King
Charles acknowledges ‘painful’ past as calls for slavery reparations grow at
Commonwealth summit
Some leaders
had hoped Charles might use his speech at Chogm in Samoa as an opportunity to
apologise for Britain’s colonial past
Kate Lyons
and Natricia Duncan
Fri 25 Oct
2024 03.11 BST
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/oct/25/king-charles-samoa-visit-speech-commonwealth-summit
King Charles
acknowledged “painful aspects” of Britain’s past while sidestepping calls to
directly address reparations for slavery at the summit of Commonwealth leaders,
saying “none of us can change the past, but we can commit … to learning its
lessons”.
Charles was
speaking to leaders representing 56 Commonwealth nations at the Commonwealth
heads of government meeting (Chogm) in the Pacific nation of Samoa, his first
time attending the summit since taking the throne. In his speech, the king also
addressed the climate crisis, development challenges and paid tribute to Queen
Elizabeth.
Some leaders
attending Chogm had hoped that Charles might use his address as an opportunity
to issue an apology for Britain’s colonial past, and that this year’s summit
would commit to a discussion on the topic of reparatory justice. Charles seemed
to acknowledge the concerns of leaders, but did not directly engage with the
issue.
“I
understand from listening to people across the Commonwealth how the most
painful aspects of our past continue to resonate. It is vital therefore, that
we understand our history to guide us to make the right choices in the future,”
he said.
“Where
inequalities exist … we must find the right ways and the right language to
address them. As we look around the world and consider its many deeply
concerning challenges, let us choose within our Commonwealth family, the
language of community and respect and reject the language of division.”
There have
been calls from some African and Caribbean nations for Britain – and other
European powers – to pay financial compensation for slavery.
The Bahamas’
prime minister Philip Davis told AFP that a debate about the past was vital.
“The time
has come to have a real dialogue about how we address these historical wrongs,”
he said.
“Reparatory
justice is not an easy conversation, but it’s an important one,” Davis said.
“The horrors of slavery left a deep, generational wound in our communities, and
the fight for justice and reparatory justice is far from over.”
On Thursday,
British prime minister, Keir Starmer appeared to open the door to non-financial
reparations for the UK’s role in the transatlantic enslavement, as he came
under pressure from Commonwealth leaders to engage in a “meaningful, truthful
and respectful” conversation about Britain’s past.
While
Starmer has ruled out paying reparations or apologising for the UK’s role in
the transatlantic slave trade, a Downing Street source indicated that the UK
could support some forms of reparatory justice, such as restructuring financial
institutions and providing debt relief. They also accepted that some reference
to reparations was likely to be included in the end-of-summit communique.
Responding
to Starmer’s decision to discuss “non-financial” reparations, the St Vincent
and the Grenadines (SVG) prime minister, Ralph Gonsalves – who was one of the
founding leaders of the current reparations committee – stressed the importance
of a reparative justice plan that addressed the enduring psychological and
socioeconomic impact of slavery.
Arguing that
the British had committed genocide against and traumatised both the Indigenous
people and enslaved Africans in SVG, he added that while enslavers were
compensated with millions at abolition, nothing was given to those who had been
enslaved and oppressed.
“There was
nothing for them to start with and build on – no land, no money, no training,
no education,” he told the Guardian. This damaging legacy of enslavement and
oppression, he added, has continued to plague Caribbean nations.
Patricia
Scotland, the outgoing secretary-general of the Commonwealth, also nodded to
the concerns about colonial legacies in her speech at the summit’s opening,
saying: “For 75 years, we have demonstrated an unparalleled ability to confound
the painful history which brought us together and sit together as equals.”
Davis said
the call for reparations “isn’t simply about financial compensation; it’s about
recognising the enduring impact of centuries of exploitation and ensuring that
the legacy of slavery is addressed with honesty and integrity.”
Joshua
Setipa from Lesotho, who is one of three candidates vying to be the next
Commonwealth’s secretary-general, said reparations could include
non-traditional forms of payment such as climate financing.
“We can find
a solution that will begin to address some injustices of the past and put them
in the context happening around us today,” he said.
In his
speech on Friday, Charles also paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth and her
commitment to the Commonwealth, which he said “has helped to shape my own life
for as long as I can remember.” It also took in development challenges and the
climate crisis.
“Lives,
livelihoods and human rights are at risk across the Commonwealth, I can only
offer every encouragement for action with unequivocal determination … If we do
not, then inequalities across the Commonwealth and beyond would only be
exacerbated with the potential to fuel division and conflict.”
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