By Iqbal Jassat
As global outrage continues to escalate against the slaughter of Palestinians in besieged Gaza by the settler colonial regime, it is necessary to glance back at Africa, where the first genocide of the 20th century occurred.
Though between Namibia and Palestine, a span of 120 years separates the tragic events across two continents, the horror of premeditated genocides evokes unequaled pain and suffering for victims of génocidaires.
Historians record that in 1904, the Herero and Nama people of Namibia, then known as German South-West Africa, rose against the German colonizers in their struggle for freedom.
The war launched by Germany against the Herero and Nama, and the infamous extermination order issued by German General Lothar von Trotha that followed to crush the indigenous population, is considered by most historians to be the first genocide of the 20th century.
“Within the German borders, every male Herero, armed or unarmed (…) will be shot to death. I will no longer take in women or children but will drive them back to their people or have them fired at. These are my words to the Herero people. (From) the great general of the mighty German Kaiser”.
Various sources confirm that in the ensuing four years from 1904, tens of thousands of men, women and children were shot, tortured or driven into the Kalahari desert to starve by German troops.
It is against this backdrop that the genocide case brought by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice has shocked many commentators to learn of the current German government’s decision to back the Netanyahu regime.
Germany has declared that it will oppose South Africa’s application by casting its lot behind Israel.
“German government firmly and explicitly rejects the accusation of genocide that has now been made against Israel before the International Court of Justice. This accusation has no basis whatsoever,” spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in a statement.
He stressed that Germany bears special responsibility for Israel due to the Nazi genocide of Jews during World War II, and said the government will continue to support Israel to defend itself against Hamas.
“In view of Germany’s history, crimes against humanity, and Shoah, the government is particularly committed to the UN Genocide Convention,” Hebestreit said.
“The German government supports the International Court of Justice in its work, as it has done for many decades. The government intends to intervene as a third party in the main hearing,” he added.
However, this bizarre move has sparked controversy and rightly so.
President of Namibia, Dr Hage G Geingob, issued a strong statement of condemnation rejecting Germany’s support of the genocidal intent of the racist Israeli state against innocent civilians in Gaza.
He reminded Germany that on Namibian soil it committed the first genocide in which tens of thousands of innocent Namibians died in the most inhumane and brutal conditions.
“The German government is yet to fully atone for the genocide it committed on Namibian soil”, he declared.
In his statement, President Geingob criticized Germany’s inability to draw lessons from its horrific history in Namibia.
He further expressed deep concern with the shocking decision communicated by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany in which it rejected the morally upright indictment brought forward by South Africa before the International Criminal Court that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
“Worryingly, ignoring 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, the German Government has chosen to defend in the International Criminal Court the genocidal and gruesome acts of the Israeli Government against innocent civilians in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories”.
He correctly asserts that 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.
Indeed various international organizations, such as Human Rights Watch have chillingly concluded that Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza.
President Geingob reiterated his call made on December 31, 2023, “No peace-loving human being can ignore the carnage waged against Palestinians in Gaza”.
In that vein, President Geingob appeals 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 International Criminal Court.
Not surprising, thus, that Hamas has noted with alarm these developments which it claims must not be at Palestine’s expense.
“We expected that Germany had learned a lesson from its recent history, as it committed genocide more than once in the last century, the first of which was against the population of Namibia at the beginning of the last century.
“It is not permissible, under any circumstances, for Germany to attempt to correct its sins, at the expense of our people and by defending the criminals who commit the crime of genocide and ethnic cleansing against our Palestinian people”.
Both Namibia and Hamas have called on the German government to immediately retract its decision, and to stand by the Palestinian victims and their legitimate rights to freedom, independence, and the right to self-determination.
– Iqbal Jassat is an Executive Member of the South Africa-based Media Review Network. He contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle. Visit: www.mediareviewnet.com
