibility to change parts of the constitution. Since independence, SWAPO has pursued a growth-oriented economic policy with certain social-state elements emphasizing health and education. Fundamental human rights have been respected. Despite Namibia's politically stable conditions and positive economic development, unemployment, a lack of land reform and an uneven distribution of social benefits continue to pose a threat to stability.

In the late 1990's, Namibia became involved in the Angolan civil war because the government allowed the Angolan army to operate from Namibia. In the Caprivi Strip, a detachment movement in 1999 launched an armed struggle against the government, which together with the fighting at the border with Angola meant declining tourist revenue. Only in 2002 was the Caprivi Strip again so calm that tourists could return to the area. Later, the government sent troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo to support President Laurent Kabila. This gave rise to internal criticism, a criticism that was heightened by the government amending the constitution to allow President Sam Nujoma to be elected for a third term. Human rights organizations also criticized the government, including as a result of the authorities' abuse of gays.

In 1999, however, Sam Nujoma was re-elected with 77% of the vote. At the same time, the ruling party SWAPO won 55 of the 72 seats in parliament. In order to speed up land reforms that had been promised by the 1990 independence, the government in 2004 decided to expropriate and eradicate underutilized so-called commercial farms. Nujoma did not stand for the November 2004 presidential election, with SWAPO instead electing Hifikepunye Pohamba, who received 76% of the vote, thereby taking over the presidential post in March 2005. At the simultaneous parliamentary elections, SWAPO also got 76% of the vote. At the 2009 presidential and parliamentary elections, he regained office, and SWAPO retained its position. After his two terms of office, Pohamba could not stand for the 2015 election, where he was succeeded by Hage Geingop, who had been Vice President of SWAPO since 2007.