Hereros say not out for revenge against Germans

THE Hereros are not out to seek revenge against German citizens or German-speaking Namibians, but the atrocities committed against them during German colonial rule a century ago have to be addressed through dialogue and reconciliation.

This was spelled out yesterday by Herero Paramount Chief Kuaima Riruako. The Chief received a hero’s welcome from some 500 people in the Red Flag Commando Hall at Katutura on his return from Berlin in the morning.Riruako and his five-member delegation witnessed the tabling of a motion in the German Bundestag (parliament) on Wednesday, to debate the atrocities of Imperial Germany against the Herero, who were virtually wiped out after an uprising against the colonisers.”We are not seeking revenge nor are we looking for individual gains through this exercise,” Chief Riruako said.”Witnessing the historic tabling of the motion and the debate was an important step.”Riruako said he would brief President Hifikepunye Pohamba and former President Sam Nujoma on his Berlin visit.”We will travel to Berlin again in July and September to hold further talks,” Riruako said.Asked if he would withdraw the court case that he lodged in 2001 against the German government and some German companies, claiming damages of US$4 billion, Riruako was evasive.”If you can achieve good, you go for the good, if not, you have to seek alternative routes,” he replied.On Wednesday, Hueseyin Aydin of the opposition Left Party tabled a motion requesting the Bundestag to acknowledge the atrocities of 1904 to 1907 as genocide; to engage in active reconciliation efforts with the Herero, Nama and San people, who also suffered under colonial Germany; and to call on German companies and successors of such companies, which made profits in the former German South West Africa to pay reparations.These payments are to flow into specific projects for those language groups in Namibia.After a 30-minute debate, the Bundestag MPs referred the motion to a parliamentary standing committee.At a press briefing organised by the Left Party in Berlin on Wednesday, Riruako said the fact that the motion was brought to a national platform such as Germany’s Bundestag would “go a long way to put the genocide and reparation issue on the agenda of German politics”.Namibia’s Ambassador to Germany, Peter Katjavivi, who also listened to the debate, said it was “the duty of the Namibian Government to help facilitate a process that contributed to reconciliation and harmony”.”This should firstly be done within us and our society and secondly between Namibia and its partners, in this case, Germany.”According to experts in international law, if Germany pays reparations to the Hereros it would open a floodgate of demands from other colonised tribes and nations.The Chief received a hero’s welcome from some 500 people in the Red Flag Commando Hall at Katutura on his return from Berlin in the morning.Riruako and his five-member delegation witnessed the tabling of a motion in the German Bundestag (parliament) on Wednesday, to debate the atrocities of Imperial Germany against the Herero, who were virtually wiped out after an uprising against the colonisers. “We are not seeking revenge nor are we looking for individual gains through this exercise,” Chief Riruako said.”Witnessing the historic tabling of the motion and the debate was an important step.”Riruako said he would brief President Hifikepunye Pohamba and former President Sam Nujoma on his Berlin visit.”We will travel to Berlin again in July and September to hold further talks,” Riruako said.Asked if he would withdraw the court case that he lodged in 2001 against the German government and some German companies, claiming damages of US$4 billion, Riruako was evasive.”If you can achieve good, you go for the good, if not, you have to seek alternative routes,” he replied.On Wednesday, Hueseyin Aydin of the opposition Left Party tabled a motion requesting the Bundestag to acknowledge the atrocities of 1904 to 1907 as genocide; to engage in active reconciliation efforts with the Herero, Nama and San people, who also suffered under colonial Germany; and to call on German companies and successors of such companies, which made profits in the former German South West Africa to pay reparations.These payments are to flow into specific projects for those language groups in Namibia.After a 30-minute debate, the Bundestag MPs referred the motion to a parliamentary standing committee.At a press briefing organised by the Left Party in Berlin on Wednesday, Riruako said the fact that the motion was brought to a national platform such as Germany’s Bundestag would “go a long way to put the genocide and reparation issue on the agenda of German politics”.Namibia’s Ambassador to Germany, Peter Katjavivi, who also listened to the debate, said it was “the duty of the Namibian Government to help facilitate a process that contributed to reconciliation and harmony”.”This should firstly be done within us and our society and secondly between Namibia and its partners, in this case, Germany.”According to experts in international law, if Germany pays reparations to the Hereros it would open a floodgate of demands from other colonised tribes and nations.