CASTRIES, St Lucia, CMC – A Rastafarian group says it has written Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony seeking the support of the St Lucia government on the issue of reparations for slavery from former colonial powers.
Ras Bongo Wisely, of the Iyanola Council for the Advancement of Rastafari (ICAR), said that the letter from the Global African Congress had been sent to Prime Minister Anthony since March.
He said the group is also seeking the support of the government in ensuring that the repatriation issue is taken up at the global level.
But he said there had been no response from the Anthony administration.
“On the occasion of activities marking Emancipation Day, the ICAR called on the government to make its position clear on (this matter). I say to our leaders today, will you be a fulfiller of that mission (of acquiring reparations), or a betrayer”.
Wisely said that the letter had also been sent to other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) states as well as the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat.
He said it is seeking regional support for proclaiming October 12 as “The African Holocaust Day”, to focus on slavery and its effects.
Wisely spoke of the “traumatic effects:” of slavery in the Caribbean which had been passed from one generation to another.
He said Caribbean people had never been given any assistance to take care of all that slavery had done to them.
He noted that the Jews had campaigned for and obtained reparations from Germany for the holocaust and said it should be the same for Caribbean people.
Wisely said a number of the economic development challenges that Africans face in the Caribbean today could be addressed by the payment of reparations.
He said it was ICAR’s view that Caribbean countries should demand debt cancellations from colonial powers that were associated with slavery as a first step in the reparations claim.
Social Transformation Minister Menissa Rambally, who spoke at the Emancipation ceremony after Wisely made no mention of the letter or the demands raised by the Rastafarian group.
Instead, she focused on the responsibilities which she said were demanded of all St. Lucians as a result of emancipation.
Rambally spoke of the ongoing crime wave in the island and said it was a manifestation of the abuse of the freedom which islanders enjoy.
Some Caribbean states observe Emancipation Day on August 1st while others celebrate the Day on the first Monday in August.