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TimesLIVE
2 days ago
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Namibia honours victims of colonial genocide as reparation calls grow
Namibia honoured the victims of mass killings during German colonial rule with an inaugural memorial day on Wednesday, as politicians and affected communities voiced fresh calls for reparations from Berlin. German soldiers killed some 65,000 OvaHerero and 10,000 Nama people in 1904-1908 in what historians and the UN have long called the first genocide of the 20th century. In 2021 Germany officially described the massacre as a genocide for the first time, agreeing to fund development projects worth €1.1bn (R22.24bn) in the Southern African country, but stopping short of paying reparations. Namibian officials and representatives of the OvaHerero and Nama people say that is not enough. "We should find a degree of comfort in the fact that the German government has agreed that German troops committed a genocide," Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah told a solemn memorial event in the parliament gardens. "We may not agree on the final quantum, but that is part of the complex negotiations we have been engaged in with the German government since 2013," she said. A spokesperson for the German embassy in Windhoek in response to an e-mail request for comment referred Reuters to a statement the German government published on the memorial day. "The federal government acknowledges Germany's moral and political responsibility [for the killings] and emphasises the importance of reconciliation," the statement said. Namibia's government chose to mark Genocide Remembrance Day on May 28 because it was on that date that German colonial authorities ordered the closure of concentration camps. Charles Kakomee Tjela, a descendant of genocide victims who attended the event in the parliament gardens, told Reuters the genocide should feature more prominently in school curricula. Hoze Riruako, an OvaHerero chief, said the colonial-era atrocities were a prelude to the Holocaust but "people are not aware of what has happened here to the same level". Some representatives of the OvaHerero community boycotted memorial proceedings because they think the agreement for Germany to fund development projects over 30 years does not address their grievances. Nandi-Ndaitwah said on Wednesday negotiations with Germany would continue and that any final agreement should be "satisfactory, particularly for the directly affected communities". McHenry Venaani, an opposition leader, agreed Germany's initial offer was insufficient. "We are demanding a fair deal," Venaani said. Reuters
Qatar Tribune
3 days ago
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Namibia marks Genocide Remembrance Day recalling victims of German rule
Windhoek: 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. 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. (DPA)
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Namibia marks inaugural Genocide Remembrance Day with call for reparations
Namibia has held its first Genocide Remembrance Day to commemorate tens of thousands of Herero and Nama people killed by German colonisers in the early 1900s, in what is widely considered the first genocide of the 20th century. The southern African country's president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, speaking at the event Wednesday, called again for reparations for the at least 70,000 Indigenous people killed by German troops from 1904 to 1908. Germany, which colonised Namibia from 1884 to 1915, previously acknowledged the genocide in 2021, but talks on reparations stretching back to 2013 have been fruitless. 'We should find a degree of comfort in the fact that the German government has agreed that the German troops committed a genocide against the … people of our land,' Nandi-Ndaitwah said at the ceremony held in the gardens of Namibia's parliament. 'We must remain committed that as a nation, we shall soldier on until the ultimate conclusion is reached,' she said. For its part, Germany released a statement earlier this week, reiterating that it 'acknowledges Germany's moral and political responsibility [for the killings] and emphasises the importance of reconciliation'.Berlin has previously pledged more than one billion euros ($1bn) in development aid over 30 years to benefit the descendants of the two targeted tribes, while stressing the funding should not be seen as payment of reparations. No agreement has been signed and Herero and Nama descendants have said they were excluded from the talks. At Wednesday's commemoration, candles were lit in honour of the victims and a minute of silence was followed by songs and speeches. The memorial was attended by about 1,000 people, including the German ambassador to Namibia. The Herero tribe revolted against German colonisers in January 1904, with the smaller Nama tribe joining the next year. The crackdown by German troops sent tens of thousands of people fleeing towards neighbouring Botswana. Then, in October 1904, German General Lothar von Trotha, under the command of German leader Kaiser Wilhelm II, signed a notorious 'extermination order' against the Herero. 'Within the German boundaries, every Herero, with or without a gun, with or without livestock, will be shot dead,' the order said. Between 1904 and 1908, at least 60,000 Herero and 10,000 Nama people were killed, many at German-run concentration camps, although some estimates put the death toll higher. Hundreds of Herero and Nama were also beheaded after being killed, with their skulls brought back to Germany for 'scientific' experiments meant to prove racial 2008, Namibian officials have demanded the bones be returned. Germany has complied, with ceremonial transfers in 2011 and 2018. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Israel Kaunatjike, a Herero activist who spearheaded the initiative 'No Amnesty on Genocide', called it a 'scandal' that no official memorial of the genocide has been held since Namibia gained independence from South Africa's control in 1990. 'It is very, very important for us today to celebrate, to remember those who lost their lives,' said Kaunatjike, who noted May 28 marked the day in 1908 the concentration camps were closed in then-German South West Africa. Kaunatjike added that any agreement that did not include reparations, and the return of Herero and Nama land still owned by descendants of German settlers, would be inadequate.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Namibia urges reparations at first German genocide memorial
Namibia holds its first genocide remembrance day to mark mass killings by colonial ruler Germany (AP) WINDHOEK: President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah repeated calls Wednesday for Germany to pay reparations for its genocide against Namibian tribes as she led the first official commemoration of the atrocity more than 120 years ago. Thousands of indigenous Herero and Nama people were massacred by colonial-era German troops between 1904 and 1908 after they rebelled against their rule in what is regarded as the first genocide of the 20th century. "We should find a degree of comfort in the fact that the German government has agreed that the German troops committed a genocide against the... people of our land," Nandi-Ndaitwah said at the ceremony held in the gardens of parliament. Berlin has offered an apology but there is still no agreement on reparations in talks that began with the German government in 2013, she said. "We must remain committed that as a nation, we shall soldier on until the ultimate conclusion is reached," she said. Germany has pledged more than one billion euros ($1 billion) in development aid over 30 years to benefit the descendants of the two tribes, stressing this could not be considered as payment of reparations. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Artrose? Esta joelheira biônica pode ajudar a renovar seu joelho LegFix Undo Namibia has rejected the offer. The commemoration was attended by around 1,000 people including the German ambassador, Thorsten Hutter. Candles were lit in honour of the victims and a minute of silence was followed by song and speeches. "It is a stark reminder of the pain and suffering that was inflicted by German imperial troops during the colonial era," Hutter said. "I believe that it is important to understand that we cannot change the past, but as the people who are living today, it is our responsibility to remember those atrocities that were committed," he said. After lengthy and sometimes acrimonious negotiations, Germany in 2021 recognised the killings by its settlers constituted a genocide. An estimated 60,000 Herero and 10,000 Nama people were killed. Some were beheaded and their skulls handed to researchers in Berlin for since-discredited "scientific" experiments framed to prove the racial superiority of whites over blacks. Germany returned the skulls and other human remains to Namibia in 2011 and 2018. May 28 was chosen for the annual Genocide Remembrance Day commemoration as it was the day in 1907 when German authorities ordered the closure of concentration camps following international criticism over the brutal conditions and high death rates. It has been declared a public holiday in Namibia, a sparsely populated and largely desert nation of nearly three million people.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
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.
