Ua-Ndjarakana: Swapo failed on genocide for 30 years
JEMIMA BEUKES
WINDHOEK
Mbeuta Ua-Ndjarakana, the executive director of the information and communication technology ministry, quit the ruling party Swapo yesterday, which he accused of failing genocide-affected communities for 31 years.
The ruling party has failed to show a commitment to the plight of the affected communities and he can no longer be party to this betrayal, he told journalists in Windhoek.
Ua-Ndjarakana broke ranks and dismissed Germany’s N$18.4 billion genocide reparation package as mere development aid.
He said he hopes that his stance will honour the memory of the late Kazenambo Kazenambo who, until his death last month, was a lone voice in Swapo for justice for the 1904-08 Nama and Ovaherero genocide victims.
Addressing the media at the Independence Memorial Museum yesterday, Ua-Ndjarakana accused Swapo members of silencing other members seeking genuine reparations and instead reducing them to mere “voting cows”.
Ua-Ndjarakana - who is the government spokesperson by virtue of his position - said Swapo has failed to show a commitment to the plight of the affected communities and after more than 30 years, he can no longer stand the betrayal. According to him, Germany’s controversial offer is just an ordinary “bilateral project” and a gesture of goodwill camouflaged as reparations.
“This so-called deal shouldn’t even be introduced in our Parliament but rather be taken to the communities through a referendum which surely will receive an overwhelming vote of no confidence. Germans in Berlin need to be placed before the pressure of the international community through the United Nations system for Germany to own up to its inglorious history in our communities. “The Namibian government should not side with the Germans in a bid to buy them a glittering face,” he said.
No action
In his resignation from the party, he said Swapo has since independence taken no action to address the plight of the affected communities who are displaced and dispossessed of their ancestral land.
“To add insult to injury, the just cause by a motion seeking German apology, reparations and restorative justice has been derailed by Swapo into an exclusionist project deal to swell the pockets of greedy politicians at our expense. This is nothing but burying our bitter history in an insulting and inhumane fashion. Why remain in a family where you are just seen and not heard but reduced to mere handclappers?”
Ua-Ndjarakana, who has been part of government for years, claims the Swapo government has made no deliberate effort towards land resettlement for the affected communities.
“When we raised these issues in the highest echelons of the ruling party, we were viewed as noisy and mad people. “Those of us who returned to the motherland were issued with second-tier citizenship by either naturalisation or registration, but children of fellow exiles were given citizenship by descent,” he said.
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WINDHOEK
Mbeuta Ua-Ndjarakana, the executive director of the information and communication technology ministry, quit the ruling party Swapo yesterday, which he accused of failing genocide-affected communities for 31 years.
The ruling party has failed to show a commitment to the plight of the affected communities and he can no longer be party to this betrayal, he told journalists in Windhoek.
Ua-Ndjarakana broke ranks and dismissed Germany’s N$18.4 billion genocide reparation package as mere development aid.
He said he hopes that his stance will honour the memory of the late Kazenambo Kazenambo who, until his death last month, was a lone voice in Swapo for justice for the 1904-08 Nama and Ovaherero genocide victims.
Addressing the media at the Independence Memorial Museum yesterday, Ua-Ndjarakana accused Swapo members of silencing other members seeking genuine reparations and instead reducing them to mere “voting cows”.
Ua-Ndjarakana - who is the government spokesperson by virtue of his position - said Swapo has failed to show a commitment to the plight of the affected communities and after more than 30 years, he can no longer stand the betrayal. According to him, Germany’s controversial offer is just an ordinary “bilateral project” and a gesture of goodwill camouflaged as reparations.
“This so-called deal shouldn’t even be introduced in our Parliament but rather be taken to the communities through a referendum which surely will receive an overwhelming vote of no confidence. Germans in Berlin need to be placed before the pressure of the international community through the United Nations system for Germany to own up to its inglorious history in our communities. “The Namibian government should not side with the Germans in a bid to buy them a glittering face,” he said.
No action
In his resignation from the party, he said Swapo has since independence taken no action to address the plight of the affected communities who are displaced and dispossessed of their ancestral land.
“To add insult to injury, the just cause by a motion seeking German apology, reparations and restorative justice has been derailed by Swapo into an exclusionist project deal to swell the pockets of greedy politicians at our expense. This is nothing but burying our bitter history in an insulting and inhumane fashion. Why remain in a family where you are just seen and not heard but reduced to mere handclappers?”
Ua-Ndjarakana, who has been part of government for years, claims the Swapo government has made no deliberate effort towards land resettlement for the affected communities.
“When we raised these issues in the highest echelons of the ruling party, we were viewed as noisy and mad people. “Those of us who returned to the motherland were issued with second-tier citizenship by either naturalisation or registration, but children of fellow exiles were given citizenship by descent,” he said.
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