Indigenous organizations and leaders from 12 Commonwealth countries have called on King Charles III to apologize for the impact of British colonization on indigenous peoples, which they denounce as genocide, enslavement and looting.
“We call on the British monarch, King Charles III, on his coronation day, May 6, 2023, to acknowledge the terrible impact and legacy of genocide and the colonization of indigenous and enslaved peoples,” it said. the promoter on the social network Facebook. of the initiative, Nova Peris, former senator and co-chair of the Australian Republican Movement.
The petition urges the monarch to issue a formal apology, acknowledge British acts of genocide against indigenous peoples and repatriate sacred artifacts and remains of indigenous peoples from British museums and institutions.
The letter, titled “Apologies, Reparations and Repatriation of Artifacts and Remains”, also reminds King Charles III of the United Kingdom of his words at a meeting of Commonwealth heads of government in June 2022 in Rwanda, where he stated that it was “time “to acknowledge the mistakes of the past.
Representatives of Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines -which have Carlos III as head of state- sign the present letter in which they urge the Crown to “redistribute the wealth” taken from the original peoples.
The letter calls on Carlos III to “immediately” initiate a dialogue on the “lasting impact of slavery” on indigenous peoples during British colonization, as well as on other issues such as reparation for “oppressed peoples” whose “resources were looted and its denigrated culture”. “.
Another demand is that the monarch renounce the so-called “Doctrine of Discoveries”, as the Vatican did in March.
This doctrine, together with the principle of “Terra nullius” (no man’s land), generated a legal figure that protected colonization based on the right to requisition the lands of indigenous populations.
The signatories of the letter to Carlos III consider that the repudiation of this doctrine would allow the initiation of the process of consultation and reparation among the original peoples who were victims of a genocide in the name of God.
“We hope that this petition initiates a justice process”, stressed Nova Peris.
Source: TSF
