Ghanaian-born British lawmaker, Bell Ribeiro-Addy has asked the UK government to as a matter of urgency cancel all debts owed it by its former colonies.
The Labour Member of Parliament for Streatham who was recently elected into the British parliament also said the UK government must return items forcefully taken from these former colonies.
She described this move as necessary to rectify its history as slave masters and compensate for the impact of colonization and slavery.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy has said that the British government has not shown enough and real remorse for its acts during the colonial days like slavery.
In 2018 when the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles visited Ghana he described Slave Trade as shameful and hopes it doesn’t recur.
The British royal said at the time that “Britain can be proud that it led the way in the abolition of this shameful trade”.
He however said Britain must “have a shared responsibility to ensure that the abject horror of slavery is never forgotten”.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy said the British government must do more.
She said “I am someone who firmly believes that the only way you can tackle an issue is at its very root. And the racism which I and many others in this country face on a daily basis has its very root in these injustices.
“Not only will this country not apologize, but they also have not once offered a form of reparations. People see reparation as handing over a large sum of money, but why could we not start with it today? Simple things like fairer trade, simple things like returning items that do not belong to us and simple things like cancelling debts that we have had paid over and over again.”
The new Shadow Immigration Minister for the Labour Party made these comments in her speech on the floor of the House of Commons.
To tackle racism at its root we must confront the brutal legacy of the British Empire, apologise and make meaningful reparations for the historic wrongs of slavery & colonialism.
How can I be an equal in Parliament if this is how Parliament treats people that look just like me? pic.twitter.com/4K643IzvD3
— Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP (@BellRibeiroAddy) January 30, 2020
There are at least 100 former British colonies all over the world. They include the United States of America, Canada, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana and Zanzibar.
Source: Africafeeds.com
