Grenada PM Invites UK’s Rishi Sunak to Discuss Reparations

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TIME IS NOW: The Prime Minister of Grenada, Dickon Mitchell, wants Prime Minister's from Britain, France and Spain to discuss reparations for the Caribbean. (Photo by BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images)
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THE VOICE- GRENADA’S PRIME Minister has invited the British Prime Minister to attend discussions with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) about reparations for slavery.
Dickon Mitchell extended the invitation to Rishi Sunak at a reparation forum last week, which was hosted by the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the Grenada National Reparations Committee (GNRC).Mr Mitchell said talks about reparatory justice, the legacy of British colonialism and slavery across the Caribbean should be “open transparent, frank and dignified”.“As a head of government, I want to take this opportunity to join in a public request to my fellow head of government of the United Kingdom to accept our kind invitation to commence dialogue in an open, transparent, frank and dignified manner to talk of the need for reparative justice for the citizens of CARICOM,” he stated.Mr Mitchell made the comments as he received a formal apology from members of the British Trevelyan family for their ancestors’ role in enslaving over 1,000 Africans at their six plantations in Grenada.He also extended the invitation to several European leaders, including the new French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne and Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s Prime Minister.He said: “And to also use your good office as the convenor to join with your European counterparts to address this issue with your French and Spanish counterparts in particular.”

During his speech, Mr Mitchell made a special mention of Haiti and said the Caribbean country is the strongest example where there is a need for “reparative justice”

He said: “And I make special mention of the Republic of Haiti. Because if there is one island where it is demonstrable that the need for reparative justice exists it is the Republic of Haiti.”

Mr Mitchell’s call for the talks were also supported by BBC reporter Laura Trevelyan, who was in Grenada to formally apologise for her ancestors’ past role in slavery on the island.

Ms Trevelyan urged British authorities engage with the region on talks about reparations with “CARICOM and bodies such as the Grenadian National Reparations Commission.”

During the same event, the Grenada National Reparations Commission (GNRC) told the government to begin consultations about removing King Charles III as its head of state.

Chairman of the GNRC, Arley Gill, said as Grenada prepares to celebrate 50 years of independence from the United Kingdom, next year, now is the time for changes.

“A conversation on Grenada becoming a republic and moving away graciously from the [British] Monarchy as head of state must commence in earnest,” Mr Gill said at a Reparations Forum held last Monday.

According to the National Archives of Grenada, between 1662 and 1807 Britain shipped 3.1 million Africans across the Atlantic Ocean in the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The Africans who were forcibly enslaved and were brought to British owned colonies in the Caribbean, including Grenada, and sold as slaves to work on plantations, generating millions of pounds for Britain.

Mr Mitchell, became Grenada’s ninth Prime Minister last year after winning the 2022 general election.

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