NASSAU, Bahamas -- While the African People’s Socialist
Party-Bahamas is not opposed to the visit of Prince Harry or that of any other
representative of Great Britain to The Bahamas we insist that The Bahamas’ bi-lateral relations
with Great Britain be carried out as one between two completely independent
nations instead of one that functions as a “parent-child” relationship.
The African People’s Socialist Party-Bahamas
recognizes the historical fact that British imperialism, with Prince Harry as
its newest face, was the process by which millions of Africans were enslaved
and the African continent itself divided and exploited in the interests of the
British Empire and all of Europe. This imperialism also includes the domination
by Great Britain of millions of non-white people.
The African People’s Socialist Party-Bahamas also
recognizes that in the twenty-first century Great Britain under the leadership
of the United States continues to dominate and exploit millions of African and non-white
people around the world.
In view of this, we demand an immediate
end to The Bahamas’ membership in the Commonwealth of Nations and Commonwealth realm. By ending membership in these bodies and
instituting the required constitutional reforms the Queen of England will no
longer be recognized as Head of State of The Bahamas -
an act that is part of the process of overturning the
neocolonial relationship that is maintained with Great Britain.
We also call for an immediate end to the role
of the Governor-General in The Bahamas- a person who functions as the Queen’s official
representative here.
This state of affairs should not be allowed
to continue for a nation that claims to be independent. No authority should be granted
to the Queen of England, or any of her representatives here in The Bahamas, regarding
our internal or external affairs.
To this end, we demand the immediate
social, economic and political independence of The Bahamas where control of our
affairs – both internal and external – rest entirely in the hands of the people
of The Bahamas.
As
we deem it necessary for those in The Bahamas to end Great Britain’s neocolonial
domination of this nation we also deem it necessary for
Africans in The
Bahamas to work tirelessly for the revolutionary unification of the African
nation, of which Africans throughout the Americas are an essential part. This
is truly the only way to secure a future for Africans everywhere.
We
also call for reparations from the British ruling class of which the Queen of
England and Prince Harry belong. Great Britain and all of Europe and North
America owe a huge debt to Africa and African people for their very existence
and development. Therefore, the demand for reparations is a proper response to
the exploitation of Africa and African people worldwide.