Offers of debt relief and development assistance from the UK cannot be a replacement for reparations for centuries of slavery, leading figures in the Caribbean reparatory justice movement have said.
Their comments follow British prime minister Andy Burnham’s announcement on Friday that he wanted to begin a structured dialogue on slavery and reparations and was open to Britain apologising, but ruled out reparations.
Instead, he proposed discussions on debt resets for smaller Commonwealth nations and announced £40m ($54m) for critical infrastructure in the Caribbean over the next three years.
As leaders of the 56-member Commonwealth bloc meet in a private retreat at their summit in Antigua, Ralph Gonsalves, a former prime minister of St…