South West Africa People's Organization (redirected from South-West Africa People's Organization)

South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO)

Party in South West Africa (now Namibia) that advocated immediate independence from South Africa. Founded in 1960, it used diplomacy to attain its goals until 1966, when it turned to armed struggle. Led by Sam Nujoma and backed by the Angolan ruling party and the Soviet Union, SWAPO used Angola as a base for launching guerrilla attacks. From 1978 South Africa made periodic retaliatory strikes into Angola. That same year the UN recognized SWAPO as the Namibian people's sole representative. South Africa finally accepted a UN resolution requiring the withdrawal of South African troops in Namibia and the holding of free elections in 1988.

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South West Africa People’s Organization 

(SWAPO), a revolutionary-democratic political party of Namibia, formerly South West Africa.

Founded in 1958, SWAPO brings together workers, peasants, and progressive members of the intelligentsia. By 1960, a network of local organizations with more than 50,000 members, according to the party’s own figures, had been created, and SWAPO led the struggle against the racists. Banned by the South African authorities, the party nonetheless remains active. Its program includes demands for the independence of Namibia and the preservation of its territorial integrity, for the abolition of racial discrimination, for the establishment of a democratic government and the introduction of democratic changes, for the development of industry and agriculture, and for curbs on the activity of foreign monopolies.

Inasmuch as the Republic of South Africa has ignored the decisions of the United Nations General Assembly and the World Court regarding termination of its occupation of Namibian territory, the country’s patriots have been trying to win independence using both political and military means. The party’s partisan detachments are currently operating in a number of regions. SWAPO favors friendly ties with public organizations in the USSR and in other socialist countries and has been recognized by the Organization of African Unity. The party chairman is Sam Nujoma. The press organs of SWAPO are the newspaper Namibia News and the journal Namibia Today.

P. I. MANCHKHA