German Parliament to discuss genocide

THE German parliament will have to deal in due course with a motion urging the German government to pay reparations to the Herero and Nama people for the genocide committed by German colonial forces.

The MPs of the party calling itself The Left agreed on Tuesday afternoon unanimously to support a motion phrased by Hueseyin Aydin, their specialist on colonialism in the former South West Africa. The motions asks the German government to accept its “historical responsibility” and to “acknowledge the right of the Hereros and Namas to reparations” due to the genocide committed by the German Schutztruppe.It further demands that the government enter without preconditions into an “open dialogue on reconciliation and reparation” with representatives of the affected communities.The party wants the German parliament to welcome the resolution of the Namibian National Assembly to ask the German government to acknowledge the genocide.A further demand is the establishment of a foundation aiming to strengthen the knowledge of colonial history in Germany and to promote exchanges between Germany and Namibia in the sectors of youth and education.Political observers expect that the motion will be rejected by the two major parties in Germany, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD).The motion could, however, spark off a new debate on the German colonial genocide not only in parliament but also in churches, trade unions and NGOs.Aydin was the first German MP to publicly state in May 2006 that the Hereros and Namas are entitled to get material compensation.He was invited by Herero Paramount Chief Kuaima Riruako to address Herero Day in Okahandja in August 2006.In October 2006 Aydin organised a conference in Berlin, including two Herero participants from Namibia, MP Arnold Tjihuiko (Nudo) and Rudolph Hongoze, secretary of the Herero Royal Houses.The German Information Centre on Southern Africa (ISSA), a Bonn-based NGO, has welcomed the motion of The Left and said in a statement that reconciliation must include on the German side the willingness for reparations.ISSA was the first German NGO to publicly demand in 2006 material reparations for the Herero and Nama people.The motions asks the German government to accept its “historical responsibility” and to “acknowledge the right of the Hereros and Namas to reparations” due to the genocide committed by the German Schutztruppe.It further demands that the government enter without preconditions into an “open dialogue on reconciliation and reparation” with representatives of the affected communities.The party wants the German parliament to welcome the resolution of the Namibian National Assembly to ask the German government to acknowledge the genocide.A further demand is the establishment of a foundation aiming to strengthen the knowledge of colonial history in Germany and to promote exchanges between Germany and Namibia in the sectors of youth and education.Political observers expect that the motion will be rejected by the two major parties in Germany, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD).The motion could, however, spark off a new debate on the German colonial genocide not only in parliament but also in churches, trade unions and NGOs.Aydin was the first German MP to publicly state in May 2006 that the Hereros and Namas are entitled to get material compensation.He was invited by Herero Paramount Chief Kuaima Riruako to address Herero Day in Okahandja in August 2006.In October 2006 Aydin organised a conference in Berlin, including two Herero participants from Namibia, MP Arnold Tjihuiko (Nudo) and Rudolph Hongoze, secretary of the Herero Royal Houses. The German Information Centre on Southern Africa (ISSA), a Bonn-based NGO, has welcomed the motion of The Left and said in a statement that reconciliation must include on the German side the willingness for reparations.ISSA was the first German NGO to publicly demand in 2006 material reparations for the Herero and Nama people.