Mottley welcomes UK slavery apology talks despite reparations divide

P rime Minister Mia Mottley has welcomed Britain’s willingness to discuss a formal apology for its role in the transatlantic slave trade, even as disagreement over financial reparations remains unresolved. Barbados is prepared to enter structured talks with the United Kingdom through CARICOM despite British Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s rejection of financial compensation, she said, insisting that differences should not prevent progress on other aspects of reparatory justice. “Dialogue matters because we are not yet on the same page on every element. On reparations in particular, our views differ, and we will say so plainly and respectfully. Honest disagreement on some questions should not hold back progress on the many others where we can readily agree,” she said in a statement on Friday responding to Burnham.

The British premier has gone further than his predecessors in expressing openness to a formal apology, offering structured dialogue with countries and campaigners affected by slavery ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda from November 1 to 4. Writing in The Guardian , Burnham expressed sorrow and regret for the suffering caused by the slave trade but maintained that present-day British citizens should not be held financially responsible for historical wrongs in which they played no personal part. Instead, he proposed a debt restructuring initiative for poorer Commonwealth countries, to be led by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, aimed at extending repayment periods and securing more favourable interest rates. The discussions carry particular historical weight for Barbados as in 1661, under English colonial rule, the island enacted a pioneer slave code that defined enslaved Africans as property and became a model…