More young Namibians are likely to be called up for military service in 1982 than in the previous year, when compulsory military service for all Namibians was first put into effect, according to army reports. At the same time, Namibians have been warned that those dodging national service, and those encouraging servicemen to evade military training, will be prosecuted under the Defence Act. The officer commanding the SWA Territory Force said in December that the Defence Act gave the military authorities the power to act against such persons. People resident in the Ovambo and Kavango 'homelands' were still exempted from the provisions, but Ovambo and Kavango-speaking citizens resident in urban areas were subject to call-up. Very few people were exempted on 'legitimate' grounds such as study leave. Seventeen exemptions were granted for 1982.
Organised opposition to compulsory military training continues despite police harassment. The People's Action Committee held a series of meetings throughout Namibia in 1981, and was preparing for a rally in Windhoek in December. Members of the Committee were visited by special branch officers who searched their houses and questioned individuals. In Windhoek, posters advertising the rally were taken down by city police on the grounds that the People's Action Committee was illegal.
