Mnangagwa said Britain should not remain indifferent to Zimbabwe’s pleas for compensation…reports Asian Lite News
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa reiterated his call for former colonial power Britain to apologise and compensate for injustices suffered by indigenous Zimbabweans during the 1890-1980 colonial period.
Speaking on Monday at the burial of a senior member of Zimbabwe’s ruling party ZANU PF at the National Heroes Acre in Harare, the country’s capital, Mnangagwa said Britain should not remain indifferent to Zimbabwe’s pleas for compensation.”We demand an apology and reparations from the British government. We call upon the British government, whose predecessor governments were responsible for pillaging and brutalizing us, to take responsibility and not remain indifferent to the cries of Zimbabweans for justice,” he said.
Mnangagwa made the same call to Britain last Friday while announcing an initiative to study the impacts of Britain’s colonialism on indigenous Zimbabweans and launch legal proceedings against Britain for compensation and apology.
On Monday, Mnangagwa hailed the Zimbabwe National Elders Forum for the initiative. “I applaud our elders for this great initiative that will document the suppressed and untold story of the injustices, trauma, and loss of lives as well as livelihoods suffered at the hands of the British government,” he said.
“We remind the British Government and people that the spirits of our heroes will not rest until their remains are repatriated and interred in a dignified manner.
“Going forward, we urge the British Government to return the remains of our people to Zimbabwe,” he said. This follows his recent call for colonial reparations and an apology from Britain.
Added Mnangagwa, “Last week, I was privileged to launch a study initiated by the Zimbabwe National Elders Forum titled: ‘Land Displacements: The Untold Stories of Crimes, Injustices, Trauma, and Losses Experienced by Indigenous Zimbabweans During the Colonial Era (1890 to 1980), A Case for Reparations.’
“We demand an apology and reparations from the British Government.” Meanwhile, Mnangagwa assured the government’s commitment to compensate former white farmers whose land was taken during the land reform program, while telling the British government that it must also accept responsibility and not remain indifferent to the demands of Zimbabweans for justice.
“The Second Republic is forthright in accommodating compensation for white former farmers regarding improvements they made on the land redistributed by the state.
“We call upon the British government, whose predecessor governments were responsible for pillaging and brutalizing us, to take responsibility and not remain indifferent to the cries of Zimbabweans for justice.”
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