Portugal’s President Announces Proposal for Compensation for Colonial Crimes and Murders

At a dinner with foreign correspondents in Portugal, the President of the Republic of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, announced that Portugal “takes full responsibility” for mistakes made in the past, a proposal to pay compensation for these crimes, including colonial murders.

“We have to pay the costs. , “It’s not just about apologizing for what we’ve done, because sometimes apologizing is the easiest thing to do, you’re sorry, you turn your back, and the job is done. No, it’s about taking responsibility for what we did, good or bad, in the past,” said the Portuguese leader.

This statement from the president of Portugal comes after the head of human rights of the United Nations joined the voice of African and Caribbean countries, to invite countries that participated in the transatlantic slave trade , and settlement, respond to requests for compensation.

Between the middle of the 15th century and the end of the 19th century, it is estimated that more than 12 and a half million enslaved people were sent out of Africa to the Americas and the Atlantic islands. Over a million and a half people died during the cross.