Representatives of two indigenous groups in what is now Namibia have filed a lawsuit in New York against Germany for alleged genocide by German colonial rulers over a century ago.
The class action suit was filed on Thursday for “incalculable damages” that were caused by German colonial troops in the early 20th century.
Back then, German forces are said to have killed over tens of thousands of members of the Herero and Nama tribes in Africa.
From 1884 until 1915, Germany ruled over South-West Africa, as the territory was called back then. Between 1904 and 1908, during an uprising against German colonial rule, an estimated 100,000 members of the Herero and Nama tribes were killed by German troops in a vicious suppression of the rebellion.
The German parliament has officially recognized the slaughter as genocide, and talks have been underway since 2012 between the governments of the two countries for an official apology and the payment of compensation to the Namibian government by Germany. The initial plan was to reach agreement by the end of 2016; however, negotiations are still underway.
The German side claims the genocide carried out by its troops has no legal obligation on reparations by Berlin. However, the possibility of a payment to Namibia has not been totally ruled out. The Namibian side believes that Germany should not only apologize but also pay compensations.
In the US, Ken McCallion, a lawyer for the clients, complained that there was no mechanism for the compensation paid by Germany to Namibia to end up in the hands of the descendants of the genocide who now live elsewhere.
“There is no assurance that any of the proposed foreign aid by Germany will actually reach or assist the minority indigenous communities that were directly harmed,” he wrote in an email as quoted by media.
The plaintiff filed the lawsuit to receive compensations directly.
