Source: Jamaica Gleaner
During his interactions with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Opposition Leader Mark Golding intends to convey that many Jamaicans are seeking an apology for the role played by their family in slavery on the island.
Prince William and his wife, Catherine, are scheduled to arrive in Jamaica for a three-day visit as part of celebrations to mark the Platinum Jubilee of The Queen and the 60th anniversary of Jamaica’s Independence from Britain.
William is second in line to the British throne.
The parliamentary Opposition believes that an apology would be an appropriate way for the British Monarchy to begin the process of atonement.
“I would hope that I get the opportunity during the events that I will be attending to have that dialogue with them and to bring it to their attention in a courteous and respectful way that this is the view held by many Jamaicans, and that I think it would be helpful both to the Royal family and Jamaica for them to consider this as a means of starting to move forward to a new future,” Golding told The Gleaner yesterday.
The Opposition said it has been consistent in its support in the push for reparatory justice as it relates to the genocide of indigenous peoples and the injustices inflicted on people of African descent during the centuries of the slave trade, chattel slavery and the plantation system in Jamaica and other countries.
Asked if the Opposition would support today’s planned protests, Golding said: “We have not had a meeting to discuss that. I am aware that one or more of our members may be participating in it, but in terms of the party’s position on that, I don’t want to pre-empt a discussion on that.”
In a statement yesterday, the PNP indicated that Golding has been invited in his capacity as Opposition leader to participate in some of the events, including the arrival of the Duke and Duchess at the airport, a visit to his St Andrew South constituency, and a state dinner.
The Opposition says it has repeatedly called on the Government to diligently pursue, with bipartisan support, the constitutional process for Jamaica to become a republic by replacing the British Monarch with a Jamaican as the country’s head of state.
It is unclear whether the Holness administration will discuss the vexed issue of reparation with the royal couple. However, Culture Minister Olivia Grange has long made known the Government’s support for compensation.
“It is only fair for those who have wronged our ancestors to pay the debt they owe to the present generation,” Grange said at a forum in 2018.
In his four-hour contribution to the Budget Debate last Thursday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said that an advisory committee would be established, including bipartisan representatives, to review the existing body of work and guide the Government on the way forward on plans to dispense with The Queen as head of State.
The prime minister said that the bills to give effect to the agreed constitutional amendments will be reviewed by a joint select committee of Parliament and Jamaicans asked to vote on the matter in a referendum.
However, Holness did not indicate any timelines.
Urging the Government to relinquish ties with the United Kingdom-based Privy Council and replace it with the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as the country’s final appellate court, Queen’s Counsel Hugh Small recently burned three judicial wigs regarded as symbols of the colonial past.
“We established and accepted the court (CCJ) and I think it is time for the Government and the Opposition to stop shadow-boxing because what they are doing is shadow-boxing,” he said, adding that a referendum is not needed to make the change.
Small is of the view that to keep the Privy Council is to extend the relationship with the British Monarchy.
“They are indelibly stained now and I am speaking of the royal family,” he said in a recent Gleaner interview.