Itβs been more than a week since the Grenada National Reparations Committee (GNRC) wrote a letter to Governor General Dame Cecile La Grenade, βseeking an audience with the Earl and Countess of Wessexββ, who were scheduled to visit Grenada next Tuesday, April 26. The visit, however, is reported to have been cancelled.
GNRC officials said they are yet to receive a response to their letter in which the committee stated that its mandate is βto advocate for the attainment of reparatory justiceββ.
The government-endorsed GNRC was established as part of a decision of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) calling for the setting up of a regional Commission for Reparations.
GNRC βwould like to engage the royal couple for a meeting to outline the reasons as to why Great Britain should be held accountable for the crimes against humanity that occurred against the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, and against the Africans during the slave trade and slavery and the wanton exploitation of the Caribbean islands during colonizationββ, the committee told the Governor General in its letter signed by chairman Arley Gill, who also is Grenadaβs CARICOM ambassador.
βWe will welcome the opportunity to provide them with some literature on the topic, inclusive of the CARICOM 10-point plan and the recently published book by Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, βHow Britain Underdeveloped the Caribbean: A Reparation Response to Europeβs Legacy of Plunder and Povertyβββ
However, British media are reporting that Prince Edward β the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth β and wife Sophie, have scratched Grenada as a stop on a six-day trip to the Caribbean. The two still are due to visit St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Antigua and Barbuda.
Grenada βwas removed from the itinerary on Thursday, though no official explanation for the change was given by Buckingham Palace,ββ the UK-based Independent reported.
βThe decision was made following consultation with the government of Grenada and on the advice of the governor general. The changed plans come days after fresh details emerged regarding Britainβs role in the enslavement of Black people in its former colony.ββ
The results of an investigation into the Bank of England (BOE) recently revealed that the bank, which has been owned and controlled by the British government since 1946, owned two plantations in Grenada in the 1770s. Almost 600 Africans were enslaved on the Grenada plantation.
βSince the bank has been owned by Her Majestyβs government since 1946 and they exploited enslaved Africans and profited from free plantation labour, and exploited profits from the land and labour, itβs a conversation long overdue that we need to have with the Queen of England,ββ Gill said Thursday.
Gill and the GNRC, in the aftermath of last weekβs revelation of BOEβs slave ownership in Grenada, issued a statement saying they were βappalled β but not surprisedββ β by the discovery.
βThe exploitation of Grenada as a colony of Great Britain and its institutionsββ, GNRC said, βshould intensify our urgent call-to-action to every Grenadian to join the fight for reparations and reparatory justice for the descendants of enslaved people here in Grenada.β
According to the GNRC, βthe time has come for the British government and the descendants of British elites who benefited from the enslavement of our ancestors to own-up to this heinous crime against humanityβand do the right thingββ.
In addition to seeking a meeting with the Edward and Sophie, itβs reported that the GNRC was mobilizing to stage public protest during their visit to Grenada.
Protests are likely in St Lucia, St Vincent and Antigua, where there also are local reparations committees.
βIn consultation with the government of Grenada and on the advice of the Governor General,ββ the Independent said, βthe Earl and Countess of Wessexβs visit to Grenada has been postponed, it is understood; though, they hope to visit at a later date.ββ
A Caribbean visit last month by PrinceΒ William and his wife Kate Middleton was met with protests in Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas.