In the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth’s birth anniversary sparks protest and apathy – Vigor Times – The Henry Club

LONDON (AP) – After seven decades on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II is widely seen in Britain as a rock in turbulent times. But in Britain’s former colonies, many see it as an anchor of a royal past whose loss still remains.

So as Britain celebrates the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – 70 years on the throne – together pageants and partiesSome in the Commonwealth are using this occasion to push for a formal break with the monarchy and the colonial history it represents.

“When I think of the Queen, I think of a lovely old lady,” said Rosalia Hamilton, a Jamaican academic who campaigns for her country to become a republic. “It’s not about him. It’s about his family’s wealth, which is built on the backs of our ancestors. We are grappling with the legacy of a past that has been very painful.”

The kingdom in which Elizabeth was born is long overdue, but she still rules far beyond the shores of Britain. He is the head of state in 14 other countries including Canada, Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Bahamas. Until recently it was 15 – Barbados broke ties with the monarchy in November, and several other Caribbean countries, including Jamaica, say they plan to follow suit.

Britain’s Jubilee CelebrationsThe event, which climaxes over a four-day holiday weekend starting Thursday, aims to recognize the diversity of the UK and Commonwealth. One big Jubilee Competition Caribbean Carnival artists and Bollywood dancers will join forces through Central London on Sunday.

But Britain’s image as a welcoming and diverse society has been dented by the revelation that hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of people in the Caribbean who had been living in Britain legally for decades were denied housing, jobs or medical treatment. were denied – and in some deported cases – because they did not have the paperwork to prove their status.

The British government has apologized and agreed to pay compensation, but windrush scandal Deep anger has arisen in both Britain and the Caribbean.

A Jubilee-Year Trip to Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas A march by the Queen’s grandson Prince William and his wife Kate, aimed at cementing ties, had the opposite effect. Images of the couple shaking hands with children through a chain-link fence and riding in an open-top Land Rover in a military parade stirred up echoes of colonialism for many.

Cynthia Barrow-Giles, professor of political science at the University of the West Indies, said the British “seem to be very blind to the kind of visceral reactions” that royal visits to the Caribbean receive.

protesters in jamaica demanded payment from Britain for slavery, and Prime Minister Andrew Holness politely told William that the country was “moving forward”, a sign that it plans to become a republic. The following month, Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne told the Queen’s son, Prince Edward, that his country would also one day remove the Queen as head of state.

William acknowledged the power of feeling and said that the future was “for the people to decide.”

“We proudly support and respect your decisions about your future,” he said in the Bahamas. “Relationships develop. Friendships last.”

When Princess Elizabeth became queen upon the death of her father, King George VI in 1952, she was in Kenya. The East African country became independent in 1963 after a liberation movement and years of violent conflict between colonial troops. In 2013, the British government apologized for the torture of thousands of Kenyans during the “Mau Mau” uprising of 1950 and paid millions in an out-of-court settlement.

The memories of the empire are still raw for many Kenyans.

Kenyan cartoonist, author and commentator Patrick Gathara said, “From the beginning, his rule would have been indelibly stained by the brutality of the empire he presided over and that accompanied its demise.”

“To this day, she has never publicly acknowledged, let alone apologized, for the torture, torture, dehumanization and eviction of people in the colony of Kenya before and after her accession to the throne.”

UK officials hope that the countries that become republics will remain in the Commonwealth, the 54-nation organization largely made up of former British colonies, with the Queen as its ceremonial head.

The Queen’s strong personal commitment to the Commonwealth has played a big role in uniting a diverse group, whose members range from vast India to tiny Tuvalu. But the organisation, which aims to support democracy, good governance and human rights, faces an uncertain future.

As Commonwealth heads of government prepare to meet in Kigali, Rwanda, this month for a summit delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, some question whether the organization will continue after the Queen’s eldest son, Prince Charles, succeeds could.

Royal historian Ed Owens said, “Many of the more uneasy histories of the British Empire and the British Commonwealth are waiting in the wings as soon as Elizabeth II is gone.” “So this is a difficult legacy that she is passing on to the next generation.”

The crisis in the Commonwealth reflects Britain’s declining global clout.

Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth under its authoritarian late President Robert Mugabe, and is currently seeking re-entry. But many in the capital of Harare have expressed indifference to the Queen’s birth anniversary, as Britain’s once strong influence has waned and countries such as China and Russia share close ties with the former British colony.

“She is becoming irrelevant here,” said social activist Peter Nyapedwa. “We know about (Chinese President) Xi (Jinping) or (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, not the Queen.”

Sue Onslow, director of the Institute for Commonwealth Studies at the University of London, said the Queen has been the “invisible glue” holding the Commonwealth together.

But she says the organization has proven remarkably resilient and should not be written off. The Commonwealth played a major role in opposition to apartheid in the 1980s, and could do the same on climate change, which has threatened the existence of its low-lying island members.

“The Commonwealth has shown a remarkable ability to rediscover itself and find solutions in times of crisis, almost as if it is jumping into a telephone box and coming out under different guise,” she said. “Whether it will do now is an open question.”

Kara Anna in Nairobi, Kenya, Alex Turnbull in Paris and Andrew Meldrum in Johannesburg contributed to this report.