Cameron rejects reparations for Britain's past in the Caribbean slave trade

British Prime Minister David Cameron said his administration would not make reparations for the country's role in the Caribbean slave trade. Instead he pledged over half a billion dollars in aid.

Deutsche Welle, 1 October 2015

British Prime Minister David Cameron made the controversial remarks during his visit to Jamaica - the first for a British prime minister in 14 years. The BBC reported that Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller had said she had broached the issue of reparations with Cameron.

"I do hope that, as friends who have gone through so much together since those darkest of times, we can move on from this painful legacy and continue to build for the future," Cameron told Jamaica's parliament. He added he wanted to focus on the future, not historical wrongs, and Britain's longstanding position was "that we do not believe reparations is the right approach."

Cameron promised a roughly $455 million (407 million euros) aid package to upgrade bridges, ports and other infrastructure across the Caribbean and reinvigorate Britain's relationship with the region dotted with its dependencies and former colonies. He also pledged an additional $180 million (161 million euros) to improve health facilities and boost economic growth. He said that this support would make Britain the largest bilateral donor to the region.

The push for reparations

Caribbean leaders in 2014 approved a 10-point plan to seek reparations from the former slave-owning states of Europe. The Caribbean countries said European governments in addition to being responsible for conducting slavery and genocide, also imposed 100 years of racial apartheid and suffering on freed slaves and the survivors of genocide.

Slavery ended throughout the Caribbean in the 1800s in the wake of various slave revolts, and left many of the region's plantation economies in tatters. Caribbean leaders have said that the region continues to suffer today from the effects of slavery.

Governments in the Caribbean have estimated that reparations for the slave trade could cost trillions of dollars and some have floated the idea of debt relief.

Some 46,000 British slave-owners, including a distant relative of Cameron's, were among those compensated a current-day equivalent of 17 billion pounds for "loss of human property" after the country emancipated its slaves in 1833.

ss/bw (Reuters, AP)

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Guatemalan ex-dictator denies being 'genocidal'

Google – AFP,  9 May 2013

Jose Efrain Rios Montt is seen during his trial in Guatemala City on May 9, 

2013 (AFP, Johan Ordonez)

GUATEMALA CITY — Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt testified for the first time at his genocide trial Thursday, denying charges he ordered the massacre of indigenous people during his 1982-1983 regime.

"I declare myself innocent," the 86-year-old told the court after asking to take the stand in the final arguments of his landmark trial.

"I never had the intention, the aim to destroy any national ethnic group," he said. "I am not genocidal."

Rio Montt denied the prosecution's charge that he authorized military plans to exterminate the Ixil Maya population.

"I never authorized, I never signed, I never ordered attacks against a race, an ethnic group or a religion. I never did!" the retired general thundered.

The former dictator, taking sips of water during his 50-minute testimony, accused left-wing rebels of committing human rights violations against civilians.

Prosecutors have requested a 75-year prison term against Rios Montt and his former military intelligence chief, Jose Rodriguez, over the massacre if 1,771 Ixil Mayas during the country's civil war.

The massacre was one of the darkest chapters in the 36-year conflict, which pitted leftist guerrillas against government forces until 1996, leaving some 200,000 dead or "disappeared," according to the United Nations.

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Guatemala's Rios Montt found guilty of genocide

Genocide trial of former Guatemala dictator begins

Google – AFP, Henry Morales Arana (AFP), 19 March 2013 

General Jose Efrain Rios Montt, 86, arrives in court for the trial in Guatemala

City on March 19, 2013 (AFP, Johan Ordonez)

GUATEMALA CITY — Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt went on trial Tuesday on genocide charges over the killing of almost 1,800 indigenous people during the dark days of his country's civil war.

Judge Jazmin Barrios opened proceedings against the 86-year-old former strongman, who could face some 50 years in prison, after rejecting attempts by his defense team to postpone the first hearing.

Wearing a dark suit and polka dot tie, Rios Montt sat stone-faced between his two attorneys in a packed Supreme Court room. He requested a bathroom break as the court reviewed several objections lodged by his lawyers.

Judge Jasmin Barrios is seen during the

 trial in Guatemala City on March 19,

2013 (AFP, Johan Ordonez)

Some 500 people filled the courtroom, ranging from indigenous women and rights activists looking for justice to former right-wing paramilitary fighters and relatives of soldiers still loyal to Rios Montt's legacy.

The retired general is accused of ordering the execution of 1,771 members of the Ixil Maya people in the Quiche region during his 1982-1983 regime.

It is the first genocide trial arising from the 36-year civil war, which pitted leftist guerrillas against government forces and ended in 1996, leaving an estimated 200,000 dead or "disappeared," according to the United Nations.

"In this trial, we will prove that military plans were implemented against the indigenous population ... and that counter-insurgency strategies were ordered," prosecutor Orlando Lopez said in his opening statement.

Rios Montt was known for his "scorched earth" campaign against people the government branded leftist rebels, but who were often indigenous Mayans not involved in the conflict.

The trial is expected to last several months, with 130 witnesses and some 100 experts testifying.

Retired general Jose Rodriguez, a former member of the military leadership, is standing trial along with Rios Montt.

The former president -- who insists he was not aware that the army was committing massacres during his administration -- was initially set to stand trial in August but the date was moved up by five months to March 19.

Relatives of victims of Guatemala's civil war attend the trial in Guatemala 

City on March 19, 2013 (AFP, Johan Ordonez)

The trial is seen as a historic step in a country with such high impunity that most crimes go unsolved.

"The prosecution of a general for these heinous crimes 30 years after they happened is testament to the courage and tenacity of victims and humanitarian organizations in Guatemala," said Reed Brody of Human Rights Watch.

