Calls from Barbados for Britain to pay billions in slave trade reparations have been branded ‘completely ironic’ given the Caribbean country’s ties to China
Calls from Barbados for Britain to pay billions in compensation for its role in the slave trade were last night branded ‘completely ironic’ given the country’s links with China.
A group of Caribbean governments have agreed to put slavery reparations on the table at next week’s Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Samoa.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley is leading the West Indies’ demands and she met King Charles earlier this month ahead of the 56-nation meeting.
She has said reparations for slavery and colonialism must be part of a new “global reset.”
Estimates for the likely reparations for Britain’s involvement in slavery in 14 countries range from £206 billion to £19 trillion.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang (R) shakes hands with Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, in June 2023
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly last month. She is leading West Indian demands that Britain pay billions in compensation for its role in the slave trade
But last night Ms Mottley was criticized for her country’s ties with China, where the UN has reported the forced labor of members of minority groups.
Tory grandee and China hawk Sir Iain Duncan Smith told the Mail: ‘It is utterly ironic that countries that bend the knee to China and front the belt and road money are turning a blind eye to the fact that China is now is probably the largest user of slavery in its production lines and its products.
‘It is a country that commits genocide in Xinjiang among the Uyghurs, persecutes Christians and practices forced organ harvesting on organizations such as Falun Gong and Christians.
“So how ironic that people should be calling on us to pay them, while they are busy kneeling before China in the hope of more money from a disgusting, abusive nation that has one of the worst records in history.” in the field of abuse and political violence. execution.’
Barbados and China have close trade ties and the island is part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure programme.
The Mail on Sunday, which first reported that slavery reparations would be on the table at the Commonwealth meeting, also said Ms Mottley has described her country as “the cradle of modern racism” thanks to British rule from 1625.
Tory grandee and China hawk Sir Iain Duncan Smith called Barbados’ calls for Britain to pay billions in compensation for its role in the slave trade “completely ironic”.
She has said Barbados owes $4.9 trillion (£3.9 trillion) to former slave-owning countries.
Sir Iain rejected calls for reparations, saying Britain has spent ‘billions ending the slave trade’.
He added: ‘We paid well above asking price for everything related to what happened because we were the ones who paid through the nose to stop it.’
Ms Mottley has praised previous comments from King Charles, who said acknowledging the mistakes of the past was a “conversation whose time has come”.
A spokesperson for the Commonwealth Secretariat told The Mail on Sunday: “Commonwealth leaders have always discussed the challenges and ambitions constructively.”