No training assistance from Germany without human rights!

On Monday, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) demanded that Germany should only provide training assistance for foreign troops if the soldiers respect human rights. "If the armies of Nigeria and Mali are to be trained, the federal government will also be accused of supporting human rights violations and violence in the fight against terror – because these two states refuse to investigate systematic assaults on the civilian population by their own soldiers and because they don’t bring to justice those who are responsible," criticized the STP's expert on questions regarding Africa, Ulrich Delius.

"Nigeria's army is known for brutality against civilians in the fight against terrorism in the north of the country, against native inhabitants of the Niger Delta and against the Ibo in Biafra. Army officials and the judicial system fail to penalize arbitrary executions, disappearances, massacres and other serious human rights violations. With their attacks against innocent civilians, the soldiers even stir up the escalation of violence. Germany should not provide any training assistance under these circumstances," said Delius. Last Friday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Guido Westerwelle, had promised Nigeria to provide military training assistance to fight back the radical Islamic sect Boko Haram.

Chancellor Angela Merkel held out the prospect of training assistance for the Malian army, but – according to the STP – this army has ruthlessly opened fire on Tuareg civilians from helicopters, bombed the north of the country and arrested or abducted Tuareg people solely based on their ethnic background, justifying these actions as anti-terror measures. Until now, these incidents were not transparently investigated and the responsible people were not held accountable. "Anyone who claims to respect the rule of law and human rights, but tramples on these values instead, interferes with the fight against terror."

The human rights activists also criticized that Malian soldiers repeatedly cooperate with the radical Islamic terrorist movement al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI), instead of fighting them. "Regarding the deficiencies in the Malian army, German training assistance seems to be very questionable," said Delius. "If the army is not going to be reorganized, assistance from Germany will be nothing more than a symbolic gesture."