What About Reparation?

BY NAIWU OSAHON

As this document was being prepared, the following piece of news was published in the Guardian newspaper, Nigeria, of December 22, 1999: US, German negotiators agree on $5 billion Nazi fund: “United States and German negotiators have agreed on a compensation fund worth DM 10bn ($5.2bn) for Nazi slave laborers. The breakthrough in the lengthy negotiations came after the German government agreed to raise its offer, adding to the DM5bn ($2.6bn) already pledged by industry to compensate those forced to work as slaves under Hitlers regime.

“Michael Witti, a Munich lawyer representing the victims, said the agreement would be formally announced in the next few days. The US envoy to the talks, Deputy Treasury Secretary Stuart Elizenstat, announced the deal in a conference called with lawyers and victims groups, Mr. Witti said. “The deal is done,” he added.

“The announcement comes less than a week after Germany said it was standing firm on a “final offer” of DM8bn ($4.2bn) which was rejected by US lawyers at the World Jewish Congress as insufficient. Correspondents said some two million people could be eligible, most of them eastern Europeans who were unable to make any claims for compensation during the Cold War. Lawyers representing the victims had asked for DM11bn ($5.7bn) in compensation for victims of work programmes in concentration camps and others deported and forced to work for Nazi Germany.

“The lawyers also wanted US companies with German subsidiaries to supply DM1bn ($517m) of the sum. The German government had previously offered DM5bn ($2.6bn) to go along with the DM5bn ($2.6bn) pledge given by about 60 German companies, including Daimler, Chrysler and Volkswagen. Chief German negotiator, Otto Lambsdorff told the Berliner Zeitung that Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder agreed to raise the offer because “industry cannot and should not bear a higher sum” than already on the table. “The firms also took part, but the states responsibility is higher, “Mr. Lambsdorff told a newspaper. Mr. Witti said the offer was still low but he would accept it because it was “negotiated as a fair settlement.” All parties involved in the negotiations are scheduled to meet again on Friday.”

On August 1st, 1999, a group of Africans from Guyana calling themselves the “Kingdom of Descendant Africans” sent a letter to Queen Elizabeth II of Britain, through her High Commissioner in Guyana, pointing out that the recruitment of our ancestors in Africa, their forced migration to Guyana, and their enslavement, were violations of all human rights known to man today. The Kingdom also pointed out in the letter that the Emancipation Act that abolished slavery recognized that slavery was unjust.

That, therefore, it was a miscarriage of justice/misdirection of the Parliament for the Act to have legislated that twenty million pounds sterling be paid to the slave owners and nothing to the ex-slaves. The Kingdom called upon the present government of Britain to effect corrective legislation to amend the Emancipation Act to award twenty billion pounds sterling to the Descendants of Africans today.

The Queen of England replied expressing regret about the manner in which African ancestors were treated. She expressed difficulty in establishing who is to receive the money and said because of that she could not grant the request of the Kingdom. The Kingdom sent another letter to the Queen eighteen months later asking that the money be put in a fund specifically to be used for the benefit of the descendants of slaves. On August 21, 2000, the Kingdom received a package from the British High Commission in Guyana stating that the Commission was unable to forward the letter to the Queen. (Apparently, the Commission had lost the address of their Queen.) The Kingdoms letter was enclosed in the returned package. The west recognizes the descendants of the Jews to be compensated but not the African descendants, and the Jeff Whites of the White world claim that, that is justice from their race.

Arabs and the West must pay reparations by any means necessary.

 

NAIWU OSAHON Hon. Khu Mkuu (Leader, World Pan-African Movement); Ameer Spiritual (Spiritual Prince) of the African race;  MSc. (Salford); Dip.M.S; G.I.P.M; Dip.I.A (Liv.); D. Inst. M; G. Inst. M; G.I.W.M; A.M.N.I.M. Poet, Author of the magnum opus: The end of knowledge.  One of the worlds leading authors of childrens books; Awarded; key to the city of Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Honourary Councilmanship, Memphis City Council; Honourary Citizenship, Countyof Shelby; Honourary Commissionership, County of Shelby, Tennessee; and a silver shield trophy by Morehouse College, USA, for activities to unite and uplift the  African race.

Naiwu Osahon, renowned author, philosopher of science, mystique, leader of the world Pan-African Movement.