Zebaltd Ngaruka
Africa-Press – Namibia. Namibia is set to commemorate its inaugural Genocide Remembrance Day tomorrow, honouring the victims of the 1904-1908 massacre of the country’s indigenous populations.
A report was presented to the National Assembly recommending 28 May, a date supported by the affected communities, to honour those who died in the brutalities. Historically, it marks the day in 1907 when the German colonial administration decided to close concentration camps in Namibia. The event will be held at Parliament Gardens, information and communication technology minister Emma Theofelus confirmed.
However, some members of the affected communities have expressed mixed feelings about the event. Gaob Dawid Gertze of the //Haboben Traditional Authority said his community will commemorate the inaugural Genocide Remembrance Day, despite earlier calls for a boycott from different sections of the Nama and Ovaherero communities.
Last week, the Ovaherero and Nama communities rejected 28 May as Genocide Remembrance Day, citing historical inaccuracy, exclusion and continued calls for restorative justice. The concerned groups said 22 April was the more suitable date, as their ancestors were massacred then, while others view 2 October, the day on which the extermination order was given by Lothar von Trotha, as more appropriate.
Gertze told New Era in an interview on Monday that his community observed the Genocide Remembrance Day as a significant milestone for the descendants.
“We should never take the privileges democracy provides for granted. The beauty of democracy, though, is that the very communities they claim to lead will join this commemoration celebration,” the chief said.
Gaob Gertze added that the voices of the indigenous //Haboben, also known as Veldskoendraers, matter most as they hold the authority to bestow mandates on leaders.
“The date 28 May marks the closure of the concentration camps. It was a neutral, unifying choice that reshaped the genocide calendar,” he stated. The chief emphasised that the day is not about division, but about honouring history, and moving forward together as a nation.
“We extend our sincere gratitude, and congratulate our Parliament and the government for heeding the call of the Namibian people and formally gazetting this day as a national day for commemoration,” he continued. On the purported exclusion of the affected communities from the official programme of the day, Gertze said participation is more important than delivering speeches.
“We are aware of the programme. This year’s event is a government thing, but it will change next year. It could be good to have activities on the programme, but the exclusion will never change our significance and even our position in the genocide negotiations’ talk,” he said.
Among them is chief Tjinaani Maharero of the Maharero Royal House.
Maharero, however, voiced concern over ongoing inequalities, noting that much of the land remains in the hands of the descendants of colonisers. Meanwhile, retired executive director in the Ministry of Information and descendant of the Ovaherero-Nama genocide, Mbeuta Ua-Ndjarakana, welcomed the commemoration.
He nonetheless hastened to criticise the government’s approach, describing it as politicised.
“The government has monetised the so-called genocide negotiations, resulting in projected bilateral aid disguised as reparations – an offer rejected by some affected communities locally and in the diaspora,” he remarked. The Okandjoze Chiefs Assembly, a conglomeration of several traditional leaders and affected communities, will also mark the event. In a separate programme spanning across two days, starting today and ending tomorrow, various festivities are on the cards.
The Okandjoze’s programme shows that their events include the lighting of traditional flags, laying of wreaths, cultural performances, testimonies, prayer and night vigils.
While their event will run parallel with that of the government, Okandjoze will join the national event at Parliament Gardens for tomorrow’s official programme, before proceeding to UN Plaza, where theirs is taking place.
“The technical committee of the Okandjoze Chiefs Assembly on Genocide herewith extends its compliments to your distinguished media house, and has the pleasure of inviting you to mark Genocide Remembrance Day at a community level,” deputy chairperson Kambanda Veii said in a statement.
Status
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah recently said the final round of genocide negotiations with the new German administration, headed by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, were in progress.
Nandi-Ndaitwah went down memory lane, saying the government was mandated by Parliament to take up the genocide discussion with Germany. This was through a motion by then-National Unity Democratic Organisation leader and paramount chief of the Ovaherero, Kuaima Riruako, in 2006. The unanimously-adopted motion demanded three things from Germany: just reparations, apology, and atonement. To date, only on two of the three has consensus been reached.
In May 2021, the two governments came up with a joint declaration, which sought to address historical injustices and map out a new shared future between the two peoples.
But this was overwhelmingly rejected by most of Namibian society, and talks between the two governments have since been clouded in uncertainty, both on the social and political fronts.
“Germany has now agreed it was genocide, and has committed to apologise. But the €1.1 billion offered was not accepted by our Parliament. We returned to negotiations, and the German government has agreed to look at increasing the support,” Nandi-Ndaitwah stated.
Talks were to resume in full force once both countries’ new governments were fully-operational.
Resolutions
Meanwhile, it was reported last December that Cabinet had resolved that the signing of the Joint Declaration on the genocide and apology and reparations between Namibia and Germany will take place this year.
As one of the first key steps, ministers who would be appointed as special envoys of the vice president will be tasked with engaging and sensitising the affected communities in the seven identified regions of Erongo, Hardap, //Kharas, Khomas, Kunene, Omaheke and Otjozondjupa. Similar engagements and sensitisation will be extended to affected Namibians in the diaspora, particularly in Botswana and South Africa. As per Cabinet resolution, the foreign ministers of Namibia and Germany will then sign agreements, which will be tabled in both the German Bundestag and the Namibian National Assembly for further consideration and ratification.
The German side has already started working on an official apology text to be issued to the affected communities in Namibia.
The Namibian government will be accorded the opportunity to review the text for potential input, before the German president formally issues the apology on behalf of the German government and its people.
Pick-up
Meanwhile, information minister Theofelus announced revised pick-up points in Windhoek for the Genocide Remembrance Day commemoration, aimed at facilitating broader public participation in the event.
For individuals travelling from other regions to Windhoek for the commemoration, buses are set to depart from all regional governors’ offices nationwide at 06h00 today. An exception has been made for Khorixas, where the bus will depart from the constituency office.
In Windhoek, municipal buses will start picking up residents from their respective constituencies at 07h00 tomorrow.
The ministry advised members of the public wishing to attend the commemoration to register in advance at their respective governors’ offices. Attendees were also warned against carrying any weapons or objects that could be perceived as weapons, as these will be confiscated at the pick-up points.
Source: neweralive
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