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DR. B.
J.
AFRICA
ANAPPEAL
TOPRAYER
ANDREASON
The aflitude o.f those seriously striv–
ing .for a jusi, peace.ful plan for or–
ganizing an independent South –
West A.frica is exemplijied by the
.following open leffer appealing .for
assislance
-
and prayer
-
by
Dr. B.
J.
Aji'ica, head o.f lhe Baster
delegation, one o.f Soulh Wesr A.f–
rica 's eleven population groups.
As he writes, there is a "great
need
10
publicize" the ejforls of
!hose lrying lo achieve a conslruc–
ti ve solution.
Whal a contrast in spirit lo those
who would impose lheir "solulion "
.for South West Africa by force,
if
necessary. and who. by clever ma–
nipula/ion, have gained support
from those in the oulside world who
do not k now the real.facts.
"The Bible states tha t unless th e
Lord build the house. they labour
in va in that build it. Th e eleven
(Continued from page 21)
the twentieth century, have few par–
alle ls. Hopefully the terrib le penalty
of war and its consequences, which
the elders still personally remember,
has impressed itself sufficient ly that
old hatreds can be put into the
background and be forgiven a nd
forgotten. This hope expressed itself
in the decision, a t th e very begin–
ning of the Constitutional Confer-
26
population groups of S.W.A.
[South West Africa] through their
156 delegates have bcen atrorded
the wonderful opportunity of com–
ing together, discussing their prob–
lems, and working out a solution
together. This is a task demanding
a great meas ure of responsibility
and insight. In th e ' Declaration of
Jntent' adopted by the
C.C.
[Con–
stitutional Conference] in Septem–
ber 1975 it was stated that the
representatives of the different
population groups are determined
Lo find a peaceful se ttl ement for
the problems ofS.W.A. .. .
"Another significan! fact of the
' Declaratio n of Intent' is the ac–
ceptance of the principi e of funda–
mental freedoms and human
rights without discrimination on
the grounds of race. colour. or
cr eed ....
"Th ere are still occasions. how–
ever, when one becomes aware of
a lack of trust and some degree of
prejudice among the d ifferent
groups. But it is equally true that a
wonderful spirit of coope rat ion has
been cultivated among the va rious
representati ves .. ..
" There is a slight problem with
languages. but it is paradox ical
t h at Afrikaans is und e rs tood,
spoken, and preferred by most
delega tes - unl ikc in Soweto [the
black South Africa n towns hip
where riots broke out in June. ini–
ti a lly in protest to the mandato ry
use in schoo ls of the Dutch-de–
ri ved la nguage]. Facilities for si–
multaneous tra nsla tion into 7
languages are availab le. . ..
"Groups opposed to the
C.C.
[an allusion to the SWAPO o rgani–
zation "recognized" by th e United
Nations] a re trying their best to
ence, to ach ieve ag re ement by
consensus - unanimity, rather than
by majority vote. Without unanim–
ity , old wounds and__Jears cou ld
n ever be fully healed. And without
the persuasiveness and patience of
Mr. Dirk M udge these deep historie
divisions would most certainly have
spelled defeat for a developing free
society without traditional parlia–
mentary skills.
create an a tmosphere of unce r–
ta inty and pa nic. This is furth er
encouraged by a world practisi ng
doub le standa rds. Pray that t he
leaders a t t he conference might
have the courage to act in the in–
terest of t heir peopl e and not take
th e path of least resista nce by
ma king popular decisions.
"There is a great need to publi–
cize t he deliberations at the
C.C.
Someth ing we can learn from the
communists is that th ey are master
propagandists. We should make
our stand known - and do it
boldly. . . .
"One often hears t he statement
tha t people in S.W.A. do not have
time to salve their problems, or
tha t we should have started years
ago. Whether this is so is an open
question, but the best time to act is
NOW.
We are still ve ry opt imistic
about reachi ng a solu tion, a nd we
know t hat if we acknowledge Him,
He wi ll direct our paths. You'll no
doubt be in terested to learn that
the meetings o f the general assem–
bly are opened by prayer. This is
also t he case with the committee
meetings.. . .
"At present we are discuss ing
the principies to be embodied in a
co nstit ution for S.W.A . Please pray
tha t justice might be done. To do
justice and judgment is more ac–
cep table to the Lord t han sacrifice
(Prov. 2 1:3 ) ....
"There is no doubt tha t we a re
in the process o f working out the.
best rules and principies for peace–
fu l coexistence on the cont inent of
Africa, but these rules and pr in–
cipies ca n best be implementcd if
there is a change of heart. i.e., if
the hearts of people are filled by
the spirit and love ofGod...."
Though so much rests upon the
shou lders of the men in a ttendance
at the Constitutional Conference in
Windhoek, an equal responsibility
rests on the shoulders of the United
N
ations, the big powers, and othe r
African states. That responsibili ty is
the willi ngness to cooperate with,
ra ther t han undermine, the efforts
by South West Africans to give birth
toa free and developing nation.
o
The
PLAIN TRUTH November 1976