Namibia has condemned former colonial ruler Germany for rejecting a case at a UN court accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
Germany has offered to intervene on Israel’s behalf in the case brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.
President Hage Geingob urged Germany to “reconsider its untimely decision to intervene as a third-party in defence”.
In 2021 Berlin acknowledged committing genocide in Namibia.
German colonisers massacred more than 70,000 Herero and Nama people between 1904 and 1908. Historians consider this to be the 20th Century’s first genocide.
President Geingob said Germany could not “morally express commitment to the United Nations Convention against genocide, including atonement for the genocide in Namibia” and at the same time support Israel.
“The German Government is yet to fully atone for the genocide it committed on Namibian soil” he added.
On Friday the German government said the accusation of genocide against Israel was completely unfounded and amounted to a “political instrumentalisation” of the UN genocide convention.
Credit: bbc.com
