Namibia commemorates the genocide amid the escalation of invitations for compensation news

29 May 2025 - 6:10 pm

Yesterday, Wednesday, the Namibia government organized the first official anniversary to honor victims Genocide Which was committed during the German colonial era, amid the renewed demands by politicians and societies affected by compensation from Berlin.

The massacres -which is the first genocide Documented in the twentieth century, according to historians and the United Nations- to the period between 1904 and 1908, when German forces killed about 65,000 of the people of Uforiro and 10,000 Nama, during their resistance to the colonial occupation.

On May 28, the Namibia government chose to commemorate the genocide, as it corresponds to the date in which the German colonial authorities ordered the closure of detention camps.

In 2021, Germany officially admitted that for the first time that the massacres it implemented in Namibia live up to the level of “genocide”, and agreed to finance development projects worth 1.1 billion euros ($ 1.2 billion), but refrained from paying direct compensation.

Searching for satisfactory solutions

During the memorial event held in Parliament Gardens, Namibia Speaker Nightobo Nandi Nadaeh said that the German government admitted that its forces committed genocide, but this is only part of the complex negotiations that we have been fighting since 2013.

The president Naduatula ignites a candle to launch a celebration of honoring the victims of genocide (Reuters)

Reuters quoted the German embassy in Windhuk as saying that Federal government Her country is acknowledged moral and political responsibility for these events, and emphasizes the importance of reconciliation.

On the other hand, some representatives of the Ovhereero community boycotted the anniversary ceremony, in protest that the current agreement stipulating Germany financing development projects over the course of 30 years that do not rise in their view to the level of fairness or adequate recognition of historical suffering.

President Nandi Nadaeh confirmed that negotiations with Germany will continue, stressing that “any final agreement should be satisfactory, especially for directly affected societies.”