Ace, thanx for sharing. I am grossly disappointed in Germany for this dishonourable excuse: The fact that there were no international laws governing genocide at any point in history does not indemnify culprits of any crime against humanity. If there were to be international laws against genocide in those days, it would have been promulgated by the UN or its human rights division. During colonialism, Namibia, SouthWest Africa, or the Herero, could not have been protected under such UN law if there were one anyway. Crimes of genocide have no statute of limitation in any law, even the Hammurabi code. That concept predates the UN or any other law-making entity. Besides, no body has or should have autonomy over jurisprudence for genocide. Such bodies only aide in assessment and valuation and the penile regime of law. I hope JDAM and Owens can review this matter and enlighten us further. Haruna. I am very disappointed in Germany. I hope this is not the terminal position of Germany. This after the honorable act of apologising for the crimes. -----Original Message----- From: oko drammeh <[log in to unmask]> To: GAMBIA-L <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Mon, May 17, 2010 12:55 am Subject: Fw: USA Africa Dialogue Series - BBC: Germany admits Namibia genocide Germany admits Namibia genocide Germany has offered its first formal apology for the colonial-era massacre of some 65,000 members of the Herero tribe by German troops in Namibia. German minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul told a commemorative ceremony that the brutal crushing of the Herero uprising 100 years ago was genocide. But the German government has ruled out compensation for victims' descendants. A group of Herero has filed a case against Germany in the United States demanding $4bn in compensation. "We Germans accept our historic and moral responsibility," Ms Wieczorek-Zeul, Germany's Development Aid Minister, told a crowd of some 1,000 at the ceremony in Okokarara. "Germany has learnt the bitter lessons of the past." But after the minister's speech, the crowd repeated calls for an apology. "Everything I said in my speech was an apology for crimes committed under German colonial rule," she replied. The Herero rebelled in 1904 against German soldiers and settlers who were colonising south-west Africa. Driven into desert In response, the German military commander, General Lothar von Trotha, ordered the Herero people to leave Namibia or be killed. Herero were massacred with machine guns, their wells poisoned and then driven into the desert to die. Ms Wieczorek-Zeul repeated that there would be no compensation, but she promised continued economic aid for Namibia which currently amounts to $14m a year. Germany argues that international laws to protect civilians were not in force at the time of the conflict. Herero chief Kuaima Riruako said the apology was appreciated but added: "We still have the right to take the German government to court." However, correspondents say the lawsuit filed in the US three years ago against the German government and two German companies is seen as having a limited chance of success. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/3565938.stm Published: 2004/08/14 19:40:41 GMT © BBC MMX ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