SOVIET INFLUENCE IN NAMIBIA STIRS HILL'S CONCERN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000100150115-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 29, 2012
• Sequence Number: 115
• Publication Date: March 29, 1982
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

ST Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/29: CIA-RDP90-00965R000100150115-1
Or, Pnu 'p 13
Soviet Inf luenee
In Namibia- Stirs
Hill's Concern
White many Hof 'their colleagues.
were, junketing around -the Carib-
bean last January, two Senate staff
members were trekking through the
bush in Southwest Africa, 'riding on'
"mine-proof' vehicles and hunkering
down in, machine-gun nests.
week, by Sen.. Jeremiah Denton's
subcommittee 'on security and ter-
,rorism.
THE WASHINGTON POST
29 March 1982
copper and other minerals. In fact, it Dale Van Atta and Joseph Spear*de-
has both the world's largest uranium tail the extent of the Kremlin's in-
mine and the largest diamond con-` ' volvement with SWAPO. Here are
cession. Much of its mineral wealth. the key bits of evidence:
is classified by the CIA as "strategic, . ? SWAPO's present leadei; ,Sam
meaning that the United States Nujoma, is virtually a. Soviet puppet.
needs the minerals and doesn't have . Internal SWAPOvdocuments :indi-
its own supply. cate that Nujoma has- to get Most-
Though the Soviets are largely * cows permission before dealing with
self-sufficient in these essential min- his own subordinates.
erals, the CIA suspects the Kremlin - ? Young Namibians are `some-!
wants to be able to deprive the West times recruited into SWAPO with i
of these strategic minerals by con- promises they will become doc-?ois or
trolling Namibia. Also, when coupled teachers within six months. Instead,
with Angola, Namibia would give the they are packed off to "engineering
Soviets a, strategic anchor in the camps"-terrorist training centers:
in
.
' .
Bert Milling, were checking out first- south Atlantic. Angola and Zambia.
hand the guerrilla- warfare that has That's why the United States wor- ? The most promising recruits are
torn' Namibia for -'15 , years. They .. rtes about the South West Africa . sent to advanced terrorist schools in
were gathering information and lin- People's Organization (SWAPO), East Germany and the Soviet Union..3
ing up witnesses for hearings this and 'why the Marxist guerrillas are Aeroflot flies them from Luanda i
The two men, Joel - Lisker and
than Houston's, contains enormous
quantities . of uranium,' -diamonds,
reasons for concern.
- Namibia, which Is 'bigger than
Texas but has a population smaller
Hill for the combat zone along the
Angolan border was the growing con-
cern in Congress over. Soviet influ-
ence in the region. As-to why the
United -States should worry about:
Russian intentions in'-,Namibia, a.
top-secret Central Intelligence Agen-
cy file on' the country lists explicit
Ito forsake the comforts of Capitol
What led the two committee aides
covertly supported', by the Soviet Angola, to Moscow by way of T,ibya;
Union. According to- the CIA, the sometimes the Namibians are pro-
Russians provide -training, weapons vided with United. Nations,-pass-
and other necessities that have kept ports. In East Germany, they.-are,
the insurgents in business over the told to pass themselves off as Ugan-
years. dans. "Moscow remains SWAPO's main -' ? SWAPO guerrillas are"' well
supporter," a recent secret CIA- re- equipped with Soviet pistols, rifles
port states. "Although there are un-. and rocket launchers.
confirmed reports that SWAPO has There is evidence that discipline
expressed interest in reviving its old is harsh in the guerrilla forcep.-On
ties with Peking. the Chinese cur- defector, who walked 150 to'-2Q0
rently are not willing' to do more miles to escape SWAPO's clutches,
than offer the insurgents moral sup- told of being forced to dig his -own
port, and quietly, back the initiative grave, and lie. in it when he. was sus-
of five Western powers to negotiate a petted of treachery. He was nearly.
settlement with South Africa." buried alive before his fellow:giier-.
? 4 Intelligence sources and secret re- rillas finally ":believed his' prote"ta-
ports, examined .by my associates tions of innocence. ;,
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/29: CIA-RDP90-00965R000100150115-1