SA ready to help Namibia
2005-11-23 12:23
Pretoria - South Africa was ready to assist Namibia with an investigation into apartheid-era mass graves recently discovered in the north of that country, the foreign affairs department said on Wednesday.
"We have committed ourselves to assisting," spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said. "The South African government is on record as to its readiness and preparedness to assist the government and people of Namibia in getting to the bottom of this matter."
He couldn't say if South Africa had received an official request for assistance.
French news agency AFP earlier reported that Namibia's President Hifikepunye Pohamba has asked South Africa to send forensic experts to help in the probe.
Mamoepa said any such request would be forwarded to the relevant law enforcement agencies.
Police forensics spokesperson Superintendent Ronnie Naidu said he wasn't aware of any request for help. "It would have to follow the official channels through foreign affairs," he said. "Once we receive a request from foreign affairs, we will consider it."
Base home to SA Army's 54 Battalion
Naidu said there was an agreement among the police forces of the southern African region to assist each other where needed.
So far, five mass graves have been found outside the town of Ondangwa - once home to a base of the former SA Defence Force.
The bones are thought to be those of fighters from the South West African People's Organisation's military wing, Plan, killed in the so-called nine-day war in April 1989.
The base was home to the SA Army's 54 Battalion during the latter part of the 1966-1989 border war.
The head of the UN team that supervised Namibia's transition to independence in 1989 has reportedly denied any involvement in the mass graves.
- SAPA