Permanent identity documents were due to be issued to all residents of Namibia aged 16 and over, irrespective of nationality or country of origin, as from 15 November 1979. The move follows the promulgation on 12 July of the *Identification of Persons Act* (AG 63), one of the first four bills to have passed through the DTA-dominated SWA National Assembly. Under the Act, possession of an identity document is compulsory for all Namibian residents. Anyone who fails to produce it on demand may be detained by members of the security forces and is liable to a fine of R500 or six months imprisonment. Tourists and visitors will be required to produce passports, citizenship documents or some other means of identification.
Although the SWA Administrator-General has reiterated that the identity documents are for "identification purposes only" and will not affect citizenship or the right to vote in the territory, it is evident that they are intended to facilitate surveillance of political activists and suspects. They were initially proposed by the DTA and its precursors in the Turnhalle talks, as a security measure. (WA 27.9.79; see FOCUS 23 p.16) The fact that the bearer's thumbprint and photograph are required in addition to his/her signature and other details has aroused considerable controversy. There has been speculation, especially among young people, that the identity documents are intended to facilitate the formation of an indigenous "SWA Army" drawn from Namibian conscripts. The documents are seen as a means for the SA authorities to identify able-bodied males between the ages of 18 and 25 and to draft them into the defence forces. (see p.6 of this issue; WO 29.9.79)
Soon after the enactment of AG 63, the SA authorities in Namibia began to register applicants for the new identity cards, to take fingerprints and to issue temporary identity documents. By the end of September more than 96% of an estimated 600,000 people eligible were reported to have registered, many as a result of the activities of mobile registration teams sent into the rural areas. Identification bureaux were opened in Windhoek and other centres.
There is evidence that considerable pressure of various kinds has been applied to persuade Namibians to register for the new identity documents. According to the *Windhoek Observer*, people have been arrested in Katutura for not possessing the temporary documentation issued on registration. (WO 1.9.79)
