Georgetown: With less than two months to go before Guyana and other members of the Caribbean Community observe African Emancipation Day, Guyana Reparations Committee Chairman, Eric Phillips has since disclosed that the committee’s report has already been drafted and will be handed over to President Donald Ramotar on June 21.
Phillips in providing an update on the committee’s report which was supposed to have been completed by June 1, stated that the date was not an official deadline, but was one which was set by the committee to ensure that time was used efficiently.
He assured that the committee is adhering to that deadline and will present the report no later than June 21.
“We have completed our research, our analysis and other important parts of the report. It has already been drafted and it is now with our experts in history. After this, we will have a public forum where the citizens can come and view the report, give their input and then it will be sent off to the Minister and the President,” Phillips related.
After perusal by President Ramotar and the Minister, the report will then be sent to the Foreign Affairs Ministry and then subsequently off to Caricom, after which legal letters will be issued to countries compensation is being sought from.
The Guyana Reparations Committee was established in September 2013 following the mandate of the 34th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government, which was held in July 2013 in Trinidad and Tobago.
During the meeting, it was agreed by Caricom governments that national committees on reparations should be established in member states.
The aim was to establish a committee which would seek reconciliation between victims and beneficiaries, without having an actual confrontation. It seeks to restore equity in social relations, equality before the law and justice within the fabric of human diversity, which typifies humanity.
Closure
Phillips noted that reparations aspire to heal, atone and bring closure to the human tragedies of mass slavery and to restore a higher moral order by removing the shame and guilt that persistently poison the relations between descendants on all sides of the crime.
In presenting his case for the formation of the Reparations Committee, Phillips related that “the European governments were owners and traders of enslaved Africans; had instructed genocidal actions upon indigenous communities; created legal, financial and fiscal policies necessary for the enslavement of Africans; defined and enforced African enslavement and native genocide as in their ‘national interests’; refused to give compensation to the enslaved at the end of this enslavement, but compensated slave owners at Emancipation for the loss of legal property rights of enslaved Africans; and has refused to acknowledge such crimes or to compensate the victims and their descendants.”
He noted that because of this, the need was seen by Caricom to present their case for reparations as Guyana was not the only country which was affected, as several countries, including Jamaica, Suriname and Barbados had experienced a similar history.
The mandate of the committee is to develop and implement a national strategy to pursue reparations. For this to be done, the committee has to undertake the creation of a detailed historical narrative of indigenous genocide and African slavery; link past discrimination to present day inequality; define and prove the nature of modern inequality; and denote policies adopted by Europe to continue this process.
The process had involved the development and recommendation of decisive political action at the national and regional levels; consultations to develop proposals on appropriate forms of redress through reparative programmes and projects; coordination and undertaking the preparations of a detailed brief on the cost of damages; and current manifestations of the damages on indigenous and enslaved people and their descendants in economical, social, cultural, religious, medical and educational areas.
Phillips said Great Britain has a policy which prevents persons from suing for reparations for incidents which had occurred in its colonies before 1974, but since the case was one of slavery and genocide, it took prevalence over the law.
He stated that if the law of the land cannot afford justice and provide reparations, the countries will then take Britain and Holland to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
“The legal process of reparation demands of perpetrators and beneficiaries an apology rather than a Statement of Regret that expressed no responsibility for the suffering of victims; an admission of wrongdoing; and commitment to reasonable reparatory actions,” he said.
If reparations are given, Africans can expect a better economic reality, health and educational services. It will also enable the nation in general to implement policies and developmental projects which will be maintained from money received in compensation.
He noted that this money will not be going to the country’s Consolidated Fund, but will solely be used for the benefits of all Guyanese, more particularly Africans.
An African Development Bank and an African and Amerindian Development Fund are said to be two of the many projects which will be undertaken if reparations are made. In addition, the committee is seeking to have repatriations where descendants of enslaved persons can return or visit their original countries with less barriers and harassment.
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