The Reiterdenkmal was removed from where it stood in front of the Alte Feste Museum on Christmas last year and placed in the museum’s courtyard.
A few days before the removal of the statue the National Heritage Council of Namibia issued a public notice on December 20 that it would submit a recommendation on the statue’s deproclamation to the Minister of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture, Jerry Ekandjo.
However, the National Heritage Council has said that the relocation of the Reiterdenkmal and the public notice were two separate things. The deadline for submissions against the deproclamation of the Reiterdenkmal is 17 February.
According to Uli Gall of the German Cultural Council, they have received many enquiries about how to make these submissions and therefore decided to give guidance and provide a form to the public which can be submitted to their offices no later than February 14.
These submissions will be counted and stamped before being handed over to the National Heritage Council.
“We want to involve as many cultures as possible because the statue belongs to everybody, it is a national monument,” Gall said.
According to her they hope that the submissions will have an impact on the decision, but it depends on how many submissions are received and the reasons people provide against the deproclamation of the monument.
According to the notice that the National Heritage Council issued last year, the Reiterdenkmal lost its political significance three years after its erection when Germany lost the territory and it was given to the Union of South Africa in 1915.
“In addition to that Namibia won the long liberation struggle for independence, hence the loss of the historical significance and importance of the Equestrian Statue,” according to the notice.
The German Cultural Council is located at the Goethe Centre in Windhoek’s Fidel Castro Street. It is open weekdays from 08:00 to 12:30. For further information, call 061-235 959.
No comments:
Post a Comment