Ovaherero reject 28 May as Genocide Remembrance Day
Descendants of the victims of the Ovaherero and Nama genocide held an international conference in Swakopmund last week, where they rejected the gazetting of 28 May as Genocide Remembrance Day.
During a march held as part of the conference commemorating the 120th anniversary of the extermination order issued by German Imperial General Lothar von Trotha, the community announced their commitment to 2 October as Genocide Remembrance Day.
The community also raised their objection to the joint declaration between Namibia and Germany in a petition addressed to President Nangolo Mbumba and the Speaker of the National Assembly, Peter Katjavivi, which they planned to deliver to the Swakopmund State House.
Changed approach needed
Dr Mutjinde Katjiua, Ovaherero Paramount Chief, demanded that the Namibian government change its approach to handling the genocide matter.
“We reject the recent gazetting of the 28th of May as Genocide Remembrance Day, as there is nothing to celebrate about that day. The gates of the concentration camps were opened, but we had nowhere to go – our lands and means of production were expropriated by genocidal Germany. The release from concentration camps also meant that we were placed under custodianship of slave-labour companies. It is therefore ahistorical and denialism at its worst to use 28 May as Genocide Remembrance Day,” he said.
He also demanded that the genocide negotiations are handled within a well-established tripartite framework, similar to the one in which Germany participated during the Holocaust negotiations with Israel and the Jewish community.
“We and our fellow Nama compatriots are capable of negotiating for ourselves as provided by the precepts of justice and international law. We have established the Ovaherero Claims Conference to spearhead our negotiation efforts. We call on the Namibian government to change course and join us in seeking true and meaningful reparations from genocidal Germany,” said Katjiua.
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During a march held as part of the conference commemorating the 120th anniversary of the extermination order issued by German Imperial General Lothar von Trotha, the community announced their commitment to 2 October as Genocide Remembrance Day.
The community also raised their objection to the joint declaration between Namibia and Germany in a petition addressed to President Nangolo Mbumba and the Speaker of the National Assembly, Peter Katjavivi, which they planned to deliver to the Swakopmund State House.
Changed approach needed
Dr Mutjinde Katjiua, Ovaherero Paramount Chief, demanded that the Namibian government change its approach to handling the genocide matter.
“We reject the recent gazetting of the 28th of May as Genocide Remembrance Day, as there is nothing to celebrate about that day. The gates of the concentration camps were opened, but we had nowhere to go – our lands and means of production were expropriated by genocidal Germany. The release from concentration camps also meant that we were placed under custodianship of slave-labour companies. It is therefore ahistorical and denialism at its worst to use 28 May as Genocide Remembrance Day,” he said.
He also demanded that the genocide negotiations are handled within a well-established tripartite framework, similar to the one in which Germany participated during the Holocaust negotiations with Israel and the Jewish community.
“We and our fellow Nama compatriots are capable of negotiating for ourselves as provided by the precepts of justice and international law. We have established the Ovaherero Claims Conference to spearhead our negotiation efforts. We call on the Namibian government to change course and join us in seeking true and meaningful reparations from genocidal Germany,” said Katjiua.
[email protected]
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