President Ali spoke and stood like a leader on reparations — GHK Lall — Opinion

President Ali spoke and stood like a leader on reparations

October 22, 2026·3 min read

Dear Editor,

Was that Guyana’s President Ali speaking about a royal apology in the context of slavery^[1]? It sure was, my fellow Guyanese. He speaks my language; made me look at him differently. He keeps this up and soon, I could even be proud. What a president! Guyana’s president! My president rising. Manifesting some energy. Delivering in clear, straight terms.

A royal apology is necessary. For a moment, politeness commanded the better instincts of Guyana’s president. Necessary, not mandatory. There is hope for him; am willing to vest it with more proof. According to Dr. Ali, that acknowledgement of the horrors and inhumanities, the sheer scale of the indecency and crimes against men and women, a race, is a good start. But it’s not enough. No hedging. No sidestepping. No retreating. His Excellency was in top form, may have had a spoonful of cayenne peppers for breakfast to spice him up. Give a listening ear, please.

“You, who benefited tremendously from the darkest days of human history, benefited materially and financially, are now telling me that you don’t have enough financing to match your needs…”^[2] Is that the same Ali, Dr. Sanctity of Contract Ali, who quails from confronting the financially bloated masters of Exxon? He continues like that with other matters vital to Guyana, and I could vote for him for a life term. No PPP-PNC shenanigans needed. He continues like this, and I think that the British High Commissioner would request an audience. Or lodge a public protest. For what, though, that’s my question. President Ali said it all, and said it well.

“You exploited the region. You destroyed lives. You created underdevelopment. So imagine what the region faces, the damage that slavery would have created for generations.”^[2] My fellow Guyanese: Dis banna Ali baad fuh daze. Never one given to understatement, it was President Ali at his excellent best (ah, I double down). A president that’s plainspoken, fearless, in-the-face of dehumanizers and disfigurers of history, a region, a people, that’s a national leader I can applaud, even embrace. I say this amid awareness that Great Britain is a has-been, but still wannabee world power. Great Britain bankrupted Africa, now claims the poor line (bankruptcy) for itself. From bankruptcy of humanity, morality, decency, to bankruptcy in money. Get the hell out of here with that balderdash. I say it again: no royal apology. No Bonnie Prince Charlie allowed to come here.

As President Ali insisted, “Something is seriously wrong with them. Something is seriously wrong with that mentality.” It is escapist, it is a con artist putting on a show, those Britishers, whether in the House of Commons, or plain commoners. Look at how much they all benefited for centuries, with monuments to prove. Make Westminster Abbey a museum with a fee demanded at the gates. Put up Buckingham Palace and Balmoral for rent. Some Gulf State titans would be glad to pay. If Russian oligarchs and Middle Eastern oil magnates could be allowed to buy Manchester City FC and Chelsea, among other English icons, why not make the ones I identified into moneymakers?

Make a start. Setup a fund. Show genuine contrition. Begone with all the sparring and endlessly insulting bulls—–ng. When the money from slavery was rolling in, laughter prevailed. Bow find the money. Stop with the crying and handwringing. Reparations shouldn’t even be a conversation. It should be the conclusion of heartfelt anguish and shame over crimes committed for centuries. The descendants who are the rich beneficiaries have that duty to pay. C’mon, be done with standing on ceremony. Just show the damn money. For once, President Ali spoke and stood like a leader. Yes, I know that he has nothing to lose. But he did and that’s what matters. Now, only if he could manifest that same vocal muscle, that same determined mien, with oil and Exxon, he makes me a believer. There’s a real leader.

Sincerely,
GHK Lall

References

Guyana demands a royal apology and reparations ahead of the King’s visit | ITV News — www.itv.com ↩
Ali says royal apology for slavery must follow acknowledgement —Guyanese campaigners tell ITV regret is insufficient - Kiskadee Watch — kiskadeewatch.com ↩

Guyana demands a royal apology and reparations ahead of the King’s visit | ITV News

