Our land must be given back

METUSALEM NEIB WRITES:According to the Cross-Cultural Trust of Namibia's (CCTN) vier of the 2nd Land Conference the San and Damara tribes' delegates have been campaigning and debated for lost ancestral lands and genocide reparation. CCTN herewith would like to request the Namibian government and international organizations including the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) to help file and take restorative action in the International Courts of Justices against the Herero, Nama and Germany to address the challenging matter of the San and Damara in relation to their lost ancestral lands as well as redress (reparation) for atrocities during 1884 to 1915 .It's unfair of the Namibian government to seek to justify continuing inequalities between tribes/races irrespective of them having lost ancestral land or not. Some influential leaders continued with their demand for ancestral land at the conference. Some representatives of traditional authorities, opposition parties and civil society organizations boycotted it. The other tribes' elites who never lost any piece of ancestral will continue to rob and control the tribes that lost their ancestral land.These tribes that did not lose ancestral land seemingly have a problem with the rest of us seeking restoration of access to land. It is also clear from the constitution of the conference that those that did not lose land were the majority.The tribes that lost their ancestral land need access to and use of ancestral land for productive and whichever purpose they may see fit. These tribes demand their rights even though they are minority, which must be respected in relation to access to land.It is worth mentioning that a constitutional democracy is judged by the way the majority treats the minority.In CCTN's opinion the Namibian government should return lost ancestral lands to tribes so affected. It's a matter of tradition and traditions that lasted and worked well in historic times for so long should not be abolished. The demand for ancestral land certainly enhances the right of affected groups to practice their traditions.CCTN do not see any contradictions between the ancestral land demand and any other efforts that may be considered for purposes of “nation building”.The ancient tribes, the Damara and San lost land, were caused to disappear, killed and exported as slaves and compelled to engage in hard labor from 1884 to 1903. The /Khomanin tribe lost ancestral land in the 1960s during South-Africa's colonial reign through the Odendaal Plan.The tribes that lost ancestral land herewith reject the seemingly sought consensus that a commission of inquiry must investigate the ancestral land issue.

Our land must be given back

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Republikein 2026-02-18

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Our land must be given back

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Republikein 2026-02-18

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