“Ovaherero reject 28 May as Genocide Remembrance Day
Jemima Beukes
2024-10-10
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 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.
[…].”
- Full report on the website of the Namibian Sun (pay wall from 0:00 to 12:00; last checked in October 2024)
- Speech of OvaHerero Chief Mutjinde Katjiua “OUR HISTORY, OUR PRESENT AND FUTURE IS IN OUR HANDS”
- Background to the extermination order by Lieutenant General Lothar von Trotha
- Background to the concentration camps in German South West Africa: 1908 May 28 – Concentration camps officially dissolved
- See also also the Joint Declaration of the Governments of Germany and Namibia, initialled on 15 May 2021