The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are facing more unrest on
their Caribbean royal tour as they prepare
to visit the Bahamas later this week. The couple – who are already aware of protestors in Jamaica calling
for the UK to apologize and pay reparations for slavery – are traveling to the
Bahamas on Thursday to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee over a three-day
trip.
Ahead of their arrival, a Bahamas committee has called on William and
Kate to acknowledge that the British economy was “built on the backs”
of past Bahamians and to pay reparations.
The country’s national reparations committee has issued a strongly
worded document claiming the monarchy has “looted and pillaged our land
and our people for centuries, leaving us struggling with underdevelopment,
left to pick up the pieces”.
The statement read: “We, the members of the Bahamas National
Reparations Committee (BNRC), recognize that the people of the Bahamas have
been left holding the bag for much of the cost of this extravagant trip.
“Why are we footing the bill for the benefit of a regime whose rise
to ‘greatness’ was fueled by the extinction, enslavement, colonization, and
degradation of the people of this land? Why are we being made to pay again?
“The visit commemorates 70 years since Queen Elizabeth’s accession
to the throne of imperialism – more years than the Bahamas has been a sovereign
nation. The BNRC asserts that we as Bahamians must have a clear understanding
of what this trip truly means. We are not beholden to the British monarchy in
any way and we do not owe them a debt of gratitude for anything – not for our
culture, religion, or system of governance.
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William and Kate on the first day of their Jamaica visit
“Instead, the monarchy has looted and pillaged our land and our
people for centuries, leaving us struggling with underdevelopment, left to
pick up the pieces.”
In 2013, the Bahamas committee was founded to establish the moral,
ethical, and legal case for the payment of repatriations by European countries.
This isn’t the first time William and Kate have faced anti-monarchy
protests on their tour. On Tuesday in Kingston, Jamaica, around 100 campaigners
gathered outside the High Commissioner’s residence following an open letter to
the royal couple signed by a coalition of Jamaican politicians, business
leaders, doctors and musicians.
The letter stated in part: “We see no reason to celebrate 70 years
of the ascension of your grandmother to the British throne because her
leadership, and that of her predecessors, has perpetuated the greatest human
rights tragedy in the history of humankind.”
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Protests were staged outside King’s House in Kingston
A royal source said William was aware of the protest and the future King
is expected to acknowledge the issue of slavery in a speech on Wednesday night
during a dinner hosted by the Governor-General of Jamaica.
Meanwhile, in Belize, the royals had planned to tour a cacao farm in
Indian Creek village but were forced to change their itinerary after
residents opposed their royal trip.
The Government of Belize confirmed in a statement: “Indian Creek
was one of several sites being considered. Due to issues in the village, the
Government of Belize activated its contingency planning and another venue has
been selected to showcase Maya family entrepreneurship in the cacao
industry.”
Several issues were reported by local Belize media outlet Channel 7,
including a claimed dispute between residents of Indian Creek village and Flora
and Fauna International, the conservation charity William supports as patron.
