Indigenous People Ask Charles III To Apologize For Colonization

Indigenous organizations and leaders from 12 Commonwealth countries raised a number of demands to King Charles III through a letter in which they demand an apology for the impact of British colonization on native peoples.

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The letter, entitled "Apologies, Reparations and Repatriation of Artifacts and Remains," is an initiative of Nova Peris, former senator and co-chair of the Australian Republican Movement.

"We call on the British monarch, King Charles III, on his coronation day, May 6, 2023, to acknowledge the horrific impact and legacy of the genocide and colonization of indigenous and enslaved peoples," Peris claims on the social network Facebook.

The petition was published on the Change portal. It urges, in addition to a formal apology from the monarch, the repatriation of the sacred objects and mortal remains of the original peoples that are preserved in British museums and institutions.

The letter is signed by representatives of Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, as well as St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which have Charles III as head of state.

They demand the return of all cultural treasures and artifacts stolen from the people during centuries of "genocide, slavery, discrimination and massacre."

Furthermore, the monarch is asked to renounce the "Doctrine of Discovery," as the Vatican had done. The disavowal of this doctrine would make it possible to initiate the process of consultation and reparation among the native peoples, the signatories considered.