Former Nigerian lawmaker shocked at Germany’s double standards

The West needs to review its own values, democracies, human rights policies, and its institutions, Adamu Garba, a former Nigerian senator, has told RT in an exclusive interview. That Germany follows double standards is shocking, he said.

Garba, who served in Nigeria’s Senate between 2007 and 2011, said he believed that Germany had lived since the end of world war in 1945 on the premise that “they will never repeat the story of Holocaust.”

Germany committed a lot of genocide in Africa, including in Namibia between 1904 and 1908 when 150,000 innocent civilians died, Garba pointed out. However, Berlin “did not acknowledge this,” the politician noted.

He said that he has been shocked to see “Germany is there once again, backing a genocidal action against innocent civilians,” with its support for Israel in the conflict with Hamas.

Addressing Berlin’s stance on events in Gaza, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow is not surprised that Germany has decided to defend Israel in a case being made at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that alleges genocide. 

“We were not surprised by the German government’s decision to oppose the Republic of South Africa, which filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide against the population of the Gaza strip. This comes against the backdrop of Berlin’s unconditional support for Israel, regardless of the consequences,” she said. 

According to Zakharova, Berlin was attempting to become an “expert” on issues related to the mass extermination of an ethnic group.

Former senator Garba said he supports the position set out by Zakharova.

South Africa filed a complaint against Israel at the International Court of Justice in late December, accusing it of violating the United Nations’ Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide convention. Officials have also asked the Netherlands-based court to order Israel to “immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza.”

On January 5, a spokesperson for Germany’s Federal Foreign Office said that Israel “targeted action against armed attackers; that is, [they are] fighters in an armed conflict, it’s not an action with the intention of destroying an ethnic group.” 

“We have made it very clear that, in our opinion, the claim that Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip is false and not covered by the Convention,” the official added.

Germany announced last Friday that it would take action on behalf of Israel as a third party in the case.