Riruako accuses Germany of bribing Herero leaders

HERERO chief Kuaima Riruako has accused Germany of bribing some Herero leaders in order to disrupt calls for reparations.

Riruako told The Namibian on Wednesday that senior German government officials had admitted to him in Bremen last year already that they had paid for the monument of the late Herero leader Willem Maharero in Botswana. At Okakarara on Friday, Riruako claimed Germany gave money to some Herero leaders and had promised more to others in order to stop the tribe from claiming reparations for the 1904-1908 genocide.He charged that some Hereros were given “well-packaged schemes”, such as a N$160 000 monument for one group, to coerce them to turn against the proponents of the reparation movement.”This is bribery of the highest order,” he said, vowing not to succumb to “manipulation and intimidation”.”We are a strong community united by history and more so, sharing a common destiny,” he said.Riruako and 200 others filed a US$4 billion lawsuit against the German government in a US court in the District of Columbia in September 2001 for atrocities committed under colonial rule, but the case was thrown out.Germany ruled Namibia, then called German South West Africa, between 1884 and 1915 before being forced to hand over the territory to South Africa after its defeat in World War I.Riruako said 85 000 Hereros died after German General Lothar von Trotha issued an extermination order against the tribe in 1904 to crush an uprising against colonial rule.Each year in August, the Hereros gather to remember their fallen heroes who died during the Herero-German war.On Friday, Riruako said the demand for justice was not about the past but about what the future held for “the survivors of the evil misdemeanour”.”After all, we cannot price the lives of those who were killed in these gruesome events, as they are more precious than any monetary value,” Riruako said.The Hereros are now demanding resources to reconstruct and rebuild their communities, resources to train the youth to meet the requirements of the labour market and to help them establish manufacturing industries to employ the young people.”We want to produce our own food, extract our own mineral resources and trade fairly with others in the global market,” Riruako said.Germany has always argued that it cannot pay reparations to the Hereros alone.Last year, it announced a “special initiative” for the Herero, Nama and Damara people in Namibia.It intends to create and finance development projects exclusively in areas predominantly inhabited by Hereros, Namas and Damaras.According to the German government, the N$160 million for this initiative will be allocated in addition to the regular German development aid to Namibia.At Okakarara on Friday, Riruako claimed Germany gave money to some Herero leaders and had promised more to others in order to stop the tribe from claiming reparations for the 1904-1908 genocide.He charged that some Hereros were given “well-packaged schemes”, such as a N$160 000 monument for one group, to coerce them to turn against the proponents of the reparation movement.”This is bribery of the highest order,” he said, vowing not to succumb to “manipulation and intimidation”.”We are a strong community united by history and more so, sharing a common destiny,” he said.Riruako and 200 others filed a US$4 billion lawsuit against the German government in a US court in the District of Columbia in September 2001 for atrocities committed under colonial rule, but the case was thrown out.Germany ruled Namibia, then called German South West Africa, between 1884 and 1915 before being forced to hand over the territory to South Africa after its defeat in World War I.Riruako said 85 000 Hereros died after German General Lothar von Trotha issued an extermination order against the tribe in 1904 to crush an uprising against colonial rule.Each year in August, the Hereros gather to remember their fallen heroes who died during the Herero-German war.On Friday, Riruako said the demand for justice was not about the past but about what the future held for “the survivors of the evil misdemeanour”.”After all, we cannot price the lives of those who were killed in these gruesome events, as they are more precious than any monetary value,” Riruako said.The Hereros are now demanding resources to reconstruct and rebuild their communities, resources to train the youth to meet the requirements of the labour market and to help them establish manufacturing industries to employ the young people.”We want to produce our own food, extract our own mineral resources and trade fairly with others in the global market,” Riruako said.Germany has always argued that it cannot pay reparations to the Hereros alone.Last year, it announced a “special initiative” for the Herero, Nama and Damara people in Namibia.It intends to create and finance development projects exclusively in areas predominantly inhabited by Hereros, Namas and Damaras.According to the German government, the N$160 million for this initiative will be allocated in addition to the regular German development aid to Namibia.