Reparations not a matter addressed during visit to UK- Greenidge

Despite widespread calls for the government to seek compensation from Britain for the harm caused during colonisation, no discussion on the issue was held during the recent visit to the UK by President David Granger.

Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge on Wednesday afternoon (May 03, 2017) reported on the recent visit to the United Kingdom by a Guyanese delegation, headed by President David Granger.

He said while a number of meetings were held with the British Government, the private sector and Queen Elizabeth II, no discussions on reparations took place.

“This was not a matter we addressed during the course of our meeting,” he said.

Many Guyanese believe that Britain should pay reparations to Guyana, a former British colony and had hoped that this issue would have been raised during the recent visit where the President got a chance to meet the Queen.

Instead, Greenidge said the discussions covered other issues such as Brexit and the implication for the Caribbean, crime and security cooperation, cooperation for the development of a green state and collaboration for protecting the environment and combating climate change.

Greenidge reminded of the 2016 meeting between CARICOM Heads of State and the former Prime Minister in 2016 the issue was discussed.

“Coming out of that discussion was a commitment to devote resources to infrastructure assistance and that is what followed a discussion about reparations,” he pointed out, adding that the Region has not looked at the matter since that meeting.

The Minister said the visit took place at a critical juncture of Guyana development and equally for UK evolution.