Caribbean leaders will discuss compensation from former metropolis
From Prensa Latina 
Kingstown, Caribbean leaders will meet next month with the purpose of coordinating a strategy to demand economic and moral compensations to three former colonial powers for the slavery and the genocide of the autochthonous inhabitants.
In statements to the press, the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, said in advance that he will attend the event, next to the Presidents from Haiti, Michel Martelly; Guyana, Donald Ramotar; and Suriname, Desi Bouterse.
The Head of Government of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad – Bissessar, will also be present in the event.
They are members of the commission created during the 34th Summit of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), celebrated from July 3 to 6 in Trinidad and Tobago.
Gonsalves stated that the British firm Leigh Day & Co. will represent the CARICOM in the demand.
Recently that office won a quarrel against London that forced the British authorities to pay more than 20 million dollars of compensation for the tortures committed to the Mau Mau, the Kenyan guerillas, between 1952 and 1960.
The call to the repairs is beginning to be part of the national conscience in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines through the public debate, in the radio programs and in the newspapers, Gonsalves expressed.
For more than 30 years it has existed a movement originated in the bases of the civil society, among intellectuals and professionals that have claimed repairs for the genocide of their natives and for the slavery, he said.
Gonsalves recalled that in addition to the Mau Mau, there are other background as compensation for native Americans, Maori in New Zealand, and the Jews in Germany.
He said the money received will be delivered to the Caribbean as a whole, but that a part will be earmarked for economic, social and cultural programmes.
“From my point of view, we have a very solid case to bring before an appropriate tribunal,” he stressed.
He said that the received money won’t be given to the Caribbeans, but rather a part will be dedicated to economic, social and cultural programs.
Besides the United Kingdom, the quarrel wants to force Holland and France, two former colonial powers, to pay.
For more on this story go to:
http://www.plenglish.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1738081&Itemid=1
See also iNews Cayman story published July 28th 2013 “Caribbean nations seeking compensation for slavery” at: http://www.ieyenews.com/2013/07/caribbean-nations-seeking-compensation-for-slavery/
