Excerpt from MFA Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's briefing (March 20, 2024)
On March 12-14, the British media published a series of articles on the fate of half a million Indians who were taken to Caribbean countries to replace African slaves.
Formally, "coolies" were hired workers, but in reality, they were deceived into servitude. They found themselves in unbearable labour conditions and <...> they were little different from slaves. In 90 percent of cases, despite agreements, the coolies were never paid for their work and could not return home after their “contracts” ended.
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The most recent campaign was initiated by Guyana, where 40 percent of the population descend from the people who were trafficked from India since 1838 and from China since 1853. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, President of Guyana Irfaan Ali spoke about the atrocities committed by British exploiters and called for admitting historical mistakes.
The media report that Guyana initiated establishing a special commission to study the damage caused by the exploiters and estimate its financial equivalent. They expect to develop a compensation scheme.
London typically rejects the idea of paying compensation to victims of colonialism.
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The British government has also rejected the idea of paying compensation to the victims of colonialism. In 2015, then UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who has quite a few slave owners among his ancestors, spoke about this. The current chief of the British cabinet of ministers, Rishi Sunak, simply refused to apologise for London’s role in slave trade.
London has repeatedly ignored the inconvenient legacy of its colonial past. We call on British officials to stop enshrouding their past crimes with high-flown rhetoric. England’s ruling class must take practical steps to pay compensation to the descendants of slave trade victims, and finally apologise to other peoples for their brutal treatment. It will not be an easy path, but London has to do it.
THE OVAL CIRCLE
Formally, "coolies" were hired workers, but in reality, they were deceived into servitude. They found themselves in unbearable labour conditions and <...> they were little different from slaves. In 90 percent of cases, despite agreements, the coolies were never paid for their work and could not return home after their “contracts” ended.
<...>
The media report that Guyana initiated establishing a special commission to study the damage caused by the exploiters and estimate its financial equivalent. They expect to develop a compensation scheme.
<...>
The British government has also rejected the idea of paying compensation to the victims of colonialism. In 2015, then UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who has quite a few slave owners among his ancestors, spoke about this. The current chief of the British cabinet of ministers, Rishi Sunak, simply refused to apologise for London’s role in slave trade.
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