Okahandja
Namibia is one of the African countries that receives the highest rate of German development aid, says German Ambassador to Namibia Christian Schlaga.
Schlaga said this during the 120th Commemoration of the Battle of Otjunda and the execution of Chief Kahimemua Nguvauva, Chief Kilus Munjuku III Nguvauva. He said in 2004 the then German Minister for Development Cooperation, Heidemarie Wiezcorek-Zeul came to Namibia to apologise for the German atrocities and subsequently she increased the amount of German support to Namibia’s development three-fold to reach an unprecedented amount of 150 Mill Euro (about N$2,5 billion) over a two year period.
In addition, Schlaga says, Wiezcorek-Zeul initiated the Namibia German Special Initiative worth N$600 million by now and financed more than 200 projects, through which the livelihoods of thousands of Namibians have been improved.
He said Federal Republic of Germany has lived up to its promise and that Namibia is still a priority country for German development assistance. “We are aware that despite all those efforts the dark shadow of the past has not yet disappeared,” he said.
He added that both governments are determined to address our painful past in a way that both Germany and Namibia can finally walk together without the anguish of the past and open the door towards the future with an improved and mutually beneficial relationship.
He said in this regard, both governments decided to engage in government-to-government genocide and reparation negotiations, led by the two countries’ special envoys.
“We accept that healing those wounds does require a strong emotional sign of regret and respect, in one word: apology. We will talk about the specific criteria: by whom, how and where this should take place in order to make sure that such a German apology will be accepted by all Namibia.”
He said the third element of negotiations involves also looking at possibilities of how to establish a joint culture of commemoration, adding that this could include projects to support the younger generation of Namibia as they prepare for a future in the challenging 21st century.
Schlaga said the German government acknowledges the seriousness with which the Namibian government is open to, listens to, and engages with all communities in the country. “We have every reason to believe that all stakeholders in this matter who act in good faith do have access to the respective bodies which the Namibian government has put into place for exactly that purpose,” he said.
He said it is no secret that on some issues the two governments enter the negotiations with different positions – if this was not the case there would be no need for negotiations. “Experience, however, shows that in order to reach a mutually accepted result it is necessary that the readiness to compromise shall prevail over the insistence on extreme positions,” he said.