Seth !Nowaseb
Recent comments by the President of the Republic of Namibia, Dr. Hage Geingob, after the Federal Republic of Germany’s support for Israel at the International Court of Justice, led to many unfavourable comments against that country. Among the comments was a statement that the Namibian and German governments continued negotiation and reached a Joint Declaration without the direction or participation of descendants of the affected communities, particularly the OvaHerero and Nama. This statement and others have been used again and again to discredit the two governments and representatives from the affected communities who are involved in the current dialogue. However, those statements are blatantly untrue. Those who are close to the negotiations will know that the negotiations between the two governments directly involve the OvaHerero and Nama community representatives, alongside several government representatives. More recently, representatives from the Damara communities have been part of the negotiating team, and it is hoped the San Hai//Om will follow suit. Many of the other government representatives who are involved serve in administrative capacities, and advisory and essential roles. They are representatives from various sectors, inter alia OAMAS, former ambassadors, academics, economists, etc. It is thus insincere and dishonest of those who claim that the descendants of genocide victims are not represented in the ongoing negotiations. At this point, for the sake of clarity, it is probably worth explaining how the Namibian side of the negotiation team is constituted. The group which is responsible for genocide negotiations is known as the Technical Committee on Genocide, Apology and Reparations (GAR). This is the main body of people working on behalf of the Namibian Government to engage the German side on the same issue. This committee has several sub-committees, which include one on research, documentation and finance. These committees include representatives from the four tribes of people who were decimated and killed during the 1904-1908 war between Germany and Namibia, which resulted in the genocide. Within the above-mentioned Technical Committee on Genocide, Apology and Reparations, there is the smaller GAR Negotiation Team, which is made up of seven representatives of affected communities. The team includes OvaHerero, Nama and Damara representatives, which makes the genocide victims the majority negotiators. If we include Namibian government officials, 12 of the 16 members (or 75%) of the Namibian negotiation team who negotiate directly with the German representatives, are from the affected communities. Moreover, it is a well-known fact that the Special Envoy, the late Dr. Zed Ngavirue, who was appointed by President Dr. Hage G. Geingob based on Article 32 (3) (e) of the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia, was himself from the OvaHerero and a descendent of genocide victims, as are many of the other members of the Technical Committee. So, the notion that the OvaHerero and the Nama are not represented in negotiations is devoid of any truth. It is also a fact that many of the people who disseminated wrong information about being excluded from negotiation were invited from the onset to be part of the Namibian government’s efforts in the negotiation with Germany. We all know that some Ovaherero and Nama representatives refused to take part in the ongoing negotiation as part of the Namibian government team. Those who chose to stay away from these negotiations did so because they wanted to negotiate directly with the German government without Namibian government involvement, to control whatever windfall they expected. Those who know international law will tell us that these types of negotiations are bilateral in nature, i.e. they are government-to-government. Despite this, several other representatives from the Ovaherero and Nama are – and always have been – part of the Technical Committee as well as the negotiation team. People must understand that General Lothar von Trotha’s crimes were not committed by the German people living in that country today. But their recent and current government took responsibility, as these crimes were committed in their name. Similarly, the current government of Namibia was not involved, but as a responsible representative of their people, has taken an active role in approaching their German counterpart on behalf of the Namibian victims of the genocide who are OvaHerero, Nama, Damara and San. The government of Namibia and its negotiation team have been accused of all sorts of things, including misleading accusations such as: 1. That they are not interested in the negotiations, and 2. that affected communities are not involved in these negotiations. However, the government has tried what it could to get as many members of the affected communities involved as possible. To this end, the negotiations started in 2016 under the leadership of the late Dr. Ngavirue. As a result of those efforts, several good things happened:
1. A Joint Declaration, which acknowledged and recognised Germany’s crimes, was agreed upon and initialled.
2. The Federal Republic of Germany has offered to apologise to the affected communities publicly in Namibia and Germany.
3. The Federal Republic of Germany has offered to pay €1050 million (approx. N$20 billion) as a form of atonement for its past crimes.
