UDF blasts IPC over ‘imperialist meeting’ with EU

United Democratic Front (UDF) spokesperson Mabasen /Narib has described a recent meeting between Independent Patriots for Change president Panduleni Itula and some European Union (EU) ambassadors as imperialistic.

This comes after German ambassador Thorsten Hutter last Tuesday hosted a lunch meeting in Windhoek on behalf of the EU in honour of Itula, which was attended by the ambassadors of Spain, Portugal, France and Finland.

“Namibians want a government that will stand up for its people and not a party that will hand the country over into the hands of the imperialists,” says /Narib.

He further says Itula previously released a statement to say ancestral land does not exist.

“It’s not a surprise to us as he is backed by the imperialists. He must always sing songs which [are] pleasing to their ears.”

/Narib asserts that Itula does not care about the land Namibians lost to the imperialists.

“We equally condemn that statement. The UDF will ensure that land reform is reviewed and implementation is fast-tracked to give all Namibians access to land. Inasmuch as Namibia is part of the international community. Our sovereignty should and must be respected.”

/Narib says it is with great dismay that the UDF condemns the actions of the diplomatic envoys from Germany and the EU.

“In terms of the Namibian Constitution, it is clearly stated in chapter 1 that Namibia is a sovereign state. We (Namibians) are able to govern ourselves and we will surely govern ourselves.”

/Narib claims the EU ambassadors’ actions indicate that their intentions are to cause chaos in Namibia.

“They want to install their proxy as the head of [state] so that they can access our precious minerals. We will not be told by imperialists how to conduct and preside over our affairs,” /Narib says.

“It’s true that we are to have elections this year, but that does not give the imperialists any right to come discuss internal affairs of Namibia with their proxy,” /Narib says. IPC spokesperson Imms Nashinge says everyone is entitled to their opinion. However, Nashinge has pointed out that Namibians allow Europeans to invest in hydrocarbon energy and Namibians study in Europe, seek medical attention in Europe and do banking in European countries.

Last week, the EU refuted claims that its heads of mission were discussing governance matters during the recent meeting with Itula.

The meeting was deemed as “unusual” in terms of diplomatic protocol and etiquette, as discussions, according to a statement by the IPC, included the upcoming elections and IPC’s strategies to address grievances among liberation struggle fighters. The meeting was also met with strong criticism from both the government and Swapo. EU ambassador to Namibia Ana-Beatriz Martins in a recent statement said the delegation had an informal lunch to discuss the situation in Namibia, including, among others, Itula’s election campaign.

“Naturally, the EU heads of mission did not discuss matters that fall within the purview of the Namibian government, nor did we comment on or prejudge the outcome of any election,” Martins said.