Namibia, Germany’s relationship under scrutiny
Namibians have been caught off-guard by President Hage Geingob’s decision to go completely against diplomatic norm and tear into Germany for its support of Israel. Many were pleasantly surprised, while others said his speech oozed hypocrisy as his administration had previously agreed with Germany that it did not commit a genocide in Namibia.
When the German government rejected the genocide charges against Israel on Friday, 12 January, it marked exactly 120 years since Imperial Germany attacked Namibia’s Nama and Ovaherero people in 1904.
During an interview with Al Jazeera, Professor Katjiua Mutjinde - Paramount Chief of the Ovaherero Traditional Authority - described Geingob's speech as commendable, but added that it was hypocritical as the issue of reparations has yet to be concluded, while the Nama and Ovaherero people remain shut out of direct negotiations with Germany.
According to him, it only makes sense for Namibia to stand behind Palestine as the country has a long history of collaboration with that state since the time of its late leader, Yasser Arafat.
“Namibia’s intervention is applaudable, but it comes as a surprise to us, the Nama and Ovaherero, that our president is now accusing Germany of not being in line with the [United Nations] genocide convention when at the same time our government has sided with Germany. [The government] violated our rights not to participate in the negotiations by agreeing that Germany has not committed genocide in Namibia and agreeing that Germany must only pay bilateral arrangements, development programmes, instead of reparations. I think it is a bit hypocritical from the president right now,” he said.
Strong and blunt
According to Professor Henning Melber, Geingob’s tone towards Germany was unusually strong and blunt, and not in line with his usual diplomatic way.
“I think it simply highlights the offence Namibians took and the president voiced - in a rather blunt way - the utter frustration that exists amongst a majority of Namibians when they look at the German attitude they consider as arrogance, hypocrisy, moral double standards.
“Namibians were confronted all the time with Germany's lecturing during the last year when Germany finally admitted that what happened in the beginning of the 20th century was, in today’s perspective, a genocide,” he said.
Melber added that Germany’s argument that the Nama and Ovaherero genocide cannot be compared to the holocaust showed a total lack of empathy.
Problematic
Meanwhile, Matthias Goldmann, a senior research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg, Germany, said Germans underestimated how their lecturing the world on genocide would be seen by their victims.
“Due to Germany’s history, there is a reason why this is concerning. What I found particularly problematic is the way they framed South Africa’s complaint as an instrumentalisation of the International Court of Justice, which means it is an illegitimate suit - something that should not have happened.”
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When the German government rejected the genocide charges against Israel on Friday, 12 January, it marked exactly 120 years since Imperial Germany attacked Namibia’s Nama and Ovaherero people in 1904.
During an interview with Al Jazeera, Professor Katjiua Mutjinde - Paramount Chief of the Ovaherero Traditional Authority - described Geingob's speech as commendable, but added that it was hypocritical as the issue of reparations has yet to be concluded, while the Nama and Ovaherero people remain shut out of direct negotiations with Germany.
According to him, it only makes sense for Namibia to stand behind Palestine as the country has a long history of collaboration with that state since the time of its late leader, Yasser Arafat.
“Namibia’s intervention is applaudable, but it comes as a surprise to us, the Nama and Ovaherero, that our president is now accusing Germany of not being in line with the [United Nations] genocide convention when at the same time our government has sided with Germany. [The government] violated our rights not to participate in the negotiations by agreeing that Germany has not committed genocide in Namibia and agreeing that Germany must only pay bilateral arrangements, development programmes, instead of reparations. I think it is a bit hypocritical from the president right now,” he said.
Strong and blunt
According to Professor Henning Melber, Geingob’s tone towards Germany was unusually strong and blunt, and not in line with his usual diplomatic way.
“I think it simply highlights the offence Namibians took and the president voiced - in a rather blunt way - the utter frustration that exists amongst a majority of Namibians when they look at the German attitude they consider as arrogance, hypocrisy, moral double standards.
“Namibians were confronted all the time with Germany's lecturing during the last year when Germany finally admitted that what happened in the beginning of the 20th century was, in today’s perspective, a genocide,” he said.
Melber added that Germany’s argument that the Nama and Ovaherero genocide cannot be compared to the holocaust showed a total lack of empathy.
Problematic
Meanwhile, Matthias Goldmann, a senior research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg, Germany, said Germans underestimated how their lecturing the world on genocide would be seen by their victims.
“Due to Germany’s history, there is a reason why this is concerning. What I found particularly problematic is the way they framed South Africa’s complaint as an instrumentalisation of the International Court of Justice, which means it is an illegitimate suit - something that should not have happened.”
[email protected]
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