“Local Germans want new, inclusive joint declaration
2024-10-03 BY OTNIEL HEMBAPU
The Forum of German-Speaking Namibians, in its message in remembrance of the 120th anniversary of the 1904 genocide extermination order against the Ovaherero, called on the Namibian and German governments to formulate a new and inclusive joint declaration.
Yesterday, 2 October, officially marked 120 years since the commander of imperial German troops, general Lothar von Trotha, issued an extermination order.
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Those century-old atrocities committed by German colonial troops against indigenous Namibians are what today remains a thorny issue in Namibia and Germany’s political and diplomatic relations.
It is equally those 120-year-old genocidal events that forced the two governments in May 2021 to come up with a joint declaration, which sought to address historical injustices, and map out a new shared future between the two peoples.
But that joint declaration was overwhelmingly rejected by all pockets of Namibian society, and talks between the two governments have since seemingly stalled.
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Members of the Forum of German-speaking Namibians, which was founded in 2021, yesterday called on the two governments to rubbish the old joint declaration and come up with a more inclusive and comprehensive joint document that speaks to the future.
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“The forum appeals to all stakeholders involved in constructive and peaceful cooperation to work towards a comprehensive reconciliation agreement in the sense of one Namibia, one Nation,” reads the statement.”
- Full news report on the website of New Era (last checked in October 2024)
- Statement of the Forum Deutschsprachiger Namibier (FDN) “Position on the 120th anniversary of the Extermination Order of Lieutenant-General Lothar von Trotha on 02 October 1904”
- Background to the extermination order by Lieutenant General Lothar von Trotha