By Bright Ntramah
President Akufo-Addo has called for an official apology from European countries involved in slave trade for the crimes and damage caused the population, image and character of Africans.
Speaking at the Debois Centre in Accra at the Global Convening for the Restitution of African Cultural Heritage, the President noted that no amount of money can restore the damage caused by the Trans- Atlantic Slave Trade and its consequences which spanned many centuries.
He, however, noted that the time has come to revive and intensify the discussions about reparation.
In recent years, the long struggle for the restitution of African Heritage which started during colonization entered a new phase. In 2017, there was a resurgence of the movement which urged lawmakers, private collectors, and museums to expedite objects illicitly taken from the African Continent during the colonial period.
There is a global pressure to repatriate African heritage, that there is a global alliance of stakeholders that through advocacy and negotiation can see returns through. It is against this backdrop, that the Open Society Foundations Global Initiative for the Restitution for African Cultural Heritage convening, is focused on interrogating key questions to continue to advance and build a resilient and sustainable restitution movement.
President Akufo-Addo said if reparation can be paid for the victims of the holocaust, then same can be done for victims of slave trade.
But, before the discussions on the reparation conclude, the President wants the European countries engaged in slave to issue an official apology to Africa for its role in the slave trade.
He called on African countries to present a uniform front in the fight for reparation.
President Akufo-Addo joined calls for the return of African cultural materials illegally taken by the Europeans.
Ghana has been selected by the AU to host the global conference on reparation for Africa which will seek to bring together Africans and members of African diaspora to set out a concrete strategy for achieving the goal of reparation.
