Refugees in hiding Police thwart demo at Osire

ABOUT a dozen refugees have gone into hiding and 12 more were arrested at Osire yesterday as Police went on the offensive to put down a demonstration meant to coincide with World Refugee Day.

Shortly after noon, the leader of the Association for the Defence of Refugee Rights (ADR), MacGoddins Lushimba, told The Namibian that three fellow refugees were nabbed as soon as they began hoisting placards at an official ceremony to commemorate the plight of asylum seekers. Two hours later Lushimba was arrested trying to brief journalists about the demonstration.Police confiscated the placards, beat up the demonstrators and began rounding up the leadership of the ADR, which was seen as the ringleader, Lushimba claimed before his arrest.Police spokesperson Deputy Commissioner Hophni Hamufungu yesterday confirmed the detention of 12 refugees, but downplayed it as “temporary” to allow the official programme to continue.Hamufungu said those arrested were “attempting to disrupt public order and obstruct Police officers in the execution of their duties”.”They were only detained so that the event can go ahead,” said Hamufungu.The ADR leadership said authorities had blocked refugees from picketing to prevent embarrassment to Government and the United Nations representatives who went to the refugee camp for the day.Lushimba, in hiding while speaking on a cellphone, said Police had called reinforcements from the Otjiwarongo riot unit – the Task Force – blocked access to the official gathering and denied them access to journalists covering the commemoration.Later in the afternoon, ADR member Steve Udimba said many of them had gone into hiding to evade Police arrest.”We are now in insecurity.We are talking from the bush to you,” said Udimba.As they remembered refugee day under the theme “A place to call home: Rebuilding lives in safety and dignity”, the asylum seekers said they wanted to speak out against the “violation of refugee rights” by the Namibian authorities and the indifference of the officials of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Windhoek.Lushimba said some refugees did not have “refugee status” despite having lived in the country for several years.As the Government’s Commissioner for Refugees Elizabeth Negumbo was to deliver a speech yesterday, refugees began to display messages such as ‘why xenophobia’, ‘Osire is still a prison’ and ‘We are eternal asylum seekers in Namibia’.”We just wanted to show the international community our unhappiness with the treatment, but the Police are now beating up some people and chasing them,” said Lushimba.Hamufungu said the refugees had told the Police a while ago that they wanted to demonstrate but that the law enforcers had questioned the wisdom of having “two events at the same time”.They had then agreed to demonstrate at some other time but surprised the organisers yesterday with the picket, he said.Hamufungu said some of those detained had caused panic and had then tried to stop the Police from restoring calm.They would be charged with disrupting public order and obstructing the Police in their work.Hamufungu expected most of the detained refugees to be released by last night.The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) yesterday “deplored” the “arbitrary arrests, abuse of power… exclusionist, xenophobic and intolerant forms of persecution” of refugees in Namibia.Two hours later Lushimba was arrested trying to brief journalists about the demonstration.Police confiscated the placards, beat up the demonstrators and began rounding up the leadership of the ADR, which was seen as the ringleader, Lushimba claimed before his arrest.Police spokesperson Deputy Commissioner Hophni Hamufungu yesterday confirmed the detention of 12 refugees, but downplayed it as “temporary” to allow the official programme to continue.Hamufungu said those arrested were “attempting to disrupt public order and obstruct Police officers in the execution of their duties”.”They were only detained so that the event can go ahead,” said Hamufungu.The ADR leadership said authorities had blocked refugees from picketing to prevent embarrassment to Government and the United Nations representatives who went to the refugee camp for the day.Lushimba, in hiding while speaking on a cellphone, said Police had called reinforcements from the Otjiwarongo riot unit – the Task Force – blocked access to the official gathering and denied them access to journalists covering the commemoration.Later in the afternoon, ADR member Steve Udimba said many of them had gone into hiding to evade Police arrest.”We are now in insecurity.We are talking from the bush to you,” said Udimba.As they remembered refugee day under the theme “A place to call home: Rebuilding lives in safety and dignity”, the asylum seekers said they wanted to speak out against the “violation of refugee rights” by the Namibian authorities and the indifference of the officials of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Windhoek.Lushimba said some refugees did not have “refugee status” despite having lived in the country for several years.As the Government’s Commissioner for Refugees Elizabeth Negumbo was to deliver a speech yesterday, refugees began to display messages such as ‘why xenophobia’, ‘Osire is still a prison’ and ‘We are eternal asylum seekers in Namibia’.”We just wanted to show the international community our unhappiness with the treatment, but the Police are now beating up some people and chasing them,” said Lushimba.Hamufungu said the refugees had told the Police a while ago that they wanted to demonstrate but that the law enforcers had questioned the wisdom of having “two events at the same time”.They had then agreed to demonstrate at some other time but surprised the organisers yesterday with the picket, he said.Hamufungu said some of those detained had caused panic and had then tried to stop the Police from restoring calm.They would be charged with disrupting public order and obstructing the Police in their work.Hamufungu expected most of the detained refugees to be released by last night.The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) yesterday “deplored” the “arbitrary arrests, abuse of power… exclusionist, xenophobic and intolerant forms of persecution” of refugees in Namibia.