BERLIN
Germany should recognize mass killings in its African colony Namibia in the early 20th century as genocide, the country’s parliamentary speaker said on Wednesday.
In an article for weekly newspaper Die Zeit, Norbert Lammert said the deaths of Herero and Namaqua peoples between 1904 and 1907 were genocide under the “criteria of international law today”.
He added: “Tens of thousands of Herero and Namaqua people died not only in military operations but also due to diseases, they were deliberately starved to death… others died in concentration camps or in forced labor camps.”
The killings are seen by many historians as the first genocide of the 20th century.
German government has repeatedly underlined its historical and political responsibility towards Namibia but ruled out recognizing the deaths as genocide.
