Campaign groups from Caribbean countries have sent a joint letter to King Charles demanding a formal apology for slavery and reparations, ahead of the coronation.
The statement co-authored by 12 Commonwealth countries including Jamaica, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize and St Vincent and the Grenadines, say it is time for the British Monarch to begin “a process of reparations for stolen wealth”.
In the letter, the collective Indigenous Rights Organisations also say it is time for the King to”redistribute the wealth that underpins the Crown back to the peoples from whom it was stolen.”
“We, the undersigned, call on the British Monarch, King Charles III, on the date of his coronation being May 6, 2023, to acknowledge the horrific impacts on and legacy of genocide and colonisation of the Indigenous and enslaved peoples,” the letter reads.
The Advocates Network in Jamaica is one of the groups behind the letter, along with First Nations, Indigenous Peoples, and other Advocacy Groups from 11 other Commonwealth countries.
“Our shared experience with British colonial exploitation and crimes against inhumanity have brought us together in creating this joint statement to amplify our voices so that our just demand can no longer be ignored. We shall never forget our painful past, but we have an opportunity to repair the wrongs of the past and write a new narrative for an inclusive, just, and more humane future,” co-chair of the Advocates Network, Professor Rosalea Hamilton, said in a statement.