A demonstration nation?' It has become a culture in Namibia to see that when two parties do not reach consensus over an issue, or when one party feels neglected by another, a demonstration of discontent takes place. Of course it''s legal for parties in disputes to resort to peaceful demonstration to have their needs met, we even have laws guiding us procedurally on how to conduct demonstrations, but questions remain: Are we becoming a country where disputes are only solved by strikes? Are the solutions resulting from strikes and demonstrations the best ones, or not? A nationwide teachers'' strike is imminent and scheduled to start tomorrow. This however, depends on the decision of the court, because government launched an urgent court application last week for the temporary suspension of the planned strike, ostensibly to allow time for strike rules to be revised to avoid disrupting national examinations. This is despite government''s observation of the voting process of the strike ballot, where the overwhelming majority of teachers voted in favour of strike action. Recently students from two of the University of Namibia northern satellite campuses, Oshakati and Hifikepunye Pohamba campuses respectively, resorted to peaceful demonstrations, of course on two different issues, but the fact remains that Unam management is expected to respond to the demands stipulated in their petitions, or risk students taking matters into their own hands. Let us not forget that when we switch on our television decoders to watch South African news channels or surf the internet, we see that South African students at certain universities are determined to have their needs met, even if it means facing law enforcement. We are curious to find out what will happen to the situation in our sister country, but we surely do not relish the sight of rebellious Namibian students. In addition, the unions representing security guards and the Security Association of Namibia have similarly reached a deadlock over remuneration rates and we hope they find an amicably negotiated solution. Let us allow the political gospel of peace, stability and prosperity to prevail, let us not Harambee together at events and neglect the negotiation tables.A demonstration nation?' It has become a culture in Namibia to see that when two parties do not reach consensus over an issue, or when one party feels neglected by another, a demonstration of discontent takes place. Of course it''s legal for parties in disputes to resort to peaceful demonstration to have their needs met, we even have laws guiding us procedurally on how to conduct demonstrations, but questions remain: Are we becoming a country where disputes are only solved by strikes? Are the solutions resulting from strikes and demonstrations the best ones, or not? A nationwide teachers'' strike is imminent and scheduled to start tomorrow. This however, depends on the decision of the court, because government launched an urgent court application last week for the temporary suspension of the planned strike, ostensibly to allow time for strike rules to be revised to avoid disrupting national examinations. This is despite government''s observation of the voting process of the strike ballot, where the overwhelming majority of teachers voted in favour of strike action. Recently students from two of the University of Namibia northern satellite campuses, Oshakati and Hifikepunye Pohamba campuses respectively, resorted to peaceful demonstrations, of course on two different issues, but the fact remains that Unam management is expected to respond to the demands stipulated in their petitions, or risk students taking matters into their own hands. Let us not forget that when we switch on our television decoders to watch South African news channels or surf the internet, we see that South African students at certain universities are determined to have their needs met, even if it means facing law enforcement. We are curious to find out what will happen to the situation in our sister country, but we surely do not relish the sight of rebellious Namibian students. In addition, the unions representing security guards and the Security Association of Namibia have similarly reached a deadlock over remuneration rates and we hope they find an amicably negotiated solution. Let us allow the political gospel of peace, stability and prosperity to prevail, let us not Harambee together at events and neglect the negotiation tables.