Alliance “Genocide does not have a statute of limitations!”
Press Release
07.09.2016
Government Negotiations on the Genocide of the Herero and Nama in Germany: Civil Society Shows Solidarity with Excluded Victims’ Representations and Plans Joint Genocide Congress in Berlin
Against the backdrop of the official negotiations currently underway in Berlin between a high-ranking government delegation from Namibia and the German government on Germany’s genocides against the Herero and Nama 1904-08, the nationwide NGO alliance “Völkermord verjährt nicht!” (The statute of limitations for genocide does not expire!) is urging the governments of both countries to finally recognize the Herero and Nama associations as representatives of those affected and to invite them to the negotiating table.
The Ovaherero and Ovambanderu Genocide Foundation and the Nama Technical Committee on Genocide, without whose long-standing commitment the recognition of the genocide by Germany and the current negotiations would not exist at all, strongly protest their exclusion in a recent press release. They announce that they will not recognize the results of the exclusive Namibian-German government negotiations under any circumstances.
Both also point out that this exclusion blatantly violates a 2006 Namibian Parliament resolution in this regard and also the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. On October 26, 2006, the Namibian parliament called for a German-Namibian trialogue including the representatives of the affected communities, while the United Nations years ago guaranteed all indigenous communities the right to participate in decisions that directly affect them through self-appointed representatives.
The Berlin-based Herero Israel Kaunatjike of the alliance “Völkermord verjährt nicht!” explains: “We stand in solidarity with the justified demand of the Namibian Herero and Nama representations for direct participation in the Namibian-German reparations negotiations. We regard their exclusion as a further affront to those who to this day suffer the consequences of expulsion, dispossession and extermination by the German ‘Schutztruppe’.”
Against the background of the unacceptable exclusion, the association Berlin Postkolonial in cooperation with the other alliance organizations as well as with affected people’s representations in Namibia and in the worldwide diaspora will host the civil society congress “Restorative Justice after Genocide” on October 14/15, 2016 at the Centre Francais in Berlin. The congress will end on the morning of 16.10.2016 with a joint protest march of the congress participants through Berlin. It takes place as part of the UN-initiated International Decade for People of African Descent 2015-24.
Christian Kopp of Berlin Postkolonial emphasizes: “Reconciliation can neither be forced nor decided by the government. It requires the consent of the aggrieved parties as well as a permanent, society-wide dialogue between Herero, Nama and Germans. The congress we are organizing together will allow the communities affected by the genocide to present their positions in detail and to engage in intensive dialogue with the people of Germany.”
Contact: Israel Kaunatjike, 030 2156836, kalahari-berlin [at] web.de | Christian Kopp, 01799 100 976, buero [at] berlin-postkolonial.de
Report of the Namibian Sun of 6.9.: http://www.namibiansun.com/news/genocide-talks-start-in-germany/
More about Congress and Alliance: www.berlin-postkolonial.de | www.genocide-namibia.net