Barbados has announced its intention to remove Queen Elizabeth as its head of state and become a republic. "The time has come t...
Barbados has announced its intention to remove Queen
Elizabeth as its head of state and become a republic.
"The time has come to fully leave our colonial past
behind," the Caribbean island nation's government said.
It aims to complete the process in time for the 55th
anniversary of independence from Britain, in November 2021.
A speech written by Prime Minister Mia Mottley said
Barbadians wanted a Barbadian head of state.
"This is the ultimate statement of confidence in who we
are and what we are capable of achieving," the speech read.
Buckingham Palace said that it was a matter for the
government and people of Barbados.
A source at Buckingham Palace said that the idea "was
not out of the blue" and "has been mooted and publicly talked about
many times", BBC royal correspondent Jonny Dymond said.
Barbados key facts:
Ø
One of the more populous and prosperous
Caribbean islands
Ø
Gained its independence from Britain in 1966
Ø
Queen Elizabeth remains its constitutional
monarch
Ø
Once heavily dependent on the sugar exports, its
economy has diversified into tourism and finance
Ø
Its prime minister is Mia Mottley, elected in
2018 and the first woman to hold the post
The statement was part of the Throne Speech, which outlines
the government's policies and programmes ahead of the new session of
parliament.
While it is read out by the governor-general, it is written
by the country's prime minister.
The speech also quoted a warning from Errol Barrow,
Barbados's first prime minister after it gained independence, who said that the
country should not "loiter on colonial premises".
Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley gives an address on
December 9, 2019, during an ACP summit in Nairobi
His is not the only voice in Barbados that has been
suggesting a move away from the monarchy. A constitutional review commission
recommended republican status for Barbados in 1998.
And Ms Mottley's predecessor in officer, Freundel Stuart,
also argued for a "move from a monarchical system to a republican form of
government in the very near future".
Barbados would not be the first former British colony in the
Caribbean to become a republic. Guyana took that step in 1970, less than four
years after gaining independence from Britain. Trinidad and Tobago followed
suit in 1976 and Dominica in 1978.
All three stayed within the Commonwealth, a loose
association of former British colonies and current dependencies, along with
some countries that have no historical ties to Britain.
Analysis box by James
Landale, Diplomaitc correspondent
It is actually quite unusual for a country to remove the
Queen as its head of state. The last to do so was Mauritius in 1992. Other
Caribbean countries like Dominica, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago became
republics in the 1970s.
Many of the 15 countries that are currently part of the
Queen's realm seem to value the relationship it provides with her and the
United Kingdom.
Of course, some have talked for years of slipping the royal
anchor and establishing their own heads of state. But other political
objectives often get in the way.
Certainly this is not the first time that politicians in
Barbados have declared their intention to become a republic.
The question is whether this decision will be matched by
others. Jamaica has in the past suggested that this is a route it might follow.
What is significant is that the prime minister of Barbados
cast the decision as "leaving our colonial past behind".
In the context of the Black Lives Matter movement, it will
be interesting to see if this sparks wider political pressure on other
Caribbean governments to go the same way.
And if this happens, and the removal of the Queen as head of
state is placed on a par with, say, the removal of a statue of a slave trader,
then that could pose difficult questions for both the British royal family and
the Commonwealth.
No comments