It took far too long for the Federal Republic to assume responsibility for the genocide committed by German colonial troops against the Herero, Nama and other people in Namibia. It was the red-green Federal Government –
represented by the Minister of Development Cooperation Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul – that finally officially asked for forgiveness in 2004.
However, the reconciliation process cannot be confined solely to the reconciliation initiative proposed unilaterally by the Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development. After considerable hesitation on the Namibian side a “Memorandum of Understanding” is due to be signed at this week’s government negotiations on the German reconciliation initiative. From the beginning of 2008 the government will make an additional 20 million Euros of development assistance available for projects in those areas that were affected by the genocide.
Yet, the Namibian side rightfully points out that the reconciliation process cannot be concluded on the basis of this initiative. In October of last year, the Namibian parliament unilaterally called for negotiations with Germany about reparations. On 13 June this year, the Federal Parliament (Bundestag) discussed the issue.
On behalf of the SPD, the government spokesperson on foreign policy, Gert Weisskirchen, announced that the German parliament would make a formal response. The grand coalition has however failed to take the initiative in this respect.
In the case of Namibia a constructive dialogue about a comprehensive reconciliation process must be part of the much-touted partnership with Africa.
In this context, we propose to introduce an official German-Namibian parliamentary dialogue that will formulate the recommendations for a reconciliation process of this nature.
Kerstin Mǟ