GERMANY REPARATIONS

Africa Rise and Shine

Germany has rejected calls for reparations from Namibians over colonial-era killings that Berlin has recognised as genocide, saying the 1.3 Billion US-Dollar- financial aid it was offering was on a "voluntary basis". German foreign minister Heiko Maas acknowledged that over the years there had been calls for reparations from countries including Greece and Poland over Nazi-era massacres. His comments came after Germany for the first time recognised that it had committed genocide against Namibia's indigenous Herero and Nama people between 1904 and 1908. As part of a deal with Namibian negotiators after six years of talks, Berlin also offered a financial programme of 1.3 billion US -dollars. However, Germany pointedly did not qualify the financial sum as "reparations”. To get some reaction on this, Channel Africa spoke to Israel Kaunatjike, Herero Activist...