Editing History of Namibia (section)

===Negotiations and transition===
[[File:Wa-map.gif|right|frame|Map of South West Africa (Namibia)]]
[[File:Foreign Observer identification badge in the 1989 Namibian election.jpg|thumb|Identification badge of a [[Election monitoring|Foreign Observer]] issued during the 1989 election – ([[Chesley V. Morton]] of the [[Georgia House of Representatives]])]]
In the period, four [[UNCN|UN Commissioners for Namibia]] were appointed. South Africa refused to recognize any of these United Nations appointees. Nevertheless, discussions proceeded with UN Commissioner for Namibia N°2 [[Martti Ahtisaari]] who played a key role in getting the Constitutional Principles agreed in 1982 by the front-line states, SWAPO, and the Western Contact Group. This agreement created the framework for Namibia's democratic constitution. The US Government's role as mediator was both critical and disputed throughout the period, one example being the intense efforts in 1984 to obtain withdrawal of the [[South African Defence Force]] (SADF) from southern Angola. The so-called "[[constructive engagement]]" by US diplomatic interests was viewed negatively by those who supported internationally recognised independence, while to others US policy seemed to be aimed more towards restraining Soviet-Cuban influence in Angola and linking that to the issue of Namibian independence. In addition, US moves seemed to encourage the South Africans to delay independence by taking initiatives that would keep the Soviet-Cubans in Angola, such as dominating large tracts of southern Angola militarily while at the same time providing [[private military contractors|surrogate forces]] for the Angolan opposition movement, [[UNITA]]. From 1985 to 1989, a [[Transitional Government of National Unity (Namibia)|Transitional Government of National Unity]], backed by South Africa and various ethnic political parties, tried unsuccessfully for recognition by the United Nations. Finally, in 1987 when prospects for Namibian independence seemed to be improving, the fourth [[Bernt Carlsson|UN Commissioner for Namibia Bernt Carlsson]] was appointed. Upon South Africa's relinquishing control of Namibia, Commissioner Carlsson's role would be to administer the country, formulate its framework constitution, and organize free and fair elections based upon a non-racial universal franchise.

In May 1988, a US mediation team – headed by [[Chester A. Crocker]], US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs – brought negotiators from [[Angola]], [[Cuba]], and South Africa, and observers from the Soviet Union together in London. Intense diplomatic activity characterized the next 7 months, as the parties worked out agreements to bring peace to the region and make possible the implementation of [[UN Security Council]] Resolution 435 (UNSCR 435). At the [[Ronald Reagan]]/[[Mikhail Gorbachev]] summit in Moscow (29 May – 1 June 1988) between leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union, it was decided that Cuban troops would be withdrawn from Angola, and Soviet military aid would cease, as soon as South Africa withdrew from Namibia. Agreements to give effect to these decisions were drawn up for signature in New York in December 1988.  Cuba, South Africa, and the People's Republic of Angola agreed to a complete withdrawal of foreign troops from Angola. This agreement, known as the ''Brazzaville Protocol'', established a Joint Monitoring Commission (JMC) with the United States and the [[Soviet Union]] as observers.  The [[Tripartite Accord (Angola)|Tripartite Accord]], comprising a bilateral agreement between Cuba and Angola, and a [[tripartite agreement (1988)|tripartite agreement]] between Angola, Cuba and South Africa whereby South Africa agreed to hand control of Namibia to the United Nations, were signed at [[UN headquarters]] in New York City on 22 December 1988. (UN Commissioner N°4 [[Bernt Carlsson]] was not present at the signing ceremony. He was killed on [[Pan Am Flight 103|flight Pan Am 103]] which exploded over [[Lockerbie bombing|Lockerbie]], [[Scotland]] on 21 December 1988 ''en route'' from [[Heathrow Airport|London]] to [[JFK Airport|New York]]. South African foreign minister, [[Pik Botha]], and an official delegation of 22 had a lucky escape. Their booking on Pan Am 103 was cancelled at the last minute and [[Pik Botha]], together with a smaller delegation, caught the earlier Pan Am 101 flight to New York.)

