CULTURE Minister Olivia “Babsy” Grange says that the National Council on Reparations (NCR) is finalising a petition to King Charles III to seek the counsel of the United Kingdom Privy Council, in declaring that Jamaican descendants of enslaved ancestors deserve remedy through various forms of reparation.

Speaking in the sectoral debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, she noted that that the NCR, which operates out of her ministry, is in the process of finalising a petition, in accordance with Section 4 of the Privy Council Act, for King Charles to seek the counsel of the Privy Council in declaring that, “the people of Jamaica, descendants of enslaved ancestors, deserve that their plight be remedied through various forms of reparations”.

“We are working closely with the Office of the Attorney General to finalise this activity. It is about righting the wrongs, about setting things right for our people to advance and prosper,” Grange, who is also minister of culture, entertainment and sports, stoutly defended.

Her statement responded to issues raised at the recent launch of a report entitled ‘Reparations for Transatlantic Chattel Slavery in the Americas’, compiled by a team university professors led by international court judge, Jamaican Patrick Robinson, a member of the International Court of Justice for the term commencing February 2015 and former president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Despite Robinson’s affirmative posture, questions were raised at the end of the presentations about the accuracy of the judgement which suggested that there were approximately US$108 trillion owed to the victims of the slave trade, and whether the United Kingdom’s 1833 Slavery Abolition Act (1833), that abolished slavery in most British colonies freeing more than 800,000 enslaved Africans in the Caribbean and South Africa, could survive the UK Privy Council.

The 1833 Act suggested that Jamaica, for example, may not be entitled to any such reparation, if the country releases its UK monarchical relationships to become a republic, or remain acceptable to the British monarchy and the Privy Council (PC).

Former Prime Minister PJ Patterson, who was among the main speakers at the launch, noted that the Privy Council has already issued new directions, reducing the scope of constitutional rights for persons who believe they have a right to seek to appeal Supreme Court decisions at home.

However, Grange noted that her ministry has been heartened, instead, by the gestures being made by an increasing number of people and institutions in the United Kingdom, “who are declaring a desire to provide reparations for their ancestors’ role in African trafficking and enslavement”.

“We call on the Government of the United Kingdom to do the same,” she said, noting that “only recently” her team has met with officials from the United Kingdom Guardian newspaper.

“They have discovered that one of their founders enslaved Africans on his Success Estate in Hanover, and we want to work with them to determine a modality for them to provide reparations for the actions of their founder,” she said.

“Additionally, we are in dialogue with the Repair Campaign being promoted by Dennis O’Brien [the Digicel founder] and his team. The National Commission on Reparations continues to meet with them, as we ensure that our efforts are complementary and not duplicated,” she said.

“Of significance, too, is that the Church has become involved in the national and regional reparations discussions. We must never forget that religion and the Bible were also used by enslavers… Only recently the churches in Jamaica launched their Churches’ Reparations Action Forum.

“It is essential that we promote and create rituals that tell the authentic Jamaican story. Memorialising of important events will help to shape a nation of people who knew who they are, are proud of what our people have achieved, and are inspired to do their part in the continuous process of building a better and stronger Jamaica,” she concluded.