Sam Nujoma

Africa's last colony is moving toward independence on a promise of reconciliation after an election that was impressive both in its turnout and in its orderliness. The events are a credit to the United Nations, which persevered in its efforts to free the territory in the face of decades of resistance and opposition from South Africa. The election result itself will reinforce the commitment to reconciliation.

Namibia has entered its third year of independence from South Africa, peaceful and free but struggling with economic woes. "Our country is no longer a pariah state . . . But we must meet the challenges with courage and hard work," President Sam Nujoma said in a speech marking the anniversary.

Key southern African leaders have rallied behind President Robert Mugabe, urging the West to provide funds for land redistribution and defuse the mounting political crisis in Zimbabwe. Presidents Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Sam Nujoma of Namibia and Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique said after talks with Mugabe at Victoria Falls on Friday that Western governments should make good on their promise at a 1998 donor conference to finance land reform.

Africa's last colony, Namibia, became free today, setting a new standard for a smooth and constructive transition to democracy. The achievement is the work of many, most important the United Nations, which has overseen 33 years of decolonization in Africa.

In the wake of devastating floods, the leaders of seven southern African nations on Tuesday urged creation of a regional system to forecast and deal with natural disasters. While the hardest hit, Mozambique is just one of the nations in the region that has been battered by heavy rains and flooding. Relief efforts on the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar gained momentum Tuesday as food-laden French military helicopters and other aircraft delivered aid to flooded areas.

The newest peace-keeping operation of the United Nations, this one in Namibia, has had a tragic start for which many must share responsibility. Chaotic and confused as the situation is, however, there is nothing to justify South Africa's threat to nullify the international agreement that the peace force is to implement.

In a move that should encourage democracy throughout Africa, President Clinton recently recognized the government of Angola's President Jose Eduardo dos Santos. This embracing of Dos Santos is politically significant because in the 1980s he depended on Cuban and Soviet troops in a long civil war that was escalated by superpower rivalry.

For 23 years, the guerrillas of the South-West Africa People's Organization fought a bush war to wrest control of Namibia from South African colonizers and plant the principles of Karl Marx deeply in the sandy soil of the sparsely populated territory. But today, as SWAPO sits on the verge of realizing its dream in Namibia's first free and democratic elections, the rhetoric of war has given way to the practicalities of politics.

As many here see it, President Sam Nujoma should be former President Sam Nujoma. In November, the founding father of this young African democracy finished his second five-year term, the limit under the constitution. But Nujoma didn't budge; the constitution did. Nujoma's ruling South-West Africa People's Organization voted to exempt him from the restriction. Nujoma was reelected to a third term in December.

Theo-Ben Gurirab, a young teacher with dreams of black liberation, stuffed some carefully falsified identity papers into his pocket 27 years ago and stole onto an outbound train just ahead of the South African authorities. Once outside Namibia's borders, he earned a master's degree at an American university, married an American fashion merchandiser--and helped guide one of Africa's bloodiest guerrilla wars.