Barbados Prime Minister Calls Suggestion Former Colonies Repay Britain 'Asinine'

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley described as "asinine" a suggestion by a U.K. lawmaker that Britain's former colonies should repay it for its historic investment in them. Mottley wrote on X late Thursday that she could not believe descendants of the enslaved were being asked to pay for machinery that oppressed them.

She stated the Caribbean does not owe Britain for slavery, colonial extraction, or laws that treated African people as chattel, adding that the region seeks justice rather than charity. " Braverman responded to another parliamentarian's note that Jamaica plans to lodge a formal reparations petition later this year, arguing former colonies should pay Britain back for its contributions.

Mottley's remarks came after Caribbean leaders from the Caricom trade bloc met this week in St. Lucia to address slavery reparations among other issues. Last month, Mottley led a subcommittee that launched a new slavery reparations manifesto at a conference in Ghana.

Barbados ended its status as a constitutional monarchy under Queen Elizabeth II in November 2021. Mottley secured a third consecutive term in February and has also focused on climate change issues. Britain has maintained it will not pay reparations, while Caribbean leaders have sought a formal apology and measures such as debt cancellations.

U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk has stated an estimated 25 million to 30 million Africans were uprooted for slavery, with many sent to plantations in the Caribbean and the Americas.