A T Freeman

From 21-26 October, the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) took place in Apia, the capital of the Pacific island of Samoa. The meeting was overshadowed by a storm around the demand that Britain face up to its criminal responsibility for the gross violation of the human rights of millions of people that it conquered and enslaved within its empire. In particular, the point was raised that Britain must make reparations for the ongoing human and social damage caused by its role as the chief human trafficker in enslaved Africans and one of the greatest perpetrators of this crime against humanity. In many ways, this row underlines the fact that the Commonwealth is nothing more than a colonial relic of Britain's imperial days, underpinned by the same racist ideology and that it is time for it to be disbanded.

The Commonwealth currently has 56 member countries, 21 of which are located in Africa and 12 of which are CARICOM members. There are another 17 former British colonies from Asia and the Pacific which bring the total number of non-European countries in the Commonwealth to 50, or nearly 90% of the organisation's membership. However, this numerical preponderance does not translate into power within the organisation. This rests firmly with Britain and the European settler colonies it established such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The small European countries of Malta and Cyprus are the other two member states.

This racist distribution of power within the organisation originated in the development of Britain's empire. By the late 19th century, Britain had already established a racist distinction between its colonies. Those which were European settler colonies were classified as dominions and allowed a large amount of self-governance while colonies without significant European settlement were denied any such control over their own affairs. In 1926 at the Imperial Conference - attended by the leaders of Britain and its dominions, including Australia, Canada, India, the Irish Free State, Newfoundland, New Zealand and South Africa - the decision was taken to establish the British Commonwealth of Nations, which is now referred to as the Commonwealth. As part of the agreement, they all pledged allegiance to the British monarch. India was represented by Frederick Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead who was Britain's colonial Secretary of State for India and his under-secretary Edward Turnour, the 6t h Earl of Winterton. There were no Indians present. South Africa was represented by Barry Herzog, a Boer general and then prime minister of the Union of South Africa. He was accompanied by his finance minister Nicolaas Havenga. There were no Africans present.

In many ways, today's Commonwealth is simply a continuation of Britain's empire but one in which Britain exercises its control through neo-colonial means rather than through direct colonial rule. Just like its predecessor, today's Commonwealth is an important source of wealth and global power for Britain's ruling oligarchy and its politicians. The population of the Commonwealth amounts to 2.7 billion people which is an enormous market for Britain's capitalist corporations. According to the House of Commons Library, in 2023 Britain's exports to the Commonwealth were worth £89 billion and it maintained a trade surplus of £14 billion with these countries. Trade with Commonwealth states accounts for 9% of Britain's total trade. With regard to foreign direct investment, the Commonwealth is a lucrative market for Britain's monopolies which invested an average of £20 billion in Commonwealth countries in 2021 and 2022. Clearly, the Commonwealth continues to serve the interests of Britain's ruling oligarchy. To ensure that this is done efficiently, the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC) has been established.

King Charles in his opening speech of over 1,500 words, not once did he mention the word slavery

This is the context in which the row about reparations erupted at the CHOGM. The demand that Britain take responsibility for its past colonial crimes and make reparations to those who continue to suffer the consequences of its wrongdoings is a longstanding one. Therefore, in the days leading up to the heads of government meeting, British prime minister Keir Starmer declared that the issue of reparations was not on the agenda for the meeting, that Britain would not apologise for its role as the main human trafficker in enslaved Africans and that with regard to reparations, "The government's position on this has not changed - we do not pay reparations." Keir Starmer's Labour government's arrogant refusal to acknowledge Britain's responsibility for its colonial crimes reflects the consistent position of successive British governments, whether Conservative or Labour.

To add insult to injury, Britain's King Charles then attempted to gaslight people in his address to CHOGM. In his speech of over 1,500 words, not once did he mention the word slavery, nor acknowledge the criminal role that Britain had played in it. Repeatedly referring to the member countries of the organisation as "our Commonwealth family", he declared, "I understand, from listening to people across the Commonwealth, how the most painful aspects of our past continue to resonate......None of us can change the past." Through this sleight of hand, Britain's king is trying to create the impression that the perpetrator and his victim have a shared past in which each is responsible for the crime. But the criminal alone is responsible for the crime. and the pain is inflicted on those who suffered at the hands of the criminal.

The fact that the British state, of which he is the head, refuses point blank to acknowledge its crime, let alone apologise or make reparations for it, shows clearly that Britain's rulers couldn't care less about the past and current pain that its colonial crimes have caused. If this is the behaviour within a family, then it is an abusive family. Further, the king raises the old worn-out argument about changing the past as if anyone thinks it's possible to change the past. The demand is that the crimes committed in the past and their consequences both in the past and present be openly acknowledged and addressed.

The British state's gaslighting and arrogant refusal to acknowledge its colonial crimes contrasts sharply with its attitude towards the crimes of the Nazis in Europe. It routinely acknowledges this holocaust while denying its own holocausts of indigenous genocide, human trafficking and enslavement. It has declared its intention to build a memorial to the victims of the Nazi holocaust, while telling the victims of its own holocausts to get over it. Not surprisingly, the final communique of the CHOGM did not contain a single word of condemnation of Britain's colonial crimes nor a call for it to make reparations. It did, however, contain a statement in support of the US-organised invasion of Haiti. It is evident that the British Commonwealth of Nations continues to be a reactionary organisation which serves the imperial interests of Britain's financial oligarchy.

The position expressed by Britain's king and government shows that they remain committed to its imperial ideology of racism. Rather than addressing this central issue Britain has, instead, opted to develop an entire industry based on fake anti-racism. This involves co-opting into the system individuals from communities which are the targets of colonialism and racism so as to give Britain's state racism a multi-cultural face. This was fully demonstrated by the fact that David Lammy, the current British Foreign Secretary, himself a descendant of enslaved Africans, accompanied Keir Starmer and the king to the CHOGM to defend Britain's disgraceful colonial crimes.

In 2024, when people are striving to bring about a world of justice and equality for all, an organisation like the Commonwealth, in which the most abhorrent crimes against humanity cannot even be acknowledged, is an organisation which is past its sell-by date. It's time for it to be disbanded.

(Caribbean Organisation for People's Empowerment)

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