«London lives in the past, and in this way loses the present and boycotts its future» says an old man nostalgic for British politics, while observing King Charles head to Samoa, the Pacific island nation belonging to the Commonwealththe sovereign’s last stop to reaffirm the friendship and indirectly the leadership of the English crown over the 56 independent states that are currently part of it.
Yes, because in the so-called Commonwealth of Nations – which on Saturday 26 October will conclude the work begun on the 21st of the month – of those 56 States there are 15 that formally recognize the King of England as their own head of state (within the so-called Realm of Commonwealth), including 13 former British colonies. But until when will they recognize him? This is the question that the United Kingdom must give an answer, especially after news leaked that for some time the heads of government of Commonwealth are preparing to openly challenge the United Kingdom to question British leadership.
As? Agreeing on a plan to examine “restorative justice,” addressing the colonial-era transatlantic slave trade. A fact – with associated repeated controversies – which is now repeated with every visit of a king of England in one of the member countries and which is potentially explosive, because it could leave the United Kingdom owed billions of pounds in compensation: a 2023 report compiled by the University of the West Indies (and supported by the judge Patrick Robinsonwhich is part of the International Court of Justice), estimates the UK could have to pay more than £18 billion in compensation for its role in slavery in 14 Caribbean countries alone.
Downing Street insists that the issue is not on the agenda of the 56 summit Commonwealth countrieswhich will see the plenary on Friday 25th, but in these hours a draft of the summit statement is already circulating, made known by the BBCwhich reads: «Heads of Government, noting calls to discuss restorative justice in relation to the transatlantic trade of enslaved Africans and enslavement… agreed that the time has come for a meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation to forge a common future based on equity.”
Behind this lies the veiled threat of exit from the Commonwealth itself by many member countries if the demands are not met.. The question is very delicate: since when London the Empire has lost, in fact, the tendency to detach itself from London has never been lacking, even if the institution that is the heir of the British Empire has essentially held up until now. South Africa was expelled from it in 1961 due to the apartheid regime, only to be readmitted in 1994; The Pakistan came out in 1972 in protest against the recognition of Commonwealth to the separation of Bangladesh, and then returned in 1989. Two former members who left the organization and never returned are theIreland in 1949, after becoming a republic and lo Zimbabwe in 2003, in protest against the Commonwealth who had suspended him due to human rights violations.
Charles IIIlike his mother before him Elizabeth IIhas direct responsibility for the guidance of Commonwealtha role that runs parallel to that of sovereign and whose Carlo was hit by Elizabeth itself in 2018, in continuity with an institution started by his father George VI in 1949 (in addition to the 15 Realms of Commonwealth6 other member countries have their own monarch: Brunei, Lesotho, Malaysia, Samoa, Eswatini and Tonga).
For this reason, and also motivated by strong personal convictions, the new British king will likely take advantage of the requests for “restorative justice for slavery” from His Majesty’s subjects: financial reparations, debt reduction, official apologies, educational programmes, museum construction, economic support and public healthcare are the main ways studied by Buckingham Palace to, as far as possible, meet an increasingly restless group of countries attracted by oriental mermaids (see summit Brics of countries that openly oppose the West).
Thus, the text that will be discussed during the assembly of Commonwealth was drawn up by their respective diplomats well before the summit, with British officials managing to block a plan for an entirely separate statement on the thorny topic of reparations.
“The United Kingdom he did not want the statement to talk about restorative justice, but at the time he had to accept that the document included three complete paragraphs illustrating the detailed position of the Commonwealth», writes the BBC. London in fact, it aims to postpone the issue of restorative justice to the next Commonwealth summit which will be held in two years in the Caribbean, probably Antigua And Barbuda.
Opening up today to reparations worth trillions of pounds, as requested, for the historic role played by the British in the slave trade, would throw the country’s economy into chaos, after the United Kingdom he has not enjoyed stability (not even political) since the post Brexitand also the new Labor Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmeris being fiercely criticized at home, with his consensus already in a nosedive awaiting the new financial maneuver, tears and blood, which will be announced on 30 October, immediately after the summit of Commonwealthand which requires the Prime Minister not to agree to any request for money coming from abroad, so as not to expose and further indebted the Village.
Starmer landed in Samoa late Wednesday, becoming the first sitting prime minister to visit a Pacific island nation. Obviously, given what has been said, he too glossed over the topic of “reparations”, aiming if anything to discuss with the leader of the Commonwealth about “current challenges, particularly climate change, rather than issues of the past.” Also because, according to him, «what interests them most is whether we can help them work, for example, with international financial institutions on the packages they need at the moment (…). That’s what I’ll focus on, rather than what will end up being very long and interminable discussions about reparations for the past».
Therefore, at the top of the Commonwealth the script should not include any surprises, but only declarations of intent and mannered apologies about slavery, in the wake of what King Charles already expressed last year during a visit to Kenyawhen the king spoke of “great sorrow and regret” for the “misdeeds” of the colonial era, and nothing more.
But the Caribbean countries are the most determined to press the issue, and are putting diplomatic pressure on the entire institution. Meanwhile, the candidates competing to obtain the position of next secretary general of the Commonwealth all come from Africa: Shirley Botchwey from Ghana, Joshua Setipa from Lesotho e Mamadou Tangara from Gambia. Everyone has declared that they support restorative justice, but they are more keen not to displease London in order to obtain a top role in the most prestigious imperial-derived institution in the world.
