south west africa people's organization

English - English

Definition of south west africa people's organization in English English dictionary

Party in South West Africa (now Namibia) that advocated immediate independence from South Africa. Founded in 1960, it used diplomacy to attain its goals until 1966, when it turned to armed struggle. Led by Sam Nujoma and backed by the Angolan ruling party and the Soviet Union, SWAPO used Angola as a base for launching guerrilla attacks. From 1978 South Africa made periodic retaliatory strikes into Angola. That same year the UN recognized SWAPO as the Namibian people's sole representative. South Africa finally accepted a UN resolution requiring the withdrawal of South African troops in Namibia and the holding of free elections in 1988

Related Terms

South West Africa

A former province of South Africa, which gained independence in 1990 and was renamed to Namibia

Hyphenation

south west Af·ri·ca people's or·ga·ni·za·tion

Turkish pronunciation

sauth west äfrıkı pipılz ôrgınızeyşın

Pronunciation

/ˈsouᴛʜ ˈwest ˈafrəkə ˈpēpəlz ˌôrgənəˈzāsʜən/ /ˈsaʊθ ˈwɛst ˈæfrəkə ˈpiːpəlz ˌɔːrɡənəˈzeɪʃən/