Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Ovaherero Traditional Authority and the Nama Traditional Leaders Association (NTLA) have approached the new German government on the 1904 to 1908 genocide agreement that is currently on the table between Namibia and Germany.
If the German government does not heed their call, the two groups say they would approach the courts. Their petition regarding the genocide agreement discussed in May 2021 calls on the new German government, now led by chancellor Olaf Scholz, to dismantle the proposed agreement and to negotiate with the surviving descendants of the Herero and Nama genocide victims directly, while the Namibian government facilitates the process.
The petition is addressed to German foreign affairs minister Annalena Baerbock. Germany in the proposed agreement said it recognises the events of over 100 years ago as a genocide in ‘today’s perspective’, and the German president was to render an apology to Namibia. Additionally Germany would make available roughly N$18 billion to Namibia for infrastructure development.
At a virtual press conference yesterday in collaboration with change.org Nama activist and petition leader Sima Luipert said because of their efforts to stop the finalisation of the joint declaration, it has still not been signed by the foreign ministers of either countries.
She said that all relevant groups should be included in the new negotiations. Herero activist Israel Kaunatjike and lead campaigner of the petition appealed to the German government to respect the United Nations (UN) convention on the prevention and punishment of the crimes of genocide, adopted by the UN General Assembly on 9 December 1948.
The chairman of the Nama Traditional Leaders Association, chief Johannes Isaack, called on the negotiations with Germany to include descendants of the victims.
He said the descendants are present in South Africa, Botswana, the United States, and Germany, among others. Isaack reiterated that the two groups have rejected the joint declaration because it failed to properly recognise the past events as a genocide.
“The declaration is a bilateral agreement and fails to recognise the genocide.
“We want to start new negotiations. We must be at the table, negotiating for ourselves. Our demands are in line with the UN’s convention on indigenous rights,” he said.
The Ovaherero Traditional Authority’s chief designate, Mutjinde Katjiua, said the two governments should take this request seriously, adding the issue may be a continuation of the legal route.
He said negotiations should not be political, reiterating how serious the petition should be taken to include the affected communities – especially those in the diaspora.
“We need to have a Namibian delegation consisting of two legs, one will be representing the victims, and another representing the government of Namibia as a facilitator in the process. But together we will be forming one unit,” Katjiua said.
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