Namibia: independence at last.

President Nujoma smiled broadly. As the leader of the South West Africa People's Organization SWAPO), he had struggled for 24 years to see this day COME to pass.

"The whole world, especially Africa, rejoices with Namibia", Mr. Perez de Cuellar had said moments earlier. "What is a triumph for Namibia is a triumph for Africa and, indeed, for the principles that are enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations."

The inauguration ceremony which capped the year-long transition independence, a process supervised each step of the way by the United Nations-represented, he said, "the culmination of the struggle for national dignity and independence of many generations of Namibians". Numerous lives had been sacrificed in seeking the goal now reached, he added.

"In the name of our people, I declare that Namibia is forever free, sovereign and independent", said Mr. Nujoma, who on 16 February had been unanimously elected for a five-year term as President by the Namibian Constituent Assembly.

As of today, we are masters of this pastoral land of our ancestors. The destiny of our country is now in our own hands", he said, adding: Africa's last colony is, from this hour, liberated".

Mr. Nujoma hailed South Africa's President F.W. de Klerk's "statesmanship and realism" in withdrawing from Namibia. He hoped that such an attitude would "continue to unfold in South Africa itself'.

A few minutes earlier, President de Klerk, who was invited to speak by the new Namibian Government and shared the podium with Mr. Nujoma and Mr. Perez de Cuellar, had stated: "I stand here tonight as an advocate of peace. The season of violence has passed for Namibia and for the whole of southern Africa."

His country extended "a hand of friendship" to its new neighbours, he said, urging that the bitterness of the past be put aside. "Good neighbourliness is in our mutual interest", he said. Then a solemn looking Mr. de Klerk stood erect, his hand over his heart, as the orange, white and blue South African flag was lowered by uniformed South Africa Defense Force soldiers.

The former German colony, administered by South Africa since 1920, was expected soon to become the 160th Member StAte of the United Nations. (It did so on 23 April 1990.) The UN Council for Namibia had been the Territory's legal administrator since 1967 after the General Assembly in 1966 revoked South Africa's rights over the vast, mineral-rich land. UN to support is nation building"

Mr. Perez de Cuellar promised the full support of the United Nations to Namibia "in the challenging task of nation-building". The Organization would convene an international conference in june to mobilize financial aid for the new African republic, he said.

In his speech at the inauguration, he expressed appreciation to the South African Government, its Administrator-General in Namibia, Louis Pienaar, and SWAPO for their co-operation during the past year.

He expressed admiration for Mr. Nujoma's statemanship, which had transformed him from "dauntless party leader" to a leader of a new nation. All the political parties and the people of Namibia had given the world "a remarkable lesson in democracy", Mr. Perez de Cuellar stated.

The 8,000-strong United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG)-the international overseer of the independence process-had been "a unique operation", he said. It had "broken much new ground", successfully monitoring the procedures leading to free and fair elections for a Constituent Assembly.

Mr. Perez de Cuellar paid tribute to Martti Ahtisaari, his Special Representative in Namibia, Mr. Ahtisaari's Deputy, Legwaila joseph Legwaila, and UNTAG military force Commander, General Prem Chand. He also expresssed "deep gratitude" to the women and men from more than 100 countries who had served in UNTAG and to the UN staff members at UN Headquarters in New York who had "devotedly and cheerfully" covered for them.

Earlier that day at the sports stadium, the Secretary-General had attended the swearing in of Namibia's first multiracial cabinet. The new Prime Minister is Hage Geingob, Mr. Nujoma's campaign manager, and the first foreign Minister is Theo Ben Gurirab, who had served as SWAPO representative at Headquarters for many years.

Dr. Otto Herrigel, a white businessman is Minister of Finance, in charge of the economy. The attorney general is Hartmut Ruppel, a white human rights activist.

During his five-day stay in Namibia, Mr. Perez de Cuellar met with more than a dozen world leaders, and other important political figures, including recently released South African black activist Nelson Mandela. The Secretary-General also reviewed an UNTAG military parade.

