Namibia said in a statement on Saturday that Germani committed the first genocide of the 20th century on Namibian soil and “is yet to fully atone for the genocide.”
Namibia rejected Germany’s support to Israel’s attacks “against innocent civilians in Gaza”, the presidency of Namibia said in a statement on X.
President of Namibia, Hage Geingob, expressed “deep concern with the shocking decision communicated by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany yesterday, 12 January 2024, in which it rejected the morally upright indictment brought forward by South Africa before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.”
Germany’s move, according to Geingob, ignored “the violent deaths of over 23,000 Palestinians in Gaza and various United Nations reports disturbingly highlighting the internal displacement of 85% of civilians in Gaza amid acute shortages of food and essential services.”
Namibia rejects Germany’s Support of the Genocidal Intent of the Racist Israeli State against Innocent Civilians in Gaza
On Namibian soil, #Germany committed the first genocide of the 20th century in 1904-1908, in which tens of thousands of innocent Namibians died in the most… pic.twitter.com/ZxwWxLv8yt
— Namibian Presidency (@NamPresidency) January 13, 2024
Germany “has chosen to defend in the ICJ the genocidal and gruesome acts of the Israeli Government against innocent civilians in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” the statement added.
“Germany cannot morally express commitment to the United Nations Convention against genocide, including atonement for the genocide in Namibia, whilst supporting the equivalent of a holocaust and genocide in Gaza,” the statement also said, noting that various international organizations “have chillingly concluded that Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza.”
Therefore, President Geingob reiterated “his call made on 31 December 2023”, that “No peace-loving human being can ignore the carnage waged against Palestinians in Gaza”.
In the statement, the presidency also appealed “to the German Government to reconsider its untimely decision to intervene as a third-party in defence and support of the genocidal acts of Israel before the ICJ.”
‘Chance for Court to Halt Genocide in Gaza’ – South Africa’s Justice Minister
German colonial forces carried out the Namibian genocide against the indigenous Herero and Nama peoples between 1904 and 1908. During the attack, at least 65,000 Herero and 10,000 Nama lost their lives.
As a result of the genocide, the Herero population decreased by at least 70 percent, and the Nama population decreased by at least 50 percent.
While Germany acknowledged the crimes committed in Namibia as genocide in 2021, it refused to accept responsibility for reparations.
(PC, Anadolu)
