Parliament proposes ‘genocide remembrance day’

THE motion to enact a genocide remembrance day was well received in the National Assembly on Tuesday.

Members of the National Assembly were for the first time in accord on the issue of genocide talks, after previous bitter sessions left the House separated since the resumption of the parliamentary session in February.

Swanu of Namibia president Usutuaije Maamberua on Tuesday tabled the motion for a genocide remembrance day to be introduced in parliament, which saw members of both ruling and opposition parties in agreement.

He said the purpose of the motion was for parliament to discuss, debate and, through a standing committee of parliament, consult the affected communities and relevant authorities to determine and bring about the enactment or declaration of the memorial day.

‘A genocide remembrance day is an important occasion to remember the lives that were lost, to show solidarity with the descendants of the victims and to unite to ensure genocide never happens again in Namibia, Africa or elsewhere,’ Maamberua stated.

He proposed that 28 May should be declared as Genocide Remembrance Day, as it was on that day that the official and formal closure to the Ovaherero and Nama genocide episode was reached when all concentration camps in Namibia were ordered to close in 1908.

DTA of Namibia president McHenry Venaani, who was one of the members to make his contribution to the debate, said the genocide issue is a Namibian issue, and many Namibians are direct descendants of the genocide.

He also emphasised the importance of a memorial day as it would benefit those affected. The DTA parliamentarian, however, disagreed with the date suggested by Maamberua, proposing that the day be 2 October.

Other MPs agreed that the remembrance day would give meaning to history.

Attorney general Sacky Shanghala said the memorial day would remove the tribal element from the genocide issue, which he said has become a ‘Nama and Herero’ issue.

He proposed that stories be captured and included in the curriculum of schools for people to understand ‘where Namibia comes from’.

‘We talk about the restoration and transformation of the economy of the country,’ Shanghala said, adding that there is also a need to look at historical monuments in the country.

‘We symbolise and show through those monuments that we have overcome, that we have risen to the occasion that united us. I also think that there is a need for artefacts that we can put in government buildings to show how our people fought, because the story is only told from one side,’ he noted.

Swapo secretary general Nangolo Mbumba said Namibians need to embrace one another.

‘Today, we have learned one thing: whatever conflict we have amongst ourselves cannot be compared to the conflict we endured during colonisation. One of the things we must learn as we study history is to get out of darkness and into the light. If the purpose is just to create an opportunity to fight each other, it will never work,’ Mbumba said.

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