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GEORGETOWN, Guyana — GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) – King Charles III arrived Thursday in Guyana, a former British colony that was the site of one of the largest slave revolts in the Caribbean during the colonial era.
Charles landed in the South American country after an invitation from Guyanese President Irfaan Ali, who has publicly apologized while some Caribbean leaders are pressing for slavery reparations.
Charles, who is on a nine-day official visit to the Caribbean, stepped off the plane in a tan suit and greeted Ali, who was wearing an ivory Jodhpuri suit.
Guyana is a diverse country of approximately 840,000 people that recently became one of the world’s largest offshore oil producers after large oil deposits were discovered off its coast more than a decade ago.
About 36% of Guyana’s population is black and 50% are East Indians, descendants of servants from India who were brought to the South American country after the abolition of slavery.
Charles last visited Guyana in 2000 as a prince.
He plans to meet with Ali, business owners and elected leaders in American towns known as “toshaos” during his two days in Guyana.
Hilary Beckles, head of the Caribbean Compensation Commission, said at a recent press conference that the region had never been better prepared to confront Britain and the monarchy over its links to slavery.
“The region has been moved, the governments have been moved,” he said.
The commission was set up by regional governments to force Britain and other European slave-trading countries to pay reparations for their role.
In a recent interview with ITV News, Ali said that Charles “rightly identifies slavery as the darkest days in human history.”
“The next step is to move to the apology,” he said. “You exploited the area. You destroyed lives. You did not create underdevelopment.”
The British government has consistently rejected requests for an apology or compensation.
Charles was previously in the Bahamas and is expected to arrive on Friday in Antigua and Barbuda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and meet with the leaders of 56 member states. The talks are expected to focus on climate, trade and development, but some Caribbean leaders have said slavery reparations should dominate talks.
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Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
