King Charles just faced protests in Australia and could face another at the upcoming Commonwealth summit. Britain is under increasing pressure to make financial reparations not just for slavery but for its role in the climate crisis.
The King was heckled on Monday by Australian Aboriginal senator Lydia Thorpe, a critic of the monarchy and an activist for indigenous rights.
“You have committed genocide against our people. Give us back our land,” Victoria’s independent senator yelled at Charles. “Give us back what you stole from us: our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people.”
Follow our live coverage of Dr. King’s visit.
The standoff comes as the king prepares to visit Samoa this week to attend a Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting. There, leaders of some of the countries most vulnerable to the climate crisis are expected to ask Britain and other rich countries to pay billions of dollars in compensation. Their contribution to the historical crisis.
Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis said the climate crisis was a “truly existential threat” for many island nations and the Commonwealth provided an ideal forum to seek justice.
“If we don’t find ways to make our country more resilient to these shocks, we won’t survive,” he said. Observer.
Charles, who has been vocal about environmental issues, was expected to focus on sustainable solutions to combat the crisis, but is likely to avoid involvement in the debate over reparations.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer was also scheduled to attend the meeting in Samoa’s capital Apia.
This year’s summit, which began on Monday, focuses on income inequality, violence and discrimination faced by women, which Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland describes as “a global epidemic”.
Prime Minister Charles was expected to take part in the summit mid-week.
In a speech on Monday, he said the Commonwealth has “the diversity to understand the world’s problems and the sheer intelligence and determination to develop practical solutions.”
“I see some 2.5 billion families striving for peace, justice and mutual respect,” he said.
“The Commonwealth of Nations spans six continents and is large enough to foster personal relationships, yet as a group we have the scale and influence to play a significant role on the world stage.”
The summit promised to reignite difficult debates about historical justice.
In addition to climate compensation, the summit could also address demands for reparations for slavery, which Davis and other Caribbean leaders were expected to discuss with Starmer.
At the last Commonwealth summit, Prince Charles expressed sadness at the British Empire’s role in the slave trade, but like successive British governments and monarchs, he has not yet issued a formal apology for the country’s role in the mass enslavement of African peoples. was not achieved.
Tensions were expected to rise at the summit, with Britain currently facing demands for up to £200bn in slavery and £6.2tn in climate compensation by 2050.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley met with Charles in London earlier this month to discuss the issue ahead of the Commonwealth meeting. Ms Mottley praised the King’s candor on the issue and acknowledged the importance of addressing Britain’s role in the slave trade, calling it a “dialogue whose time has come”.
She addressed the issue of reparations at a recent United Nations event. “This number has been studied and studied by many people, and the number suggests that it is at least $5 trillion, more precisely $4.9 trillion.”
For centuries, Britain has been involved in the trafficking of millions of Africans for profit.
Governments, activists, and descendants of slaves say practical fixes are needed to address the atrocities of slavery. But Britain has refused formal talks on reparations for both climate change and the slave trade.
On climate, the focus shifted to carbon reduction strategies and sought to provide expertise in developing sustainable low-carbon infrastructure, which the King’s Foundation was expected to showcase during the event.
However, the issue of climate finance, including financing the irreparable damage caused by climate disasters, is likely to come back into focus at the UN Climate Summit Cop29 in Baku.