"I think that it is the duty of our Organization and the whole United Nations system to help Namibia consolidate its independence, to achieve stability, both political and economic, and to achieve rapid progress," the Secretary-General stated at a press conference after attending the 22 March opening of the UN Centre in Namibia, which will house the Organization's development agencies. For Perez de Cuellar, a tight schedule

During his tightly-scheduled stay in Namibia, Secretary-General javier Perez de Cuellar hustled through a daunting array of highpowered political meetings, inauguration ceremonies and receptions, press conferences and private briefings.

It was, as usual, more a working than a ceremonial trip. His presence in Namibia represented more than eight years of personal diplomatic efforts to help secure Namibia's independence. It was clear that he not only enjoyed the inauguration festivities, but was deeply moved by them.

However, he managed to use every available moment to advance the various political issues on his agenda. He strenuously lobbied for a strong economic future for Namibia and a remedy for the continuing situation of apartheid in South Africa. He also prodded for progress on Western Sahara, Central America, the Middle East, Cambodia and other hot spots.

On arrival at Windhoek International Airport, Mr. Perez de Cuellar praised "the Namibian model" for democracy in action, tolerance and political maturity.

After arriving on 19 March, the Secretary-General received his first visitor-President-elect Nujoma, who thanked him personally and the UN for helping guide his country to independence. Mr. Nujoma also informed the Secretary-General of his Government's future plans, especially in the economic field.

They discussed the lifting of a "ban on oil and other goods destined for Namibia", imposed by the General Assembly when the Territory was still under South African administration.

The next day, Mr. Perez de Cuellar met with many of the world leaders who had come to Windhoek for the independence ceremonies. He spoke with United States Secretary of State james Baker, South Africa's State President de Klerk, Spain's Foreign Minister Francisco Fernandez Ordonez and United States political figure jesse jackson, among others. Before the midnight inauguration ceremonies, he attended a reception and dinner given by Namibia's AdministratorGeneral Pienaar. Thinking Namibia's future

Over the next two days-21 and 22 March-the Secretary-General discussed Namibia's future with India's Prime Minister V.P. Singh, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, current Chairman of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), and Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as the head of the japanese delegation, Tadashi Kuranari.

Emergency and relief aid were the main topics of discussion with Mozambique President joaquim Chissano, President jose Eduardo dos Santos of Angola and Fisseha Desta, Vice-President of Ethiopia.

He was briefed by Thorvald Stoltenberg, new UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and met with Romania's Foreign Minister Sergiu Celac and Yugoslavia's President Janez Drnovsek.

The Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Kazi Kafar Ahmed, paid a courtesy call at noon on 22 March. Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India, called next, and after him, Salim A. Salim, Secretary-General of the OAU.

By mid-afternoon on 22 March, South African political leader Nelson Mandela had arrived to discuss with the Secretary-General his thoughts on recent measures taken by the South African Government. A UN spokesman said later that the two men had reviewed the role of the United Nations in South Africa, what progress could be made there and the general situation in southern Africa.

Later that afternoon, Mr. Perez de Cuellar's met with Mohamed Abdelazlz, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro (POLISARIO), and with Lieutenant Colonel Kane, who headed the Mauritanian delegation to the inauguration.

"We are like a midwife, and the baby was born with independence", Martti Ahtisaari told The New York Times shortly after Namibia became independent on 21 March.

The Secretary-General's Special Representative proudly stressed that the UNTAG mission in the southwest African country had been concluded 10 days ahead of the target date of I April and had cost $373.4 million-$42.8 million less than the $416.2 million budgeted by the General Assembly.

At peak strength, during the elections, UNTAG swelled to 7,900 people from 109 nations. But for most of the 52-week mission, it numbered around 6,700-4,300 military, 1,500 police and 900 civilians.

Some 200 UNTAG outposts were established, including 42 regional or district centres and 48 police stations. A total of 32 television shows and 201 radio programmes were produced in 13 local languages. More than 600,000 T-shirts, buttons, stickers and pamphlets were distributed. Thousands were dally informed of their individual rights and details of the independence process. And 701,483 voters were registered, an incredible 97.4 per cent of which actually cast their ballots.

