
Zeraeua Traditional Authority rallies behind proposed National Genocide Remembrance Day

The Zeraeua Traditional Authority clarified their position regarding the proposed Genocide Remembrance Day, 28 May, to be a National Genocide Remembrance Day, as contained in the report of the National Assembly, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs of May 2017 to March 2020.
The Authority said the rational for proposing the 28 May to be adopted as the National Genocide Remembrance Day is because it was the date on which all the concentration camps in Namibia were ordered to be closed.
“This was the day all prisoners were released and the official and formal closure to the OvaHerero and Nama genocide episode,”the Authority added.
According to the report of the Standing Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs of the National Assembly, nation-wide public consultations were undertaken. All genocidal wars affected communities, Traditional Authorities, Non-governmental organisations, religious and spiritual leaders, National Heritage Council, Office of the Prime Minister, the national Institute for Education and Development, the University of Namibia, the Technical Committee on Genocide Apology and Reparations, the Nama Genocide Technical Committee amongst other relevant stakeholders were consulted.
The Authority further explained that after the nation-wide public consultation by the Standing Committee, it was recommended that the 28 May be adopted as the National Genocide Remembrance Day and the report was tabled and adopted by the National Assembly. “Other proposed dates were 2 October, which was the date General Von Trotha issued his infamous extermination order against the Ovaherero people in 1904 and 22 April 1905, which was the extermination order against the Nama people,” they emphasised.
Having been one of the traditional authorities that were consulted, the Zeraeua Traditional Authority stated clearly that it is in support of the proposed 28 May as the National Genocide Remembrance Day.