“South West African Police”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

The South West African Police, often abbreviated to SWAPOL, was the national police force of South West Africa (Namibia). It was responsible for law enforcement in South West Africa when that territory was being governed by South Africa as a League of Nations mandate, and was organised and structured both as a paramilitary force and as a civil police force.

History

SWAPOL was established following World War I, when the South African government assumed administration of South West Africa under the terms of a League of Nations mandate. Between 1915 and 1919, public security and law enforcement were entrusted to the South African military police. On December 31, 1939, the rule of law returned to South West Africa when SWAPOL was founded as the territory's first civil police agency. An investigation department was established in 1920. SWAPOL was disbanded in 1939.

The South African Police were responsible for the territory from 1939 to 1981. SWAPOL was re-established in 1981, after the territory had become self-governing.

Role in Counterinsurgency

The first large scale contact between units of the SWAPOL (SWA Polisie) and the nationalist-revolutionary guerillas was in 1968. On July 14, 1968, a Police Patrolling team from Eenhana District Police, led by Sergeant Fourie, W/O Nelumbu, B/Constable Bavingi, Constable Schaefer, Constable Hattingh and B/Constable Kauluma were patrolling the Eenhana-Outapi Highway when their Land Rover jeep came under machine gun fire and grenade attack from a band of guerillas from the bushes. Their jeep tyres having been shot away, Sgt. Fourie and W/O Nelumbu fired back with their side arms (pistols) and a wounded Constable Hattingh brought to bear the lone Sten Gun in the jeep to drive the attack away, in the process rescuing under fire a wounded B/Constable Kauluma, the driver, who had been thrown from the jeep and wounded. Following this attack Police radio patrols in the highway region were strengthened with an additional jeep with 2 Policemen armed with the L1A1 Self Loading Rifle. In 1970 the situation had deteriorated to the extent that all Policemen in the Northern Region were given training in the L1A1 self loading rifle and the Sten Gun, and the SWAPOL Airwing started twice daily helicopter patrols along the Eenhana-Outapi Road.

Koevoet

SWAPOL's most controversial unit was its counter-insurgency division, which was known officially as SWAPOL-COIN or Operation K, but more commonly referred to as Koevoet.^[1] Koevoet was initially an autonomous unit under the nominal authority of the SAP Security Branch, but became part of SWAPOL in 1985.^[2] Koevoet worked closely with SWAPOL's own Security Branch in investigating crimes of a political nature, namely politically motivated murders.^[3] The unit was better known for its combat operations against insurgents of the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) in Ovamboland, which earned it a formidable reputation.^[4] Koevoet's hybrid status as a paramilitary police unit made it something of a legal anomaly; for example, it lacked the mandate to hold insurgents as prisoners of war.^[3] Insurgents were technically supposed to be apprehended for trial in open courts as common law criminals.^[3] Based on this interpretation, the South West African courts ruled that insurgents captured by Koevoet had to be granted legal representation and could not be detained indefinitely.^[3]

With the South African Border War drawing to a close in mid-1989, Koevoet was greatly reduced in size and most of its personnel were reassigned to other divisions by SWAPOL. Additionally, many of the South African personnel were transferred back to the South African Police or the Homeland Forces. In 1988, SWAPOL consisted of 6,200 uniformed personnel, including the 3000-man Koevoet force and the 200-man Air Wing, of which 4000 were local Blacks, 700 were local Whites, 1000 were South African Whites and 500 were South African Blacks. The local Municipal Constabulary, Homeland Guards and Traffic Police were entirely locals, both Black and White^[5] Nevertheless, the unit's continued existence was the subject of much controversy, as both current and former Koevoet operators were accused of political intimidation and human rights abuses.^[6] United Nations Security Council Resolution 640 explicitly named Koevoet as being a barrier to the peace process in Namibia and demanded its disbandment.^[7] SWAPOL dissolved the unit on October 30, 1989.^[8]

References

1. ^{{cite book|last=Stiff|first=Peter|title=The Covert War: Koevoet Operations in Namibia, 1979-1989|date=2004|pages=53, 121|publisher=Galago Publishing Pty Ltd|location=Alberton|isbn=978-1919854038}}
2. ^{{cite book|last=Nowrojee|first=Binaifer|title=Divide and Rule: State-sponsored Ethnic Violence in Kenya|year=1993|pages=17-26|publisher=Human Rights Watch|location=New York|isbn=978-1564321176}}
3. ^¹²³{{cite book|last1=Herbstein|first1=Denis|last2=Evenson|first2=John|title=The Devils Are Among Us: The War for Namibia|year=1989|pages=28, 61–92|publisher=Zed Books Ltd|location=London|isbn=978-0862328962}}
4. ^{{cite book|last1=Harmse|first1=Kyle|last2=Dunstan|first2=Simon|title=South African Armour of the Border War 1975–89|date=23 February 2017|pages=22-26|publisher=Osprey Publishing|location=Oxford|isbn=978-1472817433}}
5. ^{{cite book|last=McMullin|first=Jaremey|title=Ex-Combatants and the Post-Conflict State: Challenges of Reintegration|year=2013|pages=81–89|publisher=Palgrave-Macmillan|location=Basingstoke|isbn=978-1-349-33179-6}}
6. ^{{cite book|last1=Krasno|first1=Jean|last2=Hayes|first2=Bradd|last3=Daniel|first3=Donald|title=Leveraging for Success in United Nations Peace Operations|year=2003|pages=35–47|publisher=Praeger|location=Westport, Connecticut|isbn=978-0275978839}}
7. ^{{cite book|last1=Colletta|first1=Nat|last2=Kostner|first2=Markus|last3=Wiederhofer|first3=Indo|title=Case Studies of War-To-Peace Transition: The Demobilization and Reintegration of Ex-Combatants in Ethiopia, Namibia, and Uganda|year=1996|pages=127–142|publisher=World Bank|location=Washington DC|isbn=978-0821336748}}
8. ^{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE0DD1131F932A35753C1A96F948260|title=South Africa Disbands Special Police in Namibia|publisher=New York Times|date=31 October 1989|accessdate=2007-10-24 | first=Christopher S. | last=Wren}}