By LETRE SWEETING

Tribune Staff Reporter

lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas has joined 12 other countries in demanding that incoming monarch King Charles III apologise and make reparations for the previous oppression and enslavement of indigenous people.

As King Charles III prepares to be crowned in London on May 6, 12 countries, indigenous people and advocacy groups are highlighting the effects of British colonisation.

A statement released on May 4, titled “Apology, Reparation, and Repatriation of Artefacts and Remains,” has been signed by Antigua and Barbuda, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Australia, The Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

The statement said: “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.

“Our Collective Indigenous Rights Organizations also call for a formal apology and for a process of reparatory justice to commence. We specifically call on King Charles III, as Head of State of our respective countries.

“We stand united in engaging a process to right the wrongs of the past and to continue the process of decolonisation.”

The statement outlined five demands of the British Monarchy, including that it start a conversation on “slavery’s enduring impact” and reparations.

“Immediately commit to starting discussions about reparations for the oppression of our peoples, plundering of our resources, denigration of our culture and to redistribute the wealth that underpins the Crown back to the peoples from whom it was stolen,” the statement said.

The statement also cited the need for the “repatriation of remains of (the) collective peoples that reside in UK museums and institutions” and the “return of all (the) cultural treasures and artefacts”.

“Immediately commit the Royal Family to acknowledge and adopt the renunciation of the ‘Doctrine of Discovery’ made by Pope Francis in April 2023 and start the process of consultation and reparations for First Peoples,” the statement said.

This doctrine, which is used to defend European conquests beginning in the 14th century, was declared and established by Pope Francis in April of this year.