By Catarina Demony
LONDON, April 7 (Reuters) – Nigel Farage’s Reform UK said on Tuesday it was proposing to deny visas to people from countries seeking amends for transatlantic slavery, a move swiftly condemned by the Caribbean reparations commission as a “legacy of toxic racism”.
The anti-immigration and populist party Reform UK, which has only eight national lawmakers but is topping opinion polls ahead of an election in Britain due by 2029, said it would “block visa requests from any country that demands slavery reparations,” which include Commonwealth countries of Britain’s former empire such as Ghana and Jamaica.
Zia Yusuf, Reform’s policy chief for home affairs, said reparations calls were “insulting” as they “ignore the fact that Britain made huge sacrifices to be the first major power to outlaw slavery and enforce this prohibition”.
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) group of nations, the African Union bloc and several Latin American countries have called for reparations, not only for historical injustices but for their lasting impacts, including racial disparities and economic underdevelopment.
Longstanding calls for reparations, including formal apologies, financial compensation and the return of stolen artefacts, have gained momentum in recent years, though backlash is also growing.
Several Western leaders have opposed even discussing the subject, arguing that today’s states and institutions should not be held responsible for the past. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would like to “look forward” rather than have “endless discussions about reparations on the past”.
Reacting to Reform’s proposal, Hilary Beckles, chair of the CARICOM-backed reparations commission, said the party should “rethink” its stance, calling it “tragic” that people he said were seeking justice would be punished.
“Punishing the victims again is in fact consistent with those people at the time of emancipation who did not wish… to see the African people freed,” Beckles said at a news conference.
Beckles said the “legacy of toxic racism… is still so intense that Black people are deemed undeserving” of reparations.
Reform did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Last month, the United Nations adopted a resolution proposed by Ghana declaring transatlantic slavery the “gravest crime against humanity” and calling for reparations, with former colonial powers such as Britain abstaining.
(Reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
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