OVAHERERO and Nama Genocide Forum member Ida Hoffman has welcomed the announcement by the German government to formally apologise for the 1904-7 genocide.
The Agence France Presse (AFP) yesterday reported that German foreign ministry spokeswoman Sawsan Chelbi announced Germany’s intentions to apologise, although she said the move would not carry any obligation of reparations.
“We are working towards a joint government declaration with the following elements: common discussions on the historical events, and a German apology for the action in Namibia,” she was quoted as saying by AFP.
According to Chelbi, the joint declaration with the Namibian government can serve as a basis for a parliamentary resolution.
“On the question of whether there could be reparations or legal consequences, there are none. The apology does not come with any consequences on how we deal with the history and portray it,” she said in the report.
Hoffman told yesterday that she was very happy with the development, but added that it should have been made sooner.
“We are very, very much happy. It was long overdue. There are people who want to make it a national issue, but it is not. They want to deny what the Germans did to us, but they cannot. We are the victims, and we do not deny that there were others too,” she noted.
last week quoted German ambassador to Namibia Christian Schlaga as saying that reparations would not come in the form of money, but in the form of sponsored projects.
He was speaking at a media briefing where German special envoy Ruprecht Polenz communicated his government’s stance that it would be better to conclude the matter before the elections in their country, scheduled for next year.
The Office of the President this week issued a statement in this regard, where it voiced dissatisfaction with the fact that the German government seemed to be giving a deadline in which the genocide reparations should be negotiated.
“Namibia takes serious exception to this unwelcome approach to such delicate discussions, and calls on the representatives of Germany to show respect and extend courtesy to their Namibian counterparts,” it read.
It further stated that the move by the German government could also affect future bilateral relations.
-Additional reporting by AFP
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