The demand for an apology and reparations from Germany by Namibia for the Herero and Nama genocide has been rejected by the former colonial master.
On Wednesday Germany rejected calls for reparations from Namibians over colonial-era killings that Berlin has recognised as genocide.
Germany insists the 1.1 billion euro financial aid it was offering was on a “voluntary basis”.
Answering a question in parliament, 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.
“But one must say that that has nothing to do with this case before us. Because this agreement is exclusively on a voluntary basis,” said Maas.
He added that there were no legal grounds on which this payment is made or provided for.
Namibia’s government says Germany’s offer to pay 1.1 billion Euros to make amends for the colonial-era massacre was inadequate but had been agreed to on the understanding that the amount will be subject to future reviews.
The slaying of tens of thousands of Hereros and Nama by the colonial rulers of what was then German South West Africa occurred between 1904 and 1908.
The Germans burned their houses, poisoned their wells, and cordoned them off their homelands into the Kalahari Desert to die away.
While Germany has recently apologised and conceded the killings constituted genocide it steered clear of saying it would pay reparations.
Instead, Germany agreed to fund development projects in areas inhabited by communities whose ancestors were targeted.
