Politics

São Tomé and Principe to demand reparations from Portugal

Published

7 months ago

May 3, 2024

The education and cultural minister of Sao Tome and Principe, an African island nation, announced on Thursday that the government would like Portugal to make up for the moral harm done by colonization.

The Sao Tome and Principe administration will draft and open a new tab for a plan to discuss compensation with Portugal, Minister Isabel Abreu said in a statement to Portugal’s Lusa news agency, adding that the process would take time.

According to Abreu, the topic will be covered at Thursday’s cabinet meeting. The request follows Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s assertion last week, when questioned by Reuters, that his nation was accountable for atrocities done during the colonial era and transatlantic slavery and that reparations were necessary.

His remarks provoked harsh criticism from right-wing parties and a national conversation. The centre-right Portuguese government, which holds administrative authority, declared that it will not start the process of making reparations payments, in contrast to Rebelo de Sousa’s remarks, which were conservative in the first place. Rather, it demanded reconciliation.

For more than 400 years, Portuguese ships abducted around 6 million Africans, forced them across the Atlantic, and sold them into slavery, mostly in Brazil.

Two weeks ago, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in an address at the closing of the four-day U.N. Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD), called on countries to take real steps toward reparations for people of African descent. He appealed while adding his voice to calls for justice for the horrible crimes committed during slavery.

During the Portuguese colonial era, Portugal ruled over nations including Angola, Mozambique, Brazil, Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe, East Timor, and certain Asian provinces.

Also reacting to Rebelo de Sousa’s comments, Mozambique’s ambassador to the United Nations welcomed the remarks and said that confronting the past was “already reparatory” but that it “would be even better if we could go beyond that”.

Cape Verde’s President Jose Maria Neves said on Monday there was a need for discussions to “reach an understanding and consensus on these matters”.

Anielle Franco, Brazil’s Minister of Racial Equality, informed news outlet G1 that her staff was speaking with the Portuguese authorities about the matter.

Among other reasons, reparations opponents contend that modern states and organizations shouldn’t be held accountable for slavery in the past. Advocates argue that states today continue to profit from the wealth created by hundreds of years of labor without compensation, and that action is necessary to redress the legacy of slavery on underprivileged populations.

Although it is still hotly debated, the idea of making additional amends or paying reparations for transatlantic slavery has been gaining traction globally. Reparations were required, according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, last month to end “generations of discrimination”.

Related Topics:Featured Reparation Sao Tome and Principe

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Politics

Ghana’s Supreme Court reinstates ruling party’s majority

Published

4 days ago

November 13, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The ruling New Patriotic Party regained its majority in the legislature ahead of the Dec. 7 election after Ghana’s Supreme Court declared on Tuesday that the speaker of parliament’s declaration of four seats as vacant was illegal.

Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the leader of the NPP caucus, petitioned the supreme court of the West African nation to reverse Speaker Alban Bagbin’s decision.

Bagbin had said that one member of the National Democratic Congress and two members of the NPP had resigned their seats when they registered to run as independents.

Another lawmaker with an NPP leaning filed as an NPP candidate to run for office.

Due to Bagbin’s decision, the NDC now holds 136 members in parliament, compared to the 135 held by the NPP, the party of outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo.

The approval of Supreme Court nominees, loans, and bill enactments, as well as the presentation of a provisional budget for the first quarter of 2025, were all delayed by the indefinite postponement of two further parliamentary sessions.

In a televised decision, Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo declared that Afenyo-Markin’s appeal was successful by a majority vote of 5:2. She noted that the court will later submit the rationale for its ruling.

According to Afenyo-Markin, the decision permitted the parliament to return to its regular activities. Among other things, it is anticipated to approve a $250 million World Bank loan intended to support the financial industry and give corporations tax breaks.

A request for comment from Bagbin’s representative was not answered.

Although some observers predict a hotly contested election, opinion surveys suggest that primary opposition leader John Dramani Mahama will likely defeat NPP contender and incumbent Vice President Muhamudu Bawumia in next month’s election.

Politics

Senegal: PM Sonko urges followers to avenge campaign violence

Published

4 days ago

November 13, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Senegal’s Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko, has advised Pastef party followers to exact retribution for claimed violence against them during the Sunday parliamentary election campaign.

Before a presidential election in March in some of the greatest disturbances in Senegal’s history, supporters of the prime minister, also president of Pastef, battled with police. Since Sonko’s ally, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, won the vote, the nation has remained peaceful. He defeated then-president Macky Sall handily.

However, reports of periodic conflicts between various party supporters have surfaced recently as the nation gets ready for a legislative contest that will finally determine how much Faye and Sonko will be able to carry out their agenda.

Sonko claimed in a social media post attacks against Pastef supporters in the capital Dakar and other towns since campaigning began.

“May each patriot they have attacked and injured, be proportionally avenged. We will exercise our legitimate right to respond,” he wrote.

The text accompanied a photo of a young man showing a gashing wound on his forearm.

The first week of campaigning saw an increase in violence reported by a local civil society group involving conflicts between supporters in central Senegal and the burning of an opposition party headquarters in Dakar.

Calling for calm, the interior ministry said on Monday it had been notified of acts of violence and sabotage against party caravans and other campaign activity.

In order to stop damage, rights defender Alioune Tine asked politicians to exhibit “moderation and wisdom” in their speech and requested the interior ministry to invite various party representatives to meet.

“The verbal escalation has reached a critical threshold, we have the impression of going to war,” Tine posted on X.

Pastef is up against former ruling parties that have united ex-presidents Sall and Abdoulaye Wade into a coalition.

Dissolving the opposition-led national assembly in September, Faye accused legislators of not participating in substantive budget and other proposal debates.