SAN JUAN (AP) — Dozens of prominent Jamaican figures, including professors and politicians, are demanding an apology and reparations from the United Kingdom for slavery, while the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge prepare a trip to the former British colony.
The group rejects the visit of Prince William and his wife Catherine scheduled for Tuesday, which is part of a longer trip to the Caribbean that coincides with the 60th anniversary of Jamaica's independence and the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation.
“We see no reason to celebrate 70 years since her grandmother's ascension to the British throne because her mandate, and those of her predecessors, have perpetuated the greatest human rights tragedy in human history,” reads in a letter published Sunday signed by 100 Jamaican leaders.
The dukes' trip to Central America and the Caribbean, which began on Saturday and will last one week, was made by order of the queen, who is William's grandmother. The trip aims to strengthen Britain's ties with countries that make up the Commonwealth of Nations, but it got off to a difficult start and takes place when some countries consider breaking relations with the monarchy, as Barbados did in November.
Opposition from the local population forced the dukes to cancel their visit to a cocoa farm in Belize, an activity that was scheduled for Saturday, and the upcoming trip to Jamaica has outraged some who are still waiting for an apology and reparations for slavery.
Jamaican lawmaker Mike Henry, who has long spearheaded efforts to obtain reparations he estimates at more than £7 billion, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that an apology is only the first step to what he described as an “abuse of human life and work.”
“An apology would really admit that there is some guilt,” he said.
Hundreds of thousands of African slaves worked in Jamaica for more than 300 years of British rule under brutal conditions.