King Charles' succession stirs Caribbean calls for removal of monarch as head of state

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And an eight-day tour in March by now heir-to-the-throne Prince William and his wife, Kate, to Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas was marked by calls for reparation payments and an apology for slavery.

"As the role of the monarchy changes, we expect this can be an opportunity to advance discussions of reparations for our region," Niambi Hall-Campbell, a 44-year-old academic who chairs the Bahamas National Reparations Committee, said Thursday.

Hall-Campbell sent condolences to the Queen's family and noted Charles' acknowledgment of the "appalling atrocity of slavery" at a ceremony last year marking the end of British rule as Barbados became a republic.

She said she hopes Charles would lead in a way reflecting the "justice required of the times. And that justice is reparatory justice."

More than 10 million Africans were shackled into the Atlantic slave trade by European nations between the 15th and 19th centuries. Those who survived the brutal voyage were forced to labor on plantations in the Caribbean and the Americas.

Jamaican reparations advocate Rosalea Hamilton said Charles' comments at the Kigali conference about his personal sorrow over slavery offered "some degree of hope that he will learn from the history, understand the painful impact that many nations have endured 'til today" and address the need for reparations.

The new king did not mention reparations in the Kigali speech.

The Advocates Network, which Hamilton coordinates, published an open letter calling for "apologies and reparations" during William and Kate's visit.

The Queen's grandchildren have the chance to lead the reparations conversation, Hamilton added.

Jamaica's government last year announced plans to ask Britain for compensation for forcibly transporting an estimated 600,000 Africans to work on sugar cane and banana plantations that created fortunes for British slave holders.

"Whoever will take over the position should be asked to allow the royal family to pay African people reparations," said David Denny, general secretary of the Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration, from Barbados.

"We should all work towards removing the royal family as head of state of our nations," he said.

Jamaica has signaled it may soon follow Barbados in ditching royal rule. Both remain members of the Commonwealth.

An August survey showed 56% of Jamaicans favor removing the British monarch as the head of state.

Mikael Phillips, an opposition member of Jamaica's parliament, in 2020 filed a motion backing the removal.

"I am hoping as the prime minister had said in one of his expressions, that he would move faster when there is a new monarch in place," Phillips said on Thursday.

Allen Chastanet, a former St. Lucia prime minister and now leader of the opposition, told Reuters he backed what he said was a "general" movement toward republicanism in his country.

"I certainly at this point would support becoming a republic," he said.

Reuters

Australian republicans offer condolences for Queen but call for debate

Reuters
Publishing date: Sep 09, 2022 • 

SYDNEY — Australians on Friday mourned the death of Queen Elizabeth, but republicans also revived a longstanding debate on ending the country’s association with the 1,000-year-old monarchy.

The British monarch is the head of state in Australia, among 14 realms outside the United Kingdom, although the role is largely ceremonial.

Australia has long debated the need to keep a distant monarch. A 1999 referendum in Australia on becoming a republic lost with 55% of voters opposed.

“Our thoughts are with her family and all who loved her. Now Australia must move forward,” said Australian Greens Party leader, a prominent republican.

“We need Treaty with First Nations people, and we need to become a Republic,” he wrote on Twitter.

Bandt was accused, even by some fellow republicans, of being disrespectful by bringing up the issue just hours after the queen’s death.

“Not the right time to call for a republic irrespective of where you sit on the monarchy/ republic spectrum. Not respectful after her long life of service,” one of Bandt’s followers said in response to the tweet.

Bandt’s office did not immediate respond to an email seeking comment.

The Australian Republic Movement also offered condolences while noting that the queen had backed Australia’s right to become a fully independent nation during the 1999 referendum, saying she had affirmed it was “an issue for the Australian people and them alone to decide.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has spoken in support of moving toward a republic. But on Friday he said: “Today’s a day for one issue and one issue only, which is to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II.”

Similar debates are occurring in the Caribbean, where Jamaica has signaled it may soon follow Barbados in ditching royal rule.

(Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by William)