Majority say Germany must pay
The majority of Namibians say traditional authorities should join the negotiations for genocide reparations, the latest Afrobarometer survey has shown.
Currently two parallel negotiations are ongoing: the official government-to-government talks between Namibia and Germany, and a civil suit against Germany by Nama and Ovaherero traditional leaders who accuse the Namibian government of side-lining them.
The survey shows that 20% of interviewees feel the government alone must handle negotiations and only 11% believe it should be exclusively handled by the Nama and Ovaherero traditional authorities.
The Afrobarometer is a pan-African research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, economic conditions and related issues in Africa. The Afrobarometer team in Namibia, led by the Institute for Public Policy Research, interviewed 1 200 adult Namibians in November 2017.
This survey indicated that only one in five citizens say the Namibian government should handle the negotiations on its own. Two thirds of Namibians say Germany should pay reparations for the 1904-08 genocide, while 10% of Namibians disagree. According to the survey 13% Namibians either do not know about the Nama and Ovaherero genocide or declined to respond.
Koevoet
The survey also measured public sentiments about the plea to be granted war veteran status by former SWATF and Koevoet soldiers.
Two in five Namibians say veterans of South African forces during the war for liberation should qualify for veterans' benefits, while 37% Namibians say they should not.
Former Koevoet members and SWATF soldiers, represented by the Namibia War Veterans' Trust (Namvet), are demanding to be registered as war veterans and to benefit from the Ministry of Veterans' Affairs funding programmes.
However, the government insist they fought on the opposite side of the liberation struggle and cannot be awarded war veteran status.
Lubango
Meanwhile, four in ten Namibians believe there should be an independent investigation of alleged human rights abuses in the so-called Lubango dungeons, while half as many disagree with the investigation.
Despite objections by the government, the Lubango dungeons saga has strongly advocated for and has seen the Committee of Parents and the Truth and Justice Committee announcing the names of Namibian and other players who have agreed to investigate claims of human rights abuses perpetrated by Swapo in exile.
The joint committee wants the commissioners to investigate killings and detention of Namibian refugees, torture, forced confessions of detainees, complaints against Swapo's leadership made by members of its youth wing in 1976, as well as members of PLAN, the involvement and complicity of foreign missions and other instances, the probing of the Johnny Ya Otto Commission of Inquiry, and other related matters.
JEMIMA BEUKES
Currently two parallel negotiations are ongoing: the official government-to-government talks between Namibia and Germany, and a civil suit against Germany by Nama and Ovaherero traditional leaders who accuse the Namibian government of side-lining them.
The survey shows that 20% of interviewees feel the government alone must handle negotiations and only 11% believe it should be exclusively handled by the Nama and Ovaherero traditional authorities.
The Afrobarometer is a pan-African research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, economic conditions and related issues in Africa. The Afrobarometer team in Namibia, led by the Institute for Public Policy Research, interviewed 1 200 adult Namibians in November 2017.
This survey indicated that only one in five citizens say the Namibian government should handle the negotiations on its own. Two thirds of Namibians say Germany should pay reparations for the 1904-08 genocide, while 10% of Namibians disagree. According to the survey 13% Namibians either do not know about the Nama and Ovaherero genocide or declined to respond.
Koevoet
The survey also measured public sentiments about the plea to be granted war veteran status by former SWATF and Koevoet soldiers.
Two in five Namibians say veterans of South African forces during the war for liberation should qualify for veterans' benefits, while 37% Namibians say they should not.
Former Koevoet members and SWATF soldiers, represented by the Namibia War Veterans' Trust (Namvet), are demanding to be registered as war veterans and to benefit from the Ministry of Veterans' Affairs funding programmes.
However, the government insist they fought on the opposite side of the liberation struggle and cannot be awarded war veteran status.
Lubango
Meanwhile, four in ten Namibians believe there should be an independent investigation of alleged human rights abuses in the so-called Lubango dungeons, while half as many disagree with the investigation.
Despite objections by the government, the Lubango dungeons saga has strongly advocated for and has seen the Committee of Parents and the Truth and Justice Committee announcing the names of Namibian and other players who have agreed to investigate claims of human rights abuses perpetrated by Swapo in exile.
The joint committee wants the commissioners to investigate killings and detention of Namibian refugees, torture, forced confessions of detainees, complaints against Swapo's leadership made by members of its youth wing in 1976, as well as members of PLAN, the involvement and complicity of foreign missions and other instances, the probing of the Johnny Ya Otto Commission of Inquiry, and other related matters.
JEMIMA BEUKES
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