SECURITY ENVIRONMENT PROFILE QUESTIONNAIRE -

S E C R E T WINDHOEK 000072 DEPT FOR DS/IP/ITA AND DS/IP/AF E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/20/2018 TAGS: ASEC PTER WA SUBJECT: SECURITY ENVIRONMENT PROFILE QUESTIONNAIRE - SPRING 2009 REF: STATE 13023 Classified By: Ambassador G. Dennise Mathieu For Reasons 1.4 C & D -------------- POLITICAL VIOLENCE -------------- ¶1. (SBU) DEMONSTRATIONS ¶A. Post is not aware of any religious or ethnic communities in Namibia that actively and publicly espouse specifically anti-American positions. Moreover, there are very few public demonstrations in general in Namibia. Namibia's approximately 2500-member Muslim community, comprised of African, Southeast Asian and Middle East traders and diplomats is not politically active. Namibia's main labor union, which is affiliated with the ruling SWAPO party, has in recent years staged demonstrations involving up to several hundred participants, but has not organized any anti-U.S. events since March 2003. a1. No a2. Yes, See events para below. a3. 150-500 (historically),but most recently 10-12 persons. a4. Yes, See events para below. Events: --In March 2007, 10-12 demonstrators from the Namibian Cuban Friendship Association rallied near the American Embassy to express their concern about the incarceration of Cubans in the United States (the so-called "Cuban Five") who they claimed were being held on trumped-up charges. -- In March 2007, human rights activists marched to the Zimbabwean High Commission to protest abuses by the Zimbabwean government. --In August 2007, security guards from across the capital gathered at an open field outside the Katutura Youth Centre to protest poor wages. ¶B. Peaceful. b1. No b2. No ¶C. Yes - In September 2008 some 92 demonstrators from a group called the "Children of the Liberation Struggle" camped out for more than 70 days on the pavement in front of the Ministry of Veterans' Affairs. c1. No c2. 300-500 historically c3. Peaceful. c4. No ¶2. (SBU) MACRO CONFLICT CONDITIONS ¶A. No. ¶B. N/A ¶C. N/A ¶D. N/A ¶3. (SBU) HOST COUNTRY CAPABILITIES ¶A. No. Although Namibia has a good human rights record and there are limited cases of abuse, law enforcement officials receive insufficient training and frequently are not capable of properly conducting investigations and handling enforcement. ¶B. Several Namibian law enforcement agencies (especially Customs and Immigration) fully participate in USG training programs at the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Gaborone. During the past years, several senior Namibian police officials have participated in ILEA programs. The police had previously declined for many years to participate, reportedly because GRN ally Zimbabwe was excluded from ILEA training. ¶C. Individual cases of corruption are reported, but Namibia has managed to avoid endemic, system-wide corruption in law enforcement agencies. ¶D. No. Although mostly professional in their conduct, their limited resources would make it difficult to deter terrorist actions. ¶E. Yes, to the extent of their very limited capabilities. ¶F. N/A. ¶G. Yes. ¶H. Average. ¶I. Ineffective, especially at land border posts. ¶J. Ineffective; large portions of Namibia's borders are essentially unpatrolled. -------------- INDIGENOUS TERRORISM -------------- ¶4. (SBU) ANTI-AMERICAN TERRORIST GROUPS ¶A. None that Post is aware of. ¶B. No. ¶C. N/A. ¶D. No. ¶E. No. ¶F. N/A. ¶G. N/A. II. (SBU) OTHER INDIGENOUS TERRORIST GROUPS ¶A. None that Post is aware of. ¶B. N/A. ¶C. N/A. ¶D. N/A. -------------- TRANSNATIONAL TERRORISM -------------- ¶6. (S) TRANSNATIONAL TERRORIST INDICATORS ¶A. None that Post is aware of. ¶B. N/A. ¶C. No. ¶D. No. ¶E. No. ¶F. China, Russia, Cuba, and Venezuela maintain diplomatic missions in Windhoek, and both China and Russia are currently in the process of building very large embassies in Windhoek. The Chinese have installed a radio repeater at one of the highest points in Windhoek, which could allow them to intercept our Embassy radio signals. (Although we are unable to confirm whether there have been any attempts to do so. There is no evidence that any of these missions are engaged in anti-US intelligence activities relative to potential anti-American terrorist acts. The Chinese business community in many areas of Namibia has grown exponentially. Windhoek's four mosques receive foreign financial support: Iranian assistance for the Shi'ite mosque and Saudi funds for the Sunni Islamic Center and affiliated mosques. There is no indication that these groups are involved in anti-American activities. ¶G. Small arms are widely available in Namibia. Most weapons are unregistered, including automatic weapons originating from Angola. Explosives are used in the mining industry but are well controlled by the companies that use them. MATHIEU