“Namibian Genocide deal upgraded to ‘vague’ amount
By Shelleygan Petersen and Charmaine Ngatjiheue
30 June 2024
…opposition slams Govt’s undisclosed amount
The Namibian and German governments have agreed to an undisclosed increase in financial support to the country, while maintaining that genocide funds should not be labelled as ‘reparations’.
The two governments have instead agreed on using the term ‘atonement of guilt’.
Vice president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah yesterday said the two governments erred in the joint declaration when they referred to ‘reparations’ as ‘grants’.
The government in 2022 conceded to renegotiate with Germany, with specific additions to the joint agreement after the affected communities, namely the Ovaherero and Nama communities, rejected the deal worth over N$18 billion over 30 years.
The vice president said the increase would be discussed in future.
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Nandi-Ndaitwah yesterday [correction: 27 June 2024, ed.] gave the leaders of the communities affected by the 1904 to 1908 genocide feedback during a consultation meeting.
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“The German government has agreed to front-load the disbursement of funds, as well as to allow for flexibility in the allocation of funds to shorten the disbursement period . . . ”
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Popular Democratic Movement leader McHenry Venaani says Nandi-Ndaitwah’s sentiments are “distasteful”.
He says she should not force a deal without obtaining figures on the affected communities.
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Landless People’s Movement’s Joyce Muzengua, from the party’s human rights desk, maintains an anti-joint declaration position based on fundamental arguments, such as the contravention of the Namibian Constitution.
“The acknowledgment of Germany is subjected to today’s perspective based on an intertemporal justification by the Germans. The document is racist in nature and it justifies the killings of the Ovaherero and Nama people in the absence of laws at that time,” she claimed yesterday.
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Ovaherero Traditional Authority group paramount chief Mutjinde Katjiua says the authority has snubbed a meeting with the government (…).
“Germany committed a genocide against the Nama and Ovaherero people and Germany should acknowledge that what happened was a genocide and this should be stated in the agreement. “The German government should pay reparations equal to the genocide committed,” he said.
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- Full report on the website of the Namibian (last checked in July 2024)