Some 433,000 Namiblan exiles scattered throughout 40 countries -were repatriated with the assistance of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Women were highly visible in the successful nine-month Namibia operation. They accounted for more than 45 per cent of the UNTAG staff. They were everywhere-running regional offices, driving four-wheel vehicles in the desert, serving as soldiers, doctors, poll-watchers, fingerprint experts, nurses.

"You worked long hours each day, and travelled hundreds of miles in demanding conditions, undertook week-long patrols with only minimum rations", SecretaryGeneral Perez de Cuellar told UNTAG staff members on 20 March, after reviewing a military parade by the Kenyan, Malaysian and Finnish battalions at the Suiderhof base near Windhoek.

He added: "Many of you lived and worked in harsh and remote places. But there were few complaints. There was a job to be done, and you did it with total commitment."

Many UNTAG members who have already returned to their former jobs around the world frequently talk of their Namibian experience, "of the emotion of many old people who had waited a lifetime to vote for their country. They mention what feelings were stirred when a United Nations flag was raised in some distant area where, just a few weeks before, the thought of such an event would have been inconceivable", the Secretary-General said.

The Security Council was discussing a possible extension of the UNTAG mandate, he told the press. Meanwhile, a small UNTAG administrative presence would remain in Namibia. Concerns over the potential for security problems in northern Namibia after independence had been voiced by Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, who had asked for an UNTAG presence there after 21 March.

Administrator-General Plenaar left Namibia on 22 March and was seen off by President Nujoma.

As Mr. Perez de Cuellar travelled on to Rabat, the Moroccan capital, on 23 March-the first leg of a trip to North Africa to promote a solution to the Western Sahara question-UNTAG continued its withdrawal from Namibia.

All civilian staff and military observers were expected to leave the country by 30 March. The last of the police officers were to depart by 7 April. And some 4,000 infantry personnel would be gone by 8 April, carrying with them the pale blue-and-white UN flag-for the last year the symbol of hope and transition in Namibia.

Mr. Perez de Cuellar paid solemn tribute to the memory of the 17 men and women of UNTAG who lost their lives while on mission. At the close of the ceremony, he awarded UNTAG medals to Force Commander General Prem Chand and Police Commissioner Stephen Fanning. "The spirit of dedication that permeated UNTAG was exemplified in the quality of its leadership in the territory", the Secretary-General stated. The Closing Chapter

When he became Secretary-General in 1982, Mr. Perez de Cuellar vowed to make Namibia his highest personal priority. At the inauguration ceremony, he said that he was filled with profound emotion and gratitude that this priority has been realized-by arduous effort, with frustrations and occasional setbacks in the past, no doubt, but through a process which has fully vindicated the repute and effectiveness of the United Nations".

On his return to New York, Mr. Perez de Cuellar presented "with great satisfaction" what he termed his closing report on Namibia to the Security Council SI21215).

The goal of independence for Namibia, for which the United Nations and its Member States had striven for so long, had been achieved "in dignity and with great rejoicing", he was able, finally, to tell the Council. UNTAG women: in difficult and

dangerous situations

"Over the past year, women staff members participated, for the first time in almost equal numbers with men, on the civilian side of a historic United Nations operation. They made a significant contribution to the United Nations Transition Assistance Group UNTAG)often in difficult and sometimes in dangerous situations-paving the way for the independence of Namibia ...

These women acquitted themselves in a manner which should once and for all erase the doubts-which I for one never had-regarding the ability of women to perform as well as men in any and all areas of United Nations activity. The same can be said of the United Nations Observation Mission to Verify the Elections in Nicaragua, nearly half of whose staff were women. Thus, new standards have been set for United Nations activities in the future."

