DAR ES SALAAM/BERLIN (Own report) - Germany will not pay compensation for the mass crimes it had committed in the former German East Africa Colony. Instead, it will have pompous colonial period buildings refurbished. This was one of the main results achieved by Germany's foreign minister Heiko Maas (SPD) during his first trip to Africa. Last year, demands had been raised that Germany should compensate the descendants of the victims of the Maji Maji War, wherein German colonial troops allegedly killed 180,000 to possibly 300,000 inhabitants of the colony. Tanzania's foreign minister, whose government is dependent on German development aid, has now assured Maas that no compensation demands will be forthcoming. He has also waived the restitution of the plundered cultural assets. Berlin, which deems it is not able to pay the compensation, will now finance the refurbishment of pompous German colonial period buildings in Tanzania. While in Dar es Salaam, Maas commemorated the Askari, African mercenaries, who had fought alongside the German colonial forces during their campaigns of annihilation. Read more