Federal throne succession stirs anxiety among Caribbean members

Kigali — In 2018, federal leaders said Prince Charles of England should take over his mother, Queen Elizabeth, as head of the organization. It's settled. Some Caribbean member states in Rwanda were worried about this decision.

Clubs in 54 countries, primarily composed of former British colonies, have shown themselves as equal partnerships, stating that the British monarchs are not automatically representatives of them. So far, Button has been handed over to herself by the Queen's father, her son.

"I think it's a problem to consider," said Emon Courtney, Foreign Minister of Belize, one of the 12 Commonwealth member states of the Caribbean Sea, a postcolonial region. Said. Relations with Britain have been questioned.

Last November, Barbados abandoned the Queen as head of state, and Charles attended solemnly as the royal flag was lowered in Bridgetown. Since then, Jamaica has signaled that it may soon follow.

Both countries remain members of the Commonwealth.

A Caribbean minister who spoke to Reuters around the Kigali summit said Charles was fine as a person, but was uncomfortable with the symbol of his succession to the throne.

Courtney said it would make no more sense to move leadership from one British monarch to the next, as former French colonies Gabon and Togo were ready to join the Commonwealth.

Camillo Michael Gonsalves, Finance Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, said he was in conflict with the federal claim that it was a modern multinational institution.

"No other major diplomatic agency, and I think it's a mistake that perpetuates some of the most unfortunate history of the Commonwealth," he said.

He mentioned the British imperialist past and its role in the slave trade, a painful legacy that tends to be pushed under the carpet at the Federal Summit.

"We understand it"

"We are considered as a group with this common connection between colonialism and exploitation and understand it. It's hard to understand what you're doing, "he said.

In the 15th and 19th centuries, more than 10 million Africans were bound by the Atlantic slave trade by European countries. Those who survived the brutal voyage struggled in the Caribbean and North and South American farms.

"Thanks to the labor of our ancestors ... these (slave trade) countries have developed wealth. Saint Lucia's Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre said:

Gonzalves said the Federal Summit should tackle the issue of compensation.

"Use a federal-like entity to move the conversation forward. The Caribbean countries will certainly discuss it at a private meeting, but I think it should be part of the agenda. "

Charles' son Prince William and his wife Claims from the UK have grown in recent years, including Jamaican activists who protested in Kingston when Kate recently visited.

William later admitted that the tour was "brought into focused questions about the past and future."

"It's not in my mind that the Commonwealth chooses to lead its family in the future," William said, the only public comment by members of the royal family is federal inheritance.

"What is important to us is the possibility that the federal family must create a better future for the people who shape it." (Written by Estelle Shirbon and Ayenat Mersie, edited by Alison Williams)