When Namibia disagreed with €1050 million (N$ 22,818,543,517.00) as being insufficient, Germany agreed in an addendum, which will be part of the Joint Declaration (JD), to provide additional atonement money. In other words, Germany has agreed to top up the atonement money – at a recent dialogue in December – in addition to the N$ 22,818,543,517.00 it offered previously. This agreement is somewhat like that between Germany and Israel, where the latter was offered and accepted DM 3 billion, which was topped up with additional funding over the years. The JD and negotiation process and the atonement money on offer may have been rejected by some Herero and Nama groups. However, to date, it has been accepted by other OvaHerero, Nama and Damara descendants of the genocide victims. It is also worth noting that contrary to the incorrect assertions by some OvaHerero and Nama groups, the process has not been finaliseds and the negotiations are ongoing. The above are some of the successes that the negotiating team on the Namibian side achieved over the last eight years. On the other side of the genocide negotiations’ divide are groups of Namibians – mainly OvaHerero and Nama – who decided not to be part of the negotiation led by the Namibian government. They decided to go to court in the United States of America, through campaigns in Germany with the support of various NGOs, and there is another pending case going through the Namibian courts, trying to stop the ongoing negotiations between Namibia and Germany. As of now, there are teams of the Ovaherero and Nama representatives who followed the litigation route, and are within their right to do so. However, that route did not achieve much in the United States of America, the Federal Republic of Germany, and Namibia. It is also interesting to note that some of the people who are claiming to have been excluded from the negotiations have been refusing to accept that the Damara and San Hai//om were victims of the 1904-1908 genocide, although there is clear evidence to incorporate this fact. The Office of the Vice President, which is responsible for the Namibia-Germany negotiations, has left the invitation open to those Ovaherero and Nama groups which boycotted the talks to join the current negotiations, should they choose to do so. However, there are currently no takers.As can be seen from the above statement, the Namibian government and Technical Committee on GAR and its Negotiation Team have done a lot and achieved much on behalf of the descendants of the affected communities. Can any of us honestly think about any other government agency or private organisation that has negotiated a N$ 22,818,543,517.00 windfall or pledge for anything in the history of Namibia, or even during the days of South West Africa? I don’t think so. I think what the Namibian negotiation team has achieved is phenomenal, and the members of this team ought to be congratulated, rather than derided. The negotiations should continue, and be concluded as soon as possible so that the affected communities can benefit from funds availed to transform their lives and those of their descendants sooner rather than later. Well done, the Namibian team. A fund of N$ 22,818,543,517.00 may not be enough – as many argue, but it will bring meaningful transformation to the livelihoods of the beneficiaries. In the end, a dose of honesty and sincerity among us Namibians and with the outside world will put us in good stead in dealing with the genocide issue. Many of the same Namibians who clamour to hold Germany accountable refuse to take accountability for their actions. It is a historical fact that the Damara and San were also victims of the atrocities committed by German troops under General Lothar von Trotha, because they lived with both OvaHerero and Nama, also because they were black. The German troops could not tell the difference. However, many OvaHerero and Nama refuse to acknowledge that fact. They often belittle or deny it. Similarly, history shows both OvaHerero and Namas used weapons from the Germans and Dutch to kill and maim the Damara people to dispossess them of their land, which they today claim the Germans expropriated from them. These are historical facts. But the OvaHerero and Nama refuse to acknowledge this history because these are inconvenient truths. If the OvaHerero and Nama are so eager to hold the Germans accountable, they too should face the music. The only way for us all to move ahead as a nation is for all to admit historic wrongdoings, as is, and try to deal with them in a spirit of reconciliation. Forwards with the negotiations.
* Seth !Nowaseb is an academic. He recently joined the Technical Committee on GAR as a representative from the Damara community. His ancestors are Nama, Damara and San