{"id":573170,"date":"2023-05-05T16:09:05","date_gmt":"2023-05-05T13:09:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/kings-coronation-draws-apathy-criticism-in-former-colonies\/"},"modified":"2023-05-05T16:09:05","modified_gmt":"2023-05-05T13:09:05","slug":"kings-coronation-draws-apathy-criticism-in-former-colonies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/kings-coronation-draws-apathy-criticism-in-former-colonies\/","title":{"rendered":"#King’s coronation draws apathy, criticism in former colonies"},"content":{"rendered":"
LONDON (AP) \u2014 When King Charles III is crowned<\/a> on Saturday, soldiers carrying flags from the Bahamas, South Africa, Tuvalu and beyond will march alongside British troops in a spectacular military procession in honor of the monarch.<\/p>\n

For some, the scene will affirm the ties that bind Britain and its former colonies. But for many others in the Commonwealth, a group of nations mostly made up of places once claimed by the British Empire<\/a>, Charles\u2019 coronation is seen with apathy at best.<\/p>\n

In those countries, the first crowning of a British monarch in 70 years<\/a> is an occasion to reflect on oppression and colonialism\u2019s bloody past<\/a>. The displays of pageantry in London<\/a> will jar especially with growing calls in the Caribbean to sever all ties with the monarchy.<\/p>\n

\u201cInterest in British royalty has waned since more Jamaicans are waking to the reality that the survivors of colonialism and the holocaust of slavery are yet to receive reparatory justice,\u201d the Rev. Sean Major-Campbell, an Anglican priest in the Jamaican capital, Kingston, said.<\/p>\n

The coronation is \u201conly relevant in so far as it kicks us in the face with the reality that our head of state is simply so by virtue of biology,\u201d Major-Campbell added.<\/p>\n

As British sovereign, Charles is also head of state<\/a> of 14 other countries, though the role is largely ceremonial. These realms, which include Australia, Canada, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand, represent a minority of the Commonwealth nations: most of the 56 members are republics, even if some still sport the Union Jack on their flags.<\/p>\n

Barbados<\/a> was the most recent Commonwealth country to remove the British monarch as its head of state, replacing Charles\u2019 mother, Queen Elizabeth II, with an elected president in 2021. The decision spurred similar republican movements in neighboring Jamaica, the Bahamas and Belize.<\/p>\n

Last year, when Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness welcomed Prince William and his wife, Kate, during a royal tour of the Caribbean, he announced<\/a> that his country intends to become fully independent. It made for an awkward photo with the royal couple, who were also confronted with protests<\/a> calling for Britain to pay slavery reparations.<\/p>\n

William, the heir to the throne, observed later in the same trip<\/a> that the relationship between the monarchy and the Caribbean has evolved. The royal family will \u201csupport with pride and respect your decisions about your future,\u201d he told a reception<\/a> in the Bahamas.<\/p>\n

Rosalea Hamilton, an advocate for changing Jamaica’s constitution to get rid of the royals, said she was organizing a coronation day forum to engage more Jamaicans in the process of political reform.<\/p>\n

The timing of the event is meant to \u201csignal to the head of state that the priority is to move away from his leadership, rather than focus on his coronation,\u201d Hamilton said.<\/p>\n

Two days ahead of Charles\u2019 crowning, campaigners from 12 Commonwealth countries wrote to the monarch urging him to apologize for the legacies of British colonialism.<\/p>\n

Among the signatories was Lidia Thorpe, an Australian senator, who said Thursday that Charles should \u201cbegin a process of repairing the damage of colonization, including returning the stolen wealth that has been taken from our people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese,<\/a> who will attend the coronation and join in an oath of allegiance to the king, favors ditching the monarchy, though he has ruled out holding a referendum during his currrent three-year term.<\/p>\n

“I want to see an Australian as Australia\u2019s head of state,\u201d Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.<\/p>\n

Buckingham Palace said last month that Charles supported research into the historical links between Britain\u2019s monarchy and the transatlantic slave trade<\/a>. The king takes the issue \u201cprofoundly seriously,\u201d and academics will be given access to the royal collection and archives, the palace said.<\/p>\n

