‘Unapologetic’ German Ambassador booed

WHEN German Ambassador Egon Kochanke announced that the German government does not have separate relations with different ethnic groups but only deals with the Namibian Government, he was booed by a large crowd at the Heroe’s Acre in Windhoek yesterday.

He also bitterly disappointed the crowd who had expected and hoped for an official apology for the genocide from the German government – a statement which the German government has consistently refused over the years but which Namibians have insisted on for as many years.

At the occasion when the Namibian nation paid tribute to the memories of all Namibians who died during the 1904 to 1908 War of Resistance against German Colonialism, the demands for both an apology and the payment of reparations to the Nama and Herero communities were publicly reiterated by many speakers.

And Mbanderu Queen Aletha Karikondua Nguvauva scratched another sore spot when she complained that the fight for reparations would not be won without the full and active participation of the Namibian Government.

Nguvauva added that “… the Namibian delegation kept their cool amidst degrading and undiplomatic behavior of the German government”.

“When you [Herero Paramount Chief Kuaima Riruako] started this fight, some Namibians thought you were dreaming, but you remained committed to your vision. The repatriation of the skulls is concrete evidence that Namibia needs to fight for reparations,” said Nguvauva.

President Hifikepunye Pohamba, in his address, called on Namibian and German researchers to identify items of Namibian origin that are still in Germany, and return such to Namibia.

Pohamba made this call during the memorial service at Heroes’ Acre on Wednesday for 20 skulls of OvaHerero and Nama people killed by German colonial forces during the resistance war in Namibia between 1904 and 1908.

The Head of State said all items that are of historical and cultural significance to Namibia need to be repatriated to the ‘Land of the Brave’.

On a less controversial note, the German ambassador had earlier said that he was moved to be part of the proceedings, adding that the German government supported the repatriation of human remains to Namibia since they were discovered in 2008. He added that the German government expressed its regret over the atrocities committed against the Namibian people - but did not offer a formal apology.

The Chairman of the Ovaherero/Ovambanderu Council for Dialogue on the 1904 Genocide (OCD-1904), Chief Alfons Kaihepovazandu Maharero, said that the spirits of the Namibian ancestors must be rejoicing today because they have finally come back home.

“Testimonies from oral tradition and written documentations indicate that these corpses were decapitated, boiled in pots, scrapped of flesh and hair with pieces of broken glass by the women prisoners of war. The skulls were packed in boxes for shipment to Germany for the purpose of scientific research,” he explained.

“The return of these skulls serves as strong evidence that Namibia has a case to demand restorative justice. While we recognise and appreciate the existing bilateral developmental cooperation between the Namibian and German governments, we can no longer accept the notion that such development assistance is a response to our demand for restorative justice,” added Maharero.

Pohamba added that although an extermination order by the German Military Commander of the German Imperial Troops, Lothar von Trotha was directed at the Herero, horrendous atrocities were committed against the Mbanderus and Namas as well. “They did not spare anyone, not even women and children,” he said.

He further said that the Namibian government will continue to work with the German government to strengthen ties of bilateral cooperation on the basis of mutual respect and benefit of both peoples.

Pohamba did not react to the reparations issue or on how the Namibian delegation had allegedly been treated in Germany.

click to enlarge PAYING TRIBUTE: Traditional Chiefs of the Nama and Herero communities © Lorraine Kazondovi