Germany apologies for Namibian genocide

A senior government official offered Germany’s first apology for a colonial-era crackdown that killed 65,000 ethnic Hereros in Namibia – a slaughter she acknowledged amounted to genocide.

“We Germans accept our historic and moral responsibility and the guilt incurred by Germans at that time,” development aid minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, said at a ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the Hereros’ 1904-1907 uprising against their German rulers.

While ruling out financial compensation for the victims’ descendants, she promised continued economic assistance, particularly in land reform.