says brand-new report
A BRAND-NEW international report states that Britain had pledged to provide reparations for slavery to the people of Trinidad and Tobago at the end of colonialism in 1962.
The arrangement is being called “one of the most effective reparations measures in history.”
The highly-popular online news source Politico.com reported: “In the letters of agreement, there was a financial commitment to assist the transition from a colonial state to an independent country.”
The report said “it was binding” for the former colonial ruler to provide support for the people of T&T “to pursue their self-determination both in terms of economy and governance.”
No further details were provided, but the news report gave a link to the July 4, 1962 debate in the House of Commons in London, England on T&T independence.
The Hansard accounts of several speakers were revealed, with some reference to the use of slave labour on agricultural plantations.
But there was no mention in the various speeches of planned reparations to T&T.
The members of the House of Commons commented on the social and economic state of the country, the leadership of Dr. Eric Williams, and projections for an independent nation.
The Politico.com report, headlined Who will get reparations first? discusses the state of the campaign in the United States in particular, and to a lesser account, in other countries in which slave labour was used.
Simultaneous efforts by Black Americans are featured.
“Black Americans and Puerto Ricans share a history of oppression, racism and exclusion,” the article states.
The discussion on T&T came amid references to developments in Puerto Rico, which has been given the right by the US authorities to decide its political status.
One commentator said the remedy of reparations in Puerto Rico should take place after the matter of statehood has been decided upon.
In November 2021, British Prince (now King) Charles spoke in Barbados of the “appalling atrocity of slavery.”
There is a slow-moving Caricom campaign for the payment of reparations in a 10-point plan.
The Keith Rowley Government has faced accusations of not advancing the reparations agenda.
Aiyegoro Ome, a campaigner for reparations, has said the Rowley Government has not commented on the International Decade for People of African Descent, which ends in 2025.
The local reparations committee was formed in 2014 by the Government of Kamla Persad-Bissessar, but has not received directions or support from the Rowley Administration, Ome complained.
He asked: “Does the Prime Minister recognise how much time has been lost by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago because of its previous disengagement from reparations since the advent of his administration in 2015?”
He referred to stalled attempts to hold discussions with the Rowley Administration.
