Focus on Reparations

St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves says he plans to intensify efforts in addressing the issue of Reparations for Native Genocide and Slavery when he assumes the chairmanship of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) early in the new year. “When I take over the chairmanship of CARICOM in January I hope to get letters to Europe,” Gonsalves, who is here for the 68^th Session of the United Nations General Assembly Debate, told a standing-room-only town hall meeting in Brooklyn late Saturday. “We’re going for reparations because of state-sponsored genocide and state-sponsored slavery”, he added.“Europe, by engaging us in this matter, can make us more free,” he continued. “We need reparations, but we need available resources.” The Vincentian leader, who has been taking the lead in CARICOM on the issue, said efforts at seeking reparations from Europe are “not a conversation about protests. “This is a serious conversation to see what is the legacy,” he said. “I’m not a little boy holding up a placard. I’m the Prime Minister of an independent country.” Gonsalves warned that, as the reparations issue gains ground, European governments and their “agencies” are already “finding means to divide the Reparations Movement,” adding that “Reparations is for all of us.”

Courtesy: www.cananewsonline.com