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Article: Africa's pointing finger.(Caprivi strip's relationship to greater Africa)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- November 21, 1998
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THE finger of land in north-eastern Namibia called the Caprivi strip must be the silliest contrivance of the doodlers who drew the modern map of Africa. Last week, about 1,000 people from Caprivi fled across the border into Botswana, chased by Namibian government forces. Namibia's President Sam Nujoma demanded that ``the terrorists and criminals'' be handed back. Botswana, already on bad terms with Namibia over another border dispute, is treating them cautiously as refugees.
The strip pokes Namibia 450 kilometres (280 miles) into the heart of Africa. The Germans, who ruled Namibia, then known as South West Africa, from the late 19th century until 1915, wanted ...