Namibia has held its first Genocide Remembrance Day to commemorate more than 70,000 Herero and Nama people killed by German colonisers in the early 1900s.
The Herero and Nama genocide, which took place from 1904 to 1908, is described by historians as the first genocide of the 20th Century.
During her speech on Wednesday, Namibia’s President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said the new national holiday “is a symbol of unity and reflection,” but the country will never forget its “emotional, psychological, economic, and cultural scars”.
President Nandi-Ndaitwah also repeated her calls for reparations from Germany.
Germany publicly acknowledged the Herero and Nama genocide in 2021; however, talks on reparations stretching back to 2013 have not resulted in any as of yet.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said, “We must remain committed that as a nation, we shall soldier on until the ultimate conclusion is reached”.
Earlier this week, Germany released a statement reiterating that it “acknowledges Germany’s moral and political responsibility [for the killings] and emphasizes the importance of reconciliation”.