Within a month of the signing of the New York Accords, South African president [[P. W. Botha]] suffered a mild stroke, which prevented him from attending a meeting with Namibian leaders on 20 January 1989. His place was taken by acting president J. Christiaan Heunis.<ref>''[[The New York Times]]'', 22 January 1989 "Botha suffers mild stroke January 18, 1989"</ref> Botha had fully recuperated by 1 April 1989 when implementation of UNSCR 435 officially started and the South African–appointed [[List of colonial governors of South West Africa|Administrator-General]], [[Louis Pienaar]], began the territory's transition to independence. Former UN Commissioner N°2 and now UN Special Representative [[Martti Ahtisaari]] arrived in Windhoek in April 1989 to head the UN Transition Assistance Group's ([[UNTAG]]) mission.<ref>[http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/orders_list.asp?show=226 Profile of Martti Ahtisaari] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100719021409/http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/orders_list.asp?show=226 |date=19 July 2010 }}</ref>

The transition got off to a shaky start. Contrary to SWAPO President [[Sam Nujoma]]'s written assurances to the UN Secretary General to abide by a cease-fire and repatriate only unarmed Namibians, it was alleged that approximately 2,000 armed members of the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), SWAPO's military wing, crossed the border from Angola in an apparent attempt to establish a military presence in northern Namibia. UNTAG's [[Martti Ahtisaari]] took advice from [[Margaret Thatcher]], who was visiting Southern Africa at the time, and authorized a limited contingent of South African troops to assist the [[South West African Police]] in restoring order. A period of intense fighting followed, during which 375 PLAN fighters were killed. At a hastily arranged meeting of the Joint Monitoring Commission in Mount Etjo, a game park outside [[Otjiwarongo]], it was agreed to confine the South African forces to base and return PLAN elements to Angola. While that problem was resolved, minor disturbances in the north continued throughout the transition period.

In October 1989, under orders of the UN Security Council, Pretoria was forced to demobilize some 1,600 members of [[Koevoet]] (Afrikaans for ''crowbar''). The Koevoet issue had been one of the most difficult UNTAG faced. This counter-insurgency unit was formed by South Africa after the adoption of UNSCR 435, and was not, therefore, mentioned in the Settlement Proposal or related documents. The UN regarded Koevoet as a paramilitary unit which ought to be disbanded but the unit continued to deploy in the north in armoured and heavily armed convoys. In June 1989, the Special Representative told the Administrator-General that this behavior was totally inconsistent with the ''settlement proposal'', which required the police to be lightly armed. Moreover, the vast majority of the Koevoet personnel were quite unsuited for continued employment in the South West African Police ([[SWAPOL]]). The Security Council, in its resolution of 29 August, therefore demanded the disbanding of Koevoet and dismantling of its command structures. South African foreign minister, Pik Botha, announced on 28 September 1989 that 1,200 ex-Koevoet members would be demobilized with effect from the following day. A further 400 such personnel were demobilized on 30 October. These demobilizations were supervised by UNTAG military monitors.<ref>[https://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko/co_mission/untagFT.htm United Nations Transition Assistance Group] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090829075311/http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko/co_mission/untagFT.htm |date=29 August 2009 }}</ref>

The 11-month transition period ended relatively smoothly. Political prisoners were granted amnesty, discriminatory legislation was repealed, South Africa withdrew all its forces from Namibia, and some 42,000 refugees returned safely and voluntarily under the auspices of the Office of the [[UN High Commissioner for Refugees]] (UNHCR). Almost 98% of registered voters turned out to elect members of the Constituent Assembly. The elections were held in November 1989, overseen by [[Election monitoring|foreign observers]], and were certified as [[Election#Difficulties with elections|free and fair]] by the UN Special Representative, with [[SWAPO]] taking 57% of the vote, just short of the two-thirds necessary to have a free hand in revising the framework constitution that had been formulated not by UN Commissioner Bernt Carlsson but by the South African appointee [[Louis Pienaar]]. The opposition [[Democratic Turnhalle Alliance]] received 29% of the vote. The Constituent Assembly held its first meeting on 21 November 1989 and resolved unanimously to use the 1982 Constitutional Principles in Namibia's new constitution.