Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Germany to apologise but…Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. Germany is convinced that there is no need for financial compensation and believes that the atrocities committed against the Nama and Ovaherero people during the 1904-08 genocide was justified.
It also believes that an amicable solution can only be reached through discussions in a historical context, and not through a court case.
These were comments made by the German Ambassador to Namibia, Christian-Matthias Schlaga on 15 June during the annual general meeting of the Schools Association of Windhoek that runs the Deutsche Höhere Privatschule Windhoek (DHPS).
According to him, the German government will focus on the way in which the term 'genocide' is used.
“Germany is ready to apologise for the crimes committed in this period. It is important for Germany that this apology is accepted as the end of the political-moral debate. We will therefore discuss the necessary details of an apology,” he said.
This appears to be the spirit of the German government's official response on the 1904-08 Nama and Ovaherero genocide, contained in the 'German Position Paper' handed over by Schlaga to the Namibia's special envoy Zed Ngavirue on 29 June.
The Namibian government demands an official apology and reparations, while descendants of the Nama and Ovaherero genocide victims have resorted to a federal court in the United States to claim justice.
To date, the German government has been very vague on what it is prepared to offer and has insisted that “throwing” around money will not fix things.
Germany's special envoy, Ruprecht Polenz, last year sneered at “this idea floating around that there will be money flowing across the continent.”
He made it very clear that this will not happen, but promised that negotiations may be concluded this year. This however did not materialise as negotiations are still on-going.
JEMIMA BEUKES
Clik here to view.
()/assets/images/3454/germany-to-apologise-but2017-08-040.jpg)
Germany to apologise but…Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Germany is convinced that there is no need for financial compensation and believes that the atrocities committed against the Nama and Ovaherero people during the 1904-08 genocide was justified. It also believes that an amicable solution can only be reached through discussions in a historical context, and not through a court case.
These were comments made by the German Ambassador to Namibia, Christian-Matthias Schlaga on 15 June during the annual general meeting of the Schools Association of Windhoek that runs the Deutsche Höhere Privatschule Windhoek (DHPS).
According to him, the German government will focus on the way in which the term 'genocide' is used.
“Germany is ready to apologise for the crimes committed in this period. It is important for Germany that this apology is accepted as the end of the political-moral debate. We will therefore discuss the necessary details of an apology,” he said.
This appears to be the spirit of the German government's official response on the 1904-08 Nama and Ovaherero genocide, contained in the 'German Position Paper' handed over by Schlaga to the Namibia's special envoy Zed Ngavirue on 29 June.
The Namibian government demands an official apology and reparations, while descendants of the Nama and Ovaherero genocide victims have resorted to a federal court in the United States to claim justice.
To date, the German government has been very vague on what it is prepared to offer and has insisted that “throwing” around money will not fix things.
Germany's special envoy, Ruprecht Polenz, last year sneered at “this idea floating around that there will be money flowing across the continent.”
He made it very clear that this will not happen, but promised that negotiations may be concluded this year. This however did not materialise as negotiations are still on-going.
JEMIMA BEUKES
