Apologise, give back our ‘stolen’ treasures: 12 countries write to King Charles

King Charles Coronation: World leaders and royal family members are set to gather at Westminster Abbey to watch Charles and Camilla be crowned.

Campaigners in 12 countries said that King Charles III should use his coronation to give “a formal apology for the horrific impacts of slavery and colonialism and commence a process of reparatory justice” as world leaders and royal family members are set to gather at Westminster Abbey to watch Charles and Camilla be crowned.

King Charles III is seen.

First Nations, Indigenous peoples and advocacy groups in 12 countries where Charles is king released a joint statement which read, “We, the undersigned, call on the British Monarch, King Charles III, on the date of his coronation being May 6, 2023, to acknowledge the horrific impacts on and legacy of genocide and colonisation of the indigenous and enslaved peoples of Antigua and Barbuda, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Australia, The Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.”

“Our collective Indigenous Rights Organisations among other organisations who are working to help our communities recover from centuries of racism, oppression, colonialism and slavery, now rightly recognized by the United Nations as 'Crimes Against Humanity,' also call for a formal apology and for a process of reparatory justice to commence,” it added.

The campaigners also want the “return of all our cultural treasures and artefacts stolen from our peoples throughout the hundreds of years of genocide, enslavement, discrimination, massacre, and racial discrimination by the authorities empowered by the protection of the British crown” and "the repatriation of all remains of our collective peoples that reside in UK museums and institutions and that represent our family histories, genealogies, cultural history and spiritual ancestry.”