Portugal says no plans to pay colonial reparations – DW – 04/28/2024
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Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa had called for Lisbon to find ways to compensate its former colonies, including canceling debt. The government says it has not initiated any process to that effect.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa had called for Lisbon to find ways to compensate its former colonies, including canceling debt. The government says it has not initiated any process to that effect.

Lisbon is not planning to pay reparations for trans-Atlantic slavery and colonialism, Portugal’s government said on Saturday.

The statement comes in response to remarks by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who said Portugal could find ways to compensate its former colonies.

Portugal said in a statement that it seeks to “deepen mutual relations, respect for historical truth and increasingly intense and close cooperation, based on reconciliation of brotherly peoples.”

It stressed that it had not launched any “process or program of specific actions” for paying reparations.

  • AutoTL;DRBEnglish
    1•8 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    The statement comes in response to remarks by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who said Portugal could find ways to compensate its former colonies.

    Portugal said in a statement that it seeks to “deepen mutual relations, respect for historical truth and increasingly intense and close cooperation, based on reconciliation of brotherly peoples.”

    Portugal’s colonial era lasted more than five centuries, with the decolonization of some African countries happening as late as 1974 after the fall of the authoritarian Estado Novo regime.

    Portugal’s president called on Lisbon to initiate a reparations process in comments made to reporters on Saturday, saying that the issue could not be swept “under the carpet.”

    He suggested that Portugal could pay reparations by canceling the debt of former colonies, developing special cooperation programs or providing financing.

    The election was called after former Prime Minister Antonio Costa of the center-left Socialist Party stepped down over corruption allegations.

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