Secretary-General Perez de Cuellar on the occasion of International Women's Day, 8 March

The UN has played a pre-eminent role in the intense international involvement in securing Namibia's ultimate destiny. The following chronology outlines some significant

1 events in the new nation's history. 1884-1914: South-West Africa (later known as Namibia) is a German colony. 1920: Following Germany's defeat in World War 1, the League of Nations gives South Africa a mandate to administer the territory. 1946: A UN trusteeship replaces the League of Nations mandate. South Africa rejects the change. 1966: The South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) starts a guerrilla war to gain independence for the territory. After 15 years of unsuccessful negotiations, the UN strips South Africa of any rights over the territory and assumes direct responsibility for administering South West Africa. 1967: The Council for Namibia is established as the legal Administering Authority for the Territory. 1968: The UN renames the territory Namibia. 1971: The International Court of justice rules that the South African presence in Namibia is illegal. 1976: The Security Council calls for free elections in Namibia under UN supervision resolution 385). 1978: South Africa and SWAPO accept a plan for Namibia's independence under UN supervision, proposed by Canada, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Security Council decides to create the United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG) and to apply the UN plan resolution 435). 1988: On 22 December, after eight months of intense United States-brokered negotiations, Angola, Cuba and South Africa sign agreements on the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola and the achievement of peace in south-western Africa. (South Africa had linked, since 1982, Namibia's independence to the withdrawal of Cuban troops. The Security Council had rejected that linkage). 1989: On 16january, the Security Council officially declares 1 April 1989 as the day for the start of Namibia's transition to independence. It also authorizes sending UNTAG to Namibia (resolutions 628 and 629). 1990: On 23 April, Namibia achieves independence.

Namibia-with its 824,292 square kilometres somewhat larger than the size of France and the United Kingdom combined-is home to only 1.5 million people Its population density is 1.5 persons per square kilometre, compared to 18 for Africa as a whole.

Its landscape and topography is contradictory sometimes arid, sometimes lush, sometimes forbidding, sometimes welcoming. Flanked by two deserts-the Namib to the west and the Kalahari to the eastNamibia exports diamonds, uranium oxide and other minerals, beef and karakul pelts for luxury fur coats. It also has some of the world's richest fishing waters.

The country has a wealth of natural resources. It also has a relatively developed infrastructure, skilled workers, local capital and a strong political will to forge ahead with development.

But Namibia is expected to need significant external assistance during its first years of independence. Its most immediate need is for foreign loans or other types of funding to cover an expected $200 million a year budget deficit due to the loss of South African fiscal aid.

At a rally on the first day of independence, 21 March, President Nujoma proclaimed that his Government was "committed to a mixed economy" and looked forward "to a good partnership between the state and the private sectors, because only through working together will our economy prosper".

Although Mr. Nujoma's South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) had traditionally expressed a preference for a socialist economy, the Namibian President told the thousands attending a rally in Windhoek that his Government wanted to "ensure a more dynamic role for the private sector", which should be "an engine for growth and prosperity".

And he added: "We welcome inflows of capital and technical know-how from abroad. Private enterprise will be needed to employ our work force."

The President announced that his Government was drafting a code that would "spell out our open and inviting attitude to investment and set out the kind of commitment that we would expect from investors toward our goals of national development".

Namibia confronted major economic difficulties", Mr. Nujoma stated. "We have inherited a lopsided and underdeveloped economy", he said, referring to his country's economic dependence on South Africa.

"Two thirds of our population are very poor by our standards and by the standards of the world", he said. Mass unemployment was "one of the most crippling legacies of colonialism". More than 30 per cent of the work force was unemployed and an even larger number employed.

The UN is already playing a major role in mobilizing international aid for the youngest African nation. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has already announced the launching of a 10.6.million, two-year technical assistance programme.

The UNDP Trust Fund for Namibia, set up in September 1989, will channel capital and technical assistance in the areas of economic management, agriculture (including livestock and fisheries), education and training, health care, civil aviation and transport, human settlements and rural roads.

A donor's conference planned for june is expected to bring in more funding for Namibia's development.

Some countries have already announced bilateral aid to Namibia: the Federal Republic of Germany promised $50 million. On 21 March, the United States lifted all economic sanctions it had imposed on Namibia while under South African control and said it would grant that nation full trading partner privileges. United States aid to Namibia is planned to increase from $500,000 this year to $7.8 million in 1991.