“Lüderitz adamant on seaport extension despite petition from concerned groups
By Veripuami Kangumine
13 August 2024
Lüderitz mayor Phillippus Balhao yesterday said the port extension at the town will be beneficial for the community.
This comes after Nama and Ovaherero traditional leaders say the extension of the Lüderitz seaport will desecrate their ancestors graveyard at Shark Island.
The traditional leaders have petitioned the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) to stop the Namibian government from allegedly desecrating the Nama and Ovaherero genocide site on Shark Island.
CERD is a United Nations body that monitors the implementation of the international convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination by all state parties.
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Shark Island, located off the shore of Lüderitz, was a concentration camp site used by the German colonial rule as an extermination camp for Herero and Nama prisoners captured from 1904 to 1908 during the genocide.
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However, Balhao said the oil and gas explorations occurring at the port would benefit the economy and would not impact Shark Island.
[…] “[T]he plans that I’ve seen from Namport, show that the extension will not touch Shark Island.”
- Full report on the website of the Namibian (last checked in November 2024)
- Report by the Namibian Sun on the petition of the Nama Traditional Leaders Association (NTLA) and the Ovaherero Traditional Authority (OTA) with the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
- See also the articles on the erection of concentration camps by the German colonial power in 1905 and the official closure of the camps in 1908