28-05-2025
Namibia marks first Genocide Remembrance Day recalling German rule
Namibia marked its first Genocide Remembrance Day on Wednesday, recalling the victims of German colonial rule with a ceremony attended by thousands in the gardens of the parliament building in Windhoek.
A minute of silence and a vigil by candlelight were held.
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah referred to a day of remembrance and of common pain. "We will never forget the emotional, psychological, economical and cultural scars that were left," she said in an address to the nation.
More than 100 years ago, on May 28, 1907, the German colonial authorities ordered the closure of concentration camps in the colony in response to international criticism of brutal conditions and high death rates in them.
South West Africa, as Namibia was known at the time, was a German colony from 1884 until 1915. An uprising by the Herero and Nama population was brutally repressed during a war between 1904 and 1908.
Historians estimate that 65,000 of 80,000 Herero and at least half the 20,000 Nama were killed.
The remembrance day is to be marked every year as a day of "unity and reflection," the government said.
"The first genocide of the 20th century is now visible for the world to see in our calendars," Hoze Riruako, a Herero representative, said. "I believe this is a strong message to the Germans," he added.
German Development Minister Reem Alabali-Radovan described the genocide as "an unbearable crime, and at the same time part of our German history."
Germany had to face up to this history, she said. "It is our duty to acknowledge the genocide and to alleviate its consequences," Alabali-Radovan said.
The German and Namibian governments have for a long time been negotiating a reconciliation agreement that would provide German assistance for Namibian development projects to the amount of €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion).
Final agreement has been delayed as Germany refuses to negotiate with the descendants of the victims on individual compensation, insisting on negotiating with the government, which represents the entire country under international law.
