Officer from small kingdom of Lesotho explains his nation’s history, challenges

Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Review ^ | Bill Hess

[SandRat]

FORT HUACHUCA — It’s a small kingdom, surrounded by a powerful country, but Lesotho is again heading for democracy, an Army officer from the African nation said Friday.

Political turmoil in the past is only exceeded today in the Kingdom of Lesotho by disease, as the country has one of the highest rates of HIV and AIDS in the world, said Capt. Ntele Ntoi, who is attending the center’s foreign officers military intelligence course on the post.

One of the charts he showed to the more than 100 people at a lunch briefing stated Lesotho’s life expectancy has dropped from 60 to 39 years in the past six years due to the HIV ad AIDS.

“Lesotho is in the grip of a humanitarian crisis,” the captain said.

Three out of every 10 residents of the kingdom are infected with HIV or AIDS, he said.

The Kingdom of Lesotho, a constitutional monarchy, has faced problems since the mid-1800s, when it was then known as Basutoland. These problems led its first ruler, King Moshoeshoe I, to seek protection from Great Britain, Ntoi said. The current ruler is King Lestie III.

Ntoi’s homeland has suffered through periods of unrest when democracy was overthrown by elements within and outside of the kingdom. The people of Lesotho also have been wary of South Africa, which surrounds the landlocked nation.

With a population of more than 2 million people living in 11,720 square miles, Lesotho faces South Africa’s more than 44 million people living in 471,000 square miles.

Throughout it’s short history as a nation, Lesotho has been in the shadow of South Africa.

Anytime a South African regime is not happy with the actions of his homeland, it is felt in Lesotho, said Ntoi, who is attending the military intelligence course for foreign officers on the post.

And unless what Lesotho wants to do is ratified by the South African government, there can be problems, he said.

This was especially true when South Africa was under the control of apartheid governments, which denied blacks rights, the captain said. Lesotho became a place South African black refugees fled, and it was where many armed strikes against South Africa were launched.

South Africa called their opponents guerillas, but the citizens of Lesotho called them freedom fighters, the captain said.

The importance of the protection afforded the kingdom by Great Britain was critical to the continued survival of Lesotho during that period.

South Africa has since become a multi-racial democracy, and its interference in Lesotho has waned. But, Ntoi said, the years of pressure from apartheid governments and other colonial interests led to unstable conditions in his homeland which are finally being addressed.

Lesotho is about the size of the state of Maryland. The mountainous country, it’s lowest level is about 3,900 feet and its tallest nearly 12,00 feet, does not have much agricultural land, although it has plenty of water.

Two of its major exports, which South Africa depends on, are water and electricity, Ntoi said.

Moving clean water to the people is difficult, and the United States is providing support to help build systems to bring drinking water to villages.

In 1966, Lesotho became an independent nation, and a member of the British Commonwealth. It was a democracy from 1966 to 1970, and from 1970 to 1986 it became a restricted democracy when some rights were ended. From 1986 to 1993, it was under the control of the military, and from 1993 to 1998, it returned to democracy and since then democracy has been growing as the nation becomes a country with more participation from the citizens.

“By the year 2020 we will be a stable democracy,” Ntoi predicted.

The nation is mostly Christian, with 75 percent of the population is Roman Catholic, and another 20 percent is Protestant.

The nation’s military has done bad and good things for the country. The nation’s armed forces, which is small, is supporting the African Union with five unarmed officers in the Darfur region of the Sudan.

“It’s about time Africa takes on responsibility to find lasting solutions for Africa,” the captain said.

As for the U.S. involvement in the country, Ntoi said America is providing $164 million to help with water systems, $122.4 million for health programs and $36.1 to develop the private sector.

An additional $365 million over a five-year period will be used to build 150 medical clinics to help counter the HIV and AIDS problem, he said, adding the United States will monitor the expenditures it is providing.

There is a saying in Lesotho about people who help.

“A friend is a friend when they stand by you from womb to tomb,” Ntoi said.

HERALD/REVIEW senior reporter Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615.