www.itv.com · 2026-10-19

Guyana demands a royal apology and reparations ahead of the King’s visit | ITV News # Guyana demands a royal apology and reparations ahead of the King’s visit * Royal * World * Guyana * Monday 19 October 2026 at 6:26pm Robert Moore ITV News Correspondent **ITV News Correspondent Robert Moore hears from Guyana's president, who says an apology from the King over the UK's shameful role in the slave trade would be a crucial step in righting wrongs of the past ** **Additional reporting by Washington Producer Joshua Brooks** King Charles will begin his controversial Caribbean tour next week. His second stop will be in Guyana, the only former British colony on the South American mainland. The Palace is well aware of the acute sensitivity of the visit to Guyana. It flows from Britain’s - and the Royal Family’s - links to the transatlantic slave trade. And here’s the problem for the King as British diplomats and Palace courtiers make the final preparations. Everyone we spoke to in Guyana - from the president to the humblest former plantation worker - shared a common view: Britain owes the country a formal apology for historic injustices. Yet, as Chris Ship, ITV’s Royal Correspondent has reported, the King’s advisers have made clear that no such apology will be made. The trauma of the slave trade lives on, passed down through generations in oral history They believe it would set a dangerous legal precedent for the UK and would turbo-charge the case for reparations. And if Britain apologises to Guyana, scores of other former colonies would demand the same. Afterall, Britain has colonised or fought wars in nearly 90% of the world’s nations. And so the King - following government legal advice - will acknowledge historic wrongs but do no more. That won’t cut it. Tens of thousands of slaves were brought to Guyana by Dutch and British plantation owners to live, work, and die in the sugar fields. President of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, spoke to ITV News Credit: ITV News The trauma lives on to this day, passed down the generations in oral history from parents to children. We saw it for ourselves while filming at a pro-reparations rally alongside the beach where the slave ships arrived two hundred years ago. There is a terrible pain. An unfathomable anguish. And a quiet anger at Britain’s refusal to accept responsibility. There is very little personal hostility towards the King. Many recognise that his role as an environmental campaigner - especially his advocacy for preserving the tropical rain forest and protecting indigenous people - is valuable to Guyana. ## Why Jamaica is asking the King for slavery reparations - and what happens next The president of Guyana, Mohammed Ifraan Ali, put it simply to ITV News. The King’s past expressions of regret about the “darkest days” of the British Empire are welcome. But there are two steps that should now follow. Firstly, the formal apology. Secondly, reparatory justice. What form reparations should take is a matter of discussion. But most feel that at the very least Britain should help fund educational and health projects across the Caribbean to amend for the horrors of its colonial past. The King’s diplomatic skills will be tested next week. And there are three words Guyanans want to hear above all others: Britain is sorry.

Source

President Ali spoke and stood like a leader on reparations in Kiskadee Watch, October 22, 2026

Ali says royal apology for slavery must follow acknowledgement —Guyanese campaigners tell ITV regret is insufficient - Kiskadee Watch

kiskadeewatch.com · 2026-10-21

President Irfaan Ali has said an apology is the next step after King Charles III’s acknowledgement of the horrors of slavery, as Guyanese interviewed by Britain’s ITV News called for the monarch to confront the lasting consequences of Britain’s colonial rule. Speaking with correspondent Robert Moore ahead of the King’s visit to Guyana, Ali rejected arguments that Britain’s financial difficulties should prevent it from addressing the damage inflicted on the Caribbean. “I think he has rightfully recognized slavery as the darkest days in human history, and that recognition is the first step. Now, moving to the apology is the next step,” the President said. The report featured reparations advocate Eric Phillips, Joan Cambridge, elderly former sugar worker Rudolph Edwards and other Guyanese discussing the legacy of enslavement and their expectations of the royal visit. Campaigners called for an unequivocal apology, arguing that expressions of sorrow and regret did not amount to accepting responsibility. ITV reported that Charles would not apologise during the visit. ... Asked what form reparations should take, Ali questioned whether the suffering and enduring consequences of slavery could adequately be assigned a monetary value. “Some would say it is through a valuation system, but in my humble opinion you cannot evaluate the type of injustice that took place,” he said. He also challenged the argument that Britain could not afford reparations because of competing demands on its public finances. “You, who benefited tremendously from the darkest days of human history, benefited materially and financially, are now telling me that you don’t have enough financing to match your needs,” Ali said. “You exploited the region. You destroyed lives. You created underdevelopment. So imagine what the region faces, the damage that slavery would have created for generations.” ... Phillips said he looked forward to an apology from Charles and argued that an informed British public would be willing to support efforts to address the past. “I believe that there is decency in the British public, that if they know the truth, not the propaganda, not the misinformation, if they know the truth, they’ll be willing to find a solution,” he said. ... He stressed that reparations were not simply a demand for Britain to make a payment and end its relationship with the region. “We’re not saying Britain give us money and go away. We have British heritage because of the long years Britain was here. Let us find solutions.” ... The report presented investment in Caribbean education and healthcare as possible forms of reparative action. ... The President has previously argued that an apology must open the way to reparative justice. Stabroek News reported in August 2023 that he described an apology from descendants of British slave owner John Gladstone as a first step towards comprehensive reparations, stressing that slavery’s legacy extended beyond historical memory. ... The Gladstone descendants delivered their apology at the University of Guyana during a visit coinciding with the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Demerara rebellion. Stabroek News reported that John Gladstone was among the largest beneficiaries of Britain’s compensation scheme for slave owners following abolition. ... The wider CARICOM reparations campaign includes demands for a full and formal apology, education programmes, debt cancellation and monetary compensation. A Caribbean delegation visiting Britain in November 2025 pressed for meaningful engagement on the lasting economic and social consequences of slavery and colonialism.

