Place:Rehoboth area
Template:Infobox unrecognized state
The Rehoboth area, historically the Free Republic of Rehoboth (German: Freie Republik Rehoboth) is an unrecognized state in central Namibia, inhabited by the indigenous Baster people.
Between 1979 and 1989, the area was a South West African bantustan.
Background
The first provisions for establishing a Rehoboth government were made on 15 December 1868, in Warmbad, German South West Africa.[1]
The state constitution of the Rehoboth area was based on the initial constitution of 31 January 1872.[1][2] The original constitution was amended on 1 January 1874.[3]
On 15 September 1885, through the 'Treaty of Protection and Friendship Between the German Empire and the Basters of Rehoboth of 1885', the independence of the Rehoboth Basters was first recognised.[3]
The Rehoboth Basters are not recognised as a traditional ethnic community of Namibia, unlike other ethnic groups. From February 2007 to December 2019, the Rehoboth Basters were members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO).[4]
Geography
Rehoboth area includes the Rehoboth Homeland bantustan which existed until 1989. It is 14,216 square kilometres in area, and has a population of around 35,000.[4] The capital is Rehoboth.
Politics
On 20 March 1990, the representatives of the Rehoboth Baster, the Captain-led Baster Council (Basterrat) declared independence from South West Africa.[5] A day later, Namibia became independent from South Africa .
The government is formed by the Captains Council (Kapteinsraad), which is headed currently by Captain Jacky Britz, who was elected as leader in April 2021, defeating Rynault van Wyk.[6] This election result, however, is currently disputed in the Windhoek High Court by van Wyk.[6]
Nationally, the Rehoboth Baster are represented by the United People's Movement.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Statutes of the Rehoboth Basters by Resolution of the Kaptein and his Councillors in the Year 1872". 31 January 1872. http://rehobothbasters.org/images/stories/treaties_declarations/Rehoboth-Statutes-1872.pdf.
- ↑ Peeters, Y.J.D. (July–August 1993). "On the Discrimination of the Rehoboth Basters". http://cendoc.docip.org/collect/cendocdo/index/assoc/HASH01e6/639afc24.dir/WGIP93%20Y.J.D%20Peeters.pdf.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "The Rehoboth community of South West Africa". African Studies 14 (4): 175–200. 1955-01-01. doi:10.1080/00020185508706970. ISSN 0002-0184. https://doi.org/10.1080/00020185508706970.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "UNPO: Rehoboth Basters". https://unpo.org/members/7881.
- ↑ "University of Minnesota Human Rights Library". http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/undocs/session69/view760.htm.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Namibia: Baster Kaptein Dispute Heads to Court" (in en). 2022-03-14. https://allafrica.com/stories/202203140709.html.
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