In India, once the jewel of the British Empire, there\u2019s scant media<\/a> attention and very little interest in the coronation. Some people living in the country\u2019s vast rural hinterlands may not have even heard of King Charles III.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndia has moved on,\u201d and most Indians \u201chave no emotional ties with the royal family,\u201d Pavan K. Varma, a writer and former diplomat, said. Instead, the royals are seen more like amusing celebrities, he said.<\/p>\n

And while the country still values its economic and cultural ties with the European country, Varma pointed out that India\u2019s economy has overtaken the U.K.’s.<\/p>\n

\u201cBritain has shrunk globally into a medium-sized power,\u201d he said. \u201cThis notion needs to be removed, that here is a former colony riveted to the television watching the coronation of Prince Charles. I don\u2019t think this is happ<\/a>ening in India.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since gaining independence in 1947, India has moved to shed the vestiges of British imperialism. The statue of King George V that used to stand near the India Gate monument in New Delhi was moved in the 1960s to Coronation Park. Once the scene of celebrations honoring Queen Victoria, King Edward VII and George V, the park is now a repository for representations of former monarchs and officials of the British Raj in India.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has led a renewed push to reclaim India\u2019s past and erase \u201csymbols of slavery\u201d from the country’s time under the British crown. His government has scrubbed away colonial-era street names, some laws and even flag symbols.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we should care much about (the royals),\u201d Milind Akhade, a photographer in New Delhi, said. “They enslaved us for so many years.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Nairobi, Kenya, motorcycle taxi driver Grahmat Luvisia was similarly dismissive of the idea of following the coronation on TV.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will not be interested in watching the news<\/a> or whatever is happening over there because we have been mistreated back then by those colonizers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Herman Manyora, a political analyst and journalism professor at the University of Nairobi, said memories of Britain\u2019s harsh response to the Mau Mau rebellion in the 1950s are still raw.<\/p>\n

Many Kenyans will not watch the coronation \u201cbecause of the torture during colonialism, because of the oppression, because of detentions, because of killings, because of the alienation of our land,\u201d Manyora said.<\/p>\n

Not everyone is as critical. In Uganda, political analyst Asuman Bisiika says British culture continues to have a strong influence on young people in the East African country, especially those who follow English soccer. There is also a lot of goodwill for Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September after 70 years on the throne.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about caring for the British monarchy,\u201d Bisiika said. \u201cIt\u2019s about relating.”<\/p>\n

In the South African city of Durban, expat British communities have planned a live screening of the coronation ceremony, complete with trumpeters to announce the moment the archbishop of Canterbury crowns Charles. On Sunday, there will be a special church service followed by a picnic or a \u201cbraai,” a traditional South African barbecue.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think people want to be part of an important moment in history,\u201d said Illa Thompson, one of the organizers of the festivities.<\/p>\n

Experts say that despite its flaws, historical baggage and fraying edges, the Commonwealth still holds appeal, especially for poorer nations. Gabon and Togo, which are former French colonies with no colonial links to Britain, became the association’s newest members last year. Most observers believe countries like Jamaica that want an elected head of state are likely to retain their memberships.<\/p>\n

\u201cCountries, whether they benefit or not, feel like they need to have this closeness to Britain as an economic entity,” said Kehinde Andrews, a professor of Black Studies at Birmingham City University. \u201cAs much as there will be still be some dissent \u2014 (Charles) is not as popular as his mother \u2014 it\u2019s all about the economics.\u201d ___<\/p>\n

Myers Jr. reported from Kingston, Jamaica. Pathi reported from New Delhi. AP writers Gerald Imray in Cape Town, South Africa; Khaled Kazziha in Nairobi, Kenya; and Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda, contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

Originally published <\/span>

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LONDON (AP) \u2014 When King Charles III is crowned on Saturday, soldiers carrying flags from the Bahamas, South Africa, Tuvalu and beyond will march alongside British troops in a spectacular military procession in honor of the monarch. For some, the scene will affirm the ties that bind Britain and its former colonies. But for many…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":573171,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/2dFwFFjV9gIwkQcTDRB9VQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyMDA7aD03NDk-\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/ap.org\/144b4af11ceea448cec8d961f77dc25c","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-573170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=573170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/573171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=573170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=573170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}