Namibia Holds Controversial First Commemoration of German Colonial-Era Genocide

Namibia on Wednesday held its first national commemoration for the victims of mass killings by colonial-era German troops, in what is widely recognised as the first genocide of the 20th century. However, some organisations representing victims’ descendants have declined to take part.

Between 1904 and 1908, German troops massacred tens of thousands of indigenous Herero and Nama people who rebelled against Germany’s rule in the southern African country.

Genocide Remembrance Day was declared a…