Acknowledging the Slave Trade, Portugal's President Proposes Debt Abolition as Compensation
The President of Portugal admits past sins during colonialism and proposes canceling the debts of former colonial countries.
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LISABOON, SUNDAY — Portugal is responsible for crimes committed during the trans-Atlantic slavery and colonial eras. For this reason, the President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa suggested that Portugal carry out reparations or recovery. This can be done by pardoning or writing off the debts of former colonial countries and providing financial assistance.
However, through a statement sent to the Portuguese news agency, Lusa, the Portuguese government affirmed that there is no specific process or program of action to pay for such reparations. Lisbon wants to "deepen cooperation, respect historical truths, and enhance intensive and close cooperation based on friendly reconciliation between citizens."
De Sousa's proposal sparked harsh criticism from right-wing parties in Portugal, including the Democratic Alliance, the Popular Party CDS, and the far-right wing party Chega, who are members of the government coalition.
Also read: King of the Netherlands apologizes for his country's role in slavery
De Sousa acknowledged Portugal's "sin" last Tuesday (23/4/2024) and proposed the need for reparations on Saturday (27/4/2024). The leader of CDS-Partido Popular in parliament, Paulo Nuncio, declared last Thursday that his party did not feel the need to revisit colonial heritage and reparations costs.
Chega leader Andre Ventura even accuses De Sousa of betraying the country. Nevertheless, Portugal's relationship with its former colonies is already very good. Cooperation in various fields has been established well, such as education, language, culture, health, finance, budget, and economy.
However, De Sousa still believes that Portugal must take responsibility for everything that happened during the empire. "We cannot hide this problem. We have an obligation to try to carry out this reparations process. Were there any actions that were unpunished and the perpetrators not captured? Were there any stolen goods that were not returned? We can fix this," said De Sousa.
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The reparation or restoration process is intended to acknowledge and correct the causes and consequences of human rights violations that were committed during colonialism. From the 15th century to the 19th century, at least 12.5 million African people were kidnapped and forcibly transported across the Atlantic on European merchant ships, including Portuguese, and then sold as slave.
However, up until now, Portugal has not "paid the price" for its past sins. In fact, not many people know that Portugal was once involved in trans-Atlantic slavery because that historical record is not taught in schools.
The era of Portuguese colonialism lasted for more than five centuries. Some of the regions that were once colonized by the Portuguese include Angola, Mozambique, Brazil, Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe, and East Timor. The decolonization of African countries and the end of the African empire only occurred a few months after the "Carnation Revolution" on April 25, 1974. This revolution overthrew the longest fascist dictatorship in Europe and brought about democracy.
Also read: The Netherlands apologizes for VOC slavery
The idea of paying reparations or repairing the trans-Atlantic slavery has gained momentum worldwide, including efforts to form a special court to handle this issue. Activists say that reparations and public policies to combat the inequalities caused by Portugal's past, including systemic racism, are crucial.
The apology has actually been made by De Sousa last year, but not yet officially to the country. "Acknowledging past mistakes and taking responsibility for it is much more important than just apologizing. Apologizing alone is easy," he said.
Call for reparations
High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations, Volker Turk, urges countries to provide reparations for people of African descent as a form of justice for the atrocities of slavery. However, Turk did not specifically state how this reparation should be carried out.
Support for the creation of an international tribunal to deal with reparations for slavery, apartheid, genocide and colonialism is increasing among African countries and Caribbean. A possible way of reparation that can be done is through financial compensation.
"The government must show sincere commitment to immediately rectify past mistakes," said Turk in his closing speech at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday (April 26, 2024).
The idea of paying reparations still has not been accepted by most former colonial countries. The Netherlands has already apologized for its "past sins" in the trans-Atlantic slave trade and plans to allocate a fund of 200 million euros to pay for it.
The issue of air pollution is not a new one. The condition of the community threatened by air pollution has been ongoing for quite some time. There is no shortage of research evidence indicating the threats posed by the impact of air pollution. However, it is evident that this has not yet led to significant efforts to control air pollution. As a result, the residents are increasingly suffering, living in the midst of air pollution. England has also acknowledged its role in Trans-Atlantic slavery, but there are no plans to pay reparations. It is worth noting that England once transported around 3.2 million people who were made into slaves.
Also read: English Colonies Want to Break Away from the Monarchy
PFPAD does not have the authority to enforce the law. However, it can provide recommendations to other UN bodies. The forum again calls for the need to establish a slavery court, a call that was also made last year.
There has been no comment from France, Spain, and Denmark regarding this issue. However, the European Union has already acknowledged that trans-Atlantic slavery is a crime against humanity. The United Nations supports reparations, which were also utilized to compensate Japanese-Americans who were interned by the United States during World War II and to the families of Holocaust survivors.
"We call for a framework of reparative justice to help address the generation of exclusion and discrimination," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on March 25th.
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UN spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office Liz Throssell added that no country is solely responsible for the legacy of slavery, the African slave trade, or colonialism in the past. They also do not take into account its impact on the lives of people of African descent today.
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Supporters of reparations claim that Western countries and institutions continue to benefit from slavery. They must take responsibility, especially as the legacy of racial discrimination still exists. According to research by the UN, racism, poverty, and economic underdevelopment are linked to the long-term consequences of trans-Atlantic slavery from the United States to Europe and the African continent.
"This legacy still lives on. Black people live in poor and polluted areas. Their eating patterns are also poor, not to mention their education. This is because of the structural racism that has been ingrained," said Clive Lewis, a member of the Labour Party in Grenada and also a descendant of slaves in the State of Grenada, the Caribbean.
It's hard to find witnesses
The international tribunal that has been fought for since last year is shaped like other ad-hoc tribunals, namely the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals after World War II. The tribunal was officially recommended in June 2023 by the UN Permanent Forum for People of African Descent.
Also read: British Kingdom Urged to Atone for "Sins of the Past"
This specialized UN court will help establish legal norms for complex international claims and history. Those who oppose reparations argue that current countries and institutions should not be held responsible for past slavery.
After the Nuremberg trials in the 1940s, the UN inaugurated a special court structure, namely a criminal court established on an ad-hoc basis to investigate serious international crimes, such as crimes against humanity.
The issue of air pollution is not new. The community has long been threatened by it and there is no lack of research evidence indicating the threat of its impacts. However, such facts have not been able to encourage significant efforts in controlling air pollution. As a result, residents are increasingly suffering from the onslaught of air pollution. The UN has established two things: one is to try those responsible for the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 and the other is to try war crimes committed in former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. The Rwanda and Yugoslavia tribunals were established by the UN Security Council, while the International Criminal Court, another UN international court, was established through a General Assembly resolution that allows for the formation of reparations courts for slavery.
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Secretary-General of the African Judges and Lawyers Forum, Martin Okumu-Masiga, acknowledges that this international court will not be easy. The challenge is not only about getting cooperation from countries involved in the slave trade, such as Portugal, England, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Denmark. The complexity of the law in identifying responsible parties and determining a solution is also a hurdle.
“This happened many years ago. "Historical records and evidence are also difficult to access or even verify," said Okumu-Masiga.
In contrast to the Nuremberg trials, no one directly involved in trans-Atlantic slavery is still alive.
Okumu-Masiga stated that countries affected, descendants of enslaved people, and indigenous communities could potentially be plaintiffs. Meanwhile, the defendants could include countries and institutions with a historical relationship with slavery or even the descendants of slaves. (REUTERS)