Ali says royal apology for slavery must follow acknowledgement —Guyanese campaigners tell ITV regret is insufficient - Kiskadee Watch

kiskadeewatch.com · 2026-10-21

# Ali says royal apology for slavery must follow acknowledgement —Guyanese campaigners tell ITV regret is insufficient By Staff Editor Wed, October 21 2026, 2:04 AM GMT-4 Former cane cutter Joshua Edwards speaking during the ITV News programme President Irfaan Ali has said an apology is the next step after King Charles III’s acknowledgement of the horrors of slavery, as Guyanese interviewed by Britain’s ITV News called for the monarch to confront the lasting consequences of Britain’s colonial rule. Speaking with correspondent Robert Moore ahead of the King’s visit to Guyana, Ali rejected arguments that Britain’s financial difficulties should prevent it from addressing the damage inflicted on the Caribbean. “I think he has rightfully recognized slavery as the darkest days in human history, and that recognition is the first step. Now, moving to the apology is the next step,” the President said. The report featured reparations advocate Eric Phillips, Joan Cambridge, elderly former sugar worker Rudolph Edwards and other Guyanese discussing the legacy of enslavement and their expectations of the royal visit. Campaigners called for an unequivocal apology, arguing that expressions of sorrow and regret did not amount to accepting responsibility. ITV reported that Charles would not apologise during the visit. Asked what form reparations should take, Ali questioned whether the suffering and enduring consequences of slavery could adequately be assigned a monetary value. “Some would say it is through a valuation system, but in my humble opinion you cannot evaluate the type of injustice that took place,” he said. He also challenged the argument that Britain could not afford reparations because of competing demands on its public finances. “You, who benefited tremendously from the darkest days of human history, benefited materially and financially, are now telling me that you don’t have enough financing to match your needs,” Ali said. “You exploited the region. You destroyed lives. You created underdevelopment. So imagine what the region faces, the damage that slavery would have created for generations.” ... Phillips said he looked forward to an apology from Charles and argued that an informed British public would be willing to support efforts to address the past. “I believe that there is decency in the British public, that if they know the truth, not the propaganda, not the misinformation, if they know the truth, they’ll be willing to find a solution,” he said. ... He stressed that reparations were not simply a demand for Britain to make a payment and end its relationship with the region. “We’re not saying Britain give us money and go away. We have British heritage because of the long years Britain was here. Let us find solutions.” ... The report presented investment in Caribbean education and healthcare as possible forms of reparative action. Cambridge, who recalled being among the crowds during Queen Elizabeth II’s visit shortly before independence in 1966, said Charles should offer more than an apology. She linked the circumstances of African Guyanese today to the consequences of enslavement and called on the monarch to demonstrate leadership. ... The report also showed commemorative prayers and rituals by the Atlantic Ocean at the seawall, with participants reflecting on the Africans forcibly brought across the Atlantic and the efforts to preserve identities that enslavement sought to erase. One participant spoke of the trauma carried across generations, while others insisted that the legacy remained part of their daily lives. ... Moore also interviewed 94-year-old Rudolph Edwards, who recalled working long hours cutting cane, sometimes through the night, on sugar plantations under British rule. Asked whether he had cut cane both day and night, Edwards confirmed that he had. He said his grandparents had been enslaved, but expressed no hostility towards the British or the King. ... Ali was particularly critical of British political arguments that the country should feel no guilt over its colonial past ... President Irfaan Ali during his interview with ITV News. “Something is seriously wrong with them. Something is seriously wrong with that mentality,” he said, pointing to the deaths of Africans aboard slave ships and the brutality inflicted on those forced to work on plantations. ... The President has previously argued that an apology must open the way to reparative justice. Stabroek News reported in August 2023 that he described an apology from descendants of British slave owner John Gladstone as a first step towards comprehensive reparations, stressing that slavery’s legacy extended beyond historical memory. ... The wider CARICOM reparations campaign includes demands for a full and formal apology, education programmes, debt cancellation and monetary compensation. A Caribbean delegation visiting Britain in November 2025 pressed for meaningful engagement on the lasting economic and social consequences of slavery and colonialism.