WINDHOEK: Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah says it is important for Namibians to appreciate the progress in the 1904-1908 genocide negotiations, cautioning that relying on external organisations may not benefit Namibia in the current highly polarised international political order.

Opening the Chiefs Forum with over 100 chiefs and their senior councillors in Windhoek on Thursday, Nandi-Ndaitwah said the genocide currently being committed by Israel against the people of Palestine in Gaza indicates the inefficiencies and serious shortcomings within the international community and their various institutions to deal with issues of genocide.

She added that in 2021, Namibia and Germany negotiated and a joint declaration which encompassed an acknowledgment of the genocide; apology; payments of reparations where Germany had agreed to pay a total of 1.1 billion euros (N.dollars 18 billion) was made.

The amount was submitted to the National Assembly for debate and was referred back government for further negotia
tions with Germany.

Nandi-Ndaitwah said a consensus was reached for the German government to deliver an unconditional apology and pay atonement to the affected communities, including those in the diaspora.

‘It is important for us to pay attention and appreciate what has been achieved thus far from these negotiations and indicate where improvements should be made if necessary, unless we would really want to prolong the issue indefinitely,’ she said.

She noted that the consensus reached so far is not perfect, nor does it meet all the expectations of the affected communities and the Namibian citizens in general, given the impact of the genocide. She however noted that Namibians might all agree that in any negotiation, the principle of give and take plays a role.

‘The Government of Namibia takes it that although the amount is not enough, we have now made Germany agree to commit itself to revisit and renegotiate this amount, as the implementation of the reparations ensues,’ she said.

Nandi-Ndaitwah further in
dicated that the consensus reached so far does not constitute an agreement between the two governments, and the understanding reached by the two will be subjected to the National Assembly for further discussion and consideration before finalisation.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency