LSM RESOLUTION ON NAMIBIA AND NATIONAL NAMIBIA CONCERNS

Background:

South Africa, since the inception of its control over Namibia in 1915, has consistently dispossessed the Black majority population there, most of whom are Lutheran, by expropriating land, resources, and wealth for Whites residing both within and without the Territory.  IT has pursued a strategy of ruthless terror, intimidation, and political manipulation within Namibia, depriving Blacks of their God-given freedom and dignity, and continue to defy the ruling of the International Court of Justice that South Africa illegally occupies Namibia and must withdraw its administration and military forces. 

To this day South Africa continues its attempt to establish an ostensibly independent government in Namibia, a government selected an controlled by South Africa itself, in contravention of United Nation Security Council Resolution 435, which calls for free and fair elections in Namibia under U.N. supervision.  The South African government has devoted many millions of dollars to publicity and propaganda campaigns designed to win the approval of the American public and the U.S. Congress for its reprehensible policies.

The present Administration of the U.S. Government continues both overtly and tacitly to aid and support South Africa and its exploitation of the Namibian people.  And many Americans remain ignorant to their government’s actions.

WHEREAS the ideology of apartheid, which lies at the root of White South African exploitation of our Black brothers and sisters in Namibia, has been condemned as evil and heretical by the international Christian community, and

WHEREAS the nation church bodies comprising the ELCA, the ALC, the LCA, and the AELC, have unambiguously declared their staunch opposition to South African apartheid and its repugnant consequences; have proclaimed solidarity with the oppressed Lutheran churches in Namibia; and have dedicated themselves both to education about the issue within the Church here, and in the political sphere, to advocacy on Namibia’s behalf for immediate free and fair elections as outlined in the U.N. Security Council Resolution 435, and

WHEREAS LSM-USA at prior convention has adopted positions compatible with statement on Namibia expressed by the nation church bodies, and

WHEREAS the organization National Namibia Concerns, founded at Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, is the single most effective force in the realm of American Lutheranism working for education and advocacy on Namibian issues, and

WHEREAS an enormous amount of work remains to be done to free Namibia from the demonic grip of apartheid forces in Southern Africa, and

WHEREAS National Namibia Concerns is operation at a deficit, and in danger of having to significantly curtail activities due to lack of financial resources;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT

1.  LSM-USA and its constituent member adopt as an urgent priority the task of advocacy on behalf of National Namibia Concerns with the ELCA leadership; and that

2.  the goal of such advocacy be not only raised consciousness, but, more directly, to petition the ELCA to allocate money for the operating budget of National Namibia Concerns, in the recommended amount of $25,000 per annum over and above the sum total of any monies now allocated annually to National Namibia Concerns by the tree church bodies which comprise the ELCA; and that

3.  a committee be appointed by the Secretary of International Concerns, who may or may not be a member of said committee, and that said committee petition key member of the ELCA leadership to take action as outlined in this resolution article 2; and that

4.  said committee be self sufficient and yet act of behalf of LSM-USA as outlined in this resolution and have full consent of LSM-USA to represent it, and that

5.  LSM-USA and its constituent members undertake a coordinated letter-writing campaign directed at local, synodical, and national ELCA leadership in order to aid in attaining the goals of this resolution; and that

6.  LSM-USA, through its delegate committee, maintain communications with the ELCA leadership and continue to encourage support for National Namibia Concerns.

Sponsored by Kevin Smith and Brian Brandt – LSM University of Iowa, c/o Lutheran Campus Center 20 E. Market St., Iowa City, IA 52240