One of the largest colonial states refused to pay reparations – Respublika.lt

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Associate photo by Xie Hao/XinHua.

The proposal – to compensate the losses suffered by the former colonies – was presented a few days ago by the President of Portugal, Rebelu de Souza.

He stated that the country is responsible for the crimes of the colonial era and must therefore pay for it.

The government of the country did not support the initiative of the president. The published report states that no specific procedure regulating the payment of benefits has been prepared and reminds that the previous government of the country took a similar position.

The Portuguese colonial era lasted more than five centuries. Among its colonies were Angola, Mozambique, Brazil, Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe, East Timor and some Asian territories, including Macau.

At the height of its prosperity, the colonial territory covered 10.4 million. square kilometers and descended only to the possessions of England and Spain.

The decolonization of the African countries ruled by Lisbon began in 1974, after the “Carnation Revolution” overthrew the longest-lasting fascist dictatorship in Europe. Then some officers rebelled against the regime of the New State, identified with the dictator Antonio di Salazar.

in 2023 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to the former colonial states and called on them to consider the possibilities of compensation for the slave trade.

His report states that over 400 years, 25-30 million people were forcibly removed from Africa. people.

“According to the international law regulating human rights, compensation for any economic damage, depending on the circumstances and the amount of the damage caused, can also be considered as one of the forms of damages,” he said.