Rios Montt changed lawyers right before the trial, replacing Danilo Rodriguez, a former guerrilla member, with Francisco Garcia Gudiel, who declared himself the "enemy" of judge Barrios.

Outside the court, rival protests demonstrations were held by rights activists and former paramilitary fighters, who were joined by widows of soldiers.

"We have the right to raise our voices. The guerrillas also killed men," said Adan Ramirez, among a group of former right-wing fighters who held signs reading: "Otto Perez said it: There was no genocide in Guatemala."

Ahead of the trial, Guatemalan President Otto Perez, a retired general who was also accused of human rights violations, caused a stir by saying that no genocide was committed during the war.

"I hold the view that there was no genocide in Guatemala ... there was no policy or document or order to slaughter or kill people," he said last week.

Rights activists played drums outside the court and insisted that genocide did indeed take place in Guatemala. "Why do they want to deny it?" demanded human rights advocate Sandra Moran.

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Guatemala ex-dictator to be tried for genocide

Guatemala ex-dictator to be tried for genocide

Google – AFP,  28 January 2013 

Former Guatemalan leader Jose Efrain Rios Montt, is seen during a court

hearing in Guatemala City on January 23, 2013 (AFP/File, Johan Ordonez)

GUATEMALA CITY — A Guatemalan judge on Monday ordered the trial of ex-dictator Efrain Rios Montt for the genocide of the country's indigenous populations during his 1982-83 regime.

The landmark decision marks the first time that genocide proceedings have been brought in the country over the 36-year civil war that ended in 1996, leaving an estimated 200,000 people dead, according to the UN.

Judge Miguel Galvez issued the order "opening the trial against Jose Efrain Rios Montt for the crimes of genocide" and crimes against humanity.

The 86-year-old former dictator, who has been under house arrest for a year, is accused of orchestrating the massacre of more than 1,750 indigenous Ixil Maya people in Quiche department during his time in power.

The former general is known for his "scorched earth" campaign against people the government claimed were leftist rebels but were often in fact members of indigenous Maya communities who were not involved in the conflict.

Rios Montt, dressed in a gray suit, arrived on time for the hearing. Upon his entry into the courtroom, a small group of retired military men saluted him.

Outside the courthouse in the center of Guatemala City, a group of relatives of victims set up a makeshift altar, where they placed flowers and other offerings, and burned incense.

Indigenous Maya communities make up a majority of the population in rural Guatemala.

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Guatemala ex-ruler Rios Montt to face genocide trial

Latin America confronts state atrocities of cold-war past

Ex-Guatemalan dictator Ríos Montt faces genocide charges as presidents in El Salvador and Colombia apologise for massacres

guardian.co.uk, Rory Carroll, Latin America correspondent, Wednesday 25 January 2012

Efraín Ríos Montt, pictured in 2003, is due to appear in court in Guatemala
City on Thursday in a case which could lead to his prosecution for genocide.
Photograph: Tomas Bravo/EPA

Latin America is confronting past civil wars and dictatorships this week with a series of prosecutions and apologies which are shining a light on decades-old atrocities.

Governments and courts in Guatemala, Argentina, Colombia and El Salvador moved to acknowledge and possibly punish state-sanctioned violence during cold war-era campaigns against leftwing insurgents.

Human rights campaigners welcomed the initiatives but warned that the current violence of the drug war in central America overshadowed the prospect of overdue justice and accountability.

Guatemala's former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt is due to appear in court on Thursday in a case which could lead to his prosecution for genocide during his 17-month military rule between 1982 and 1983.

The former army general, who seized power in a coup, presided over a US-backed campaign against guerrillas which unleashed army massacres and scorched earth policies against indigenous communities in the Maya highlands.

It was one of the bloodiest periods in a 36-year civil war which claimed 200,000 lives and ended in 1996. The UN said the slaughter of indigenous villagers suspected of sympathising with guerrillas amounted to genocide.

Survivors' decade-long quest for justice bore fruit last year when prosecutors opened cases against two other retired generals. Ríos Montt, 85, was immune from prosecution since his election to congress in 2000 but his term expired earlier this month.

A judge, Carol Flores, will decide whether to charge him with genocide, the prosecutor Manuel Vasquez told AP. "We have sufficient evidence for charges of genocide and crimes against humanity."

Ríos Montt's lawyer told the Guatemalan newspaper Prensa Libre his client would appear in court, adding: "We are sure that there is no responsibility since he was never on the battlefield."

As president the general, who was also an evangelical minister, vowed to fight communism with the Bible and a machine-gun. In a 1982 visit to Guatemala City Ronald Reagan praised the US ally as a man of great personal integrity.

Ríos Montt's fate will be politically sensitive for Guatemala's new president, Otto Pérez Molina, also a former general, who was inaugurated on 14 January after promising voters an iron fist against the bloodshed of the drugs trade which exceeds civil war death rates. Pérez Molina, a mid-ranking commander in a highland region during Ríos Montt's rule, has denied any wrongdoing during that time.

The president promised to back the justice system's pursuit of civil war-era human rights abuses but at the same time ordered the army back into the field – not to hunt Marxist guerrillas, but to "neutralise organised crime" that has made central America the world's deadliest region.

The government said Mexican drug cartels, notably the Zetas, had infiltrated Guatemala's police force and that only the military could re-establish control. Critics of the move said Mexico and Honduras had deployed troops against the gangs only to see violence worsen.

Last Saturday six gunmen killed eight people and wounded 20 in an attack on a nightclub near Guatemala City.

Across the region, attempts to recognise state crimes gathered pace this week. On Monday President Mauricio Funes of El Salvador, which endured its own brutal civil war, wept and apologised for a 1981 army massacre of almost 1,000 men, women and children in El Mozote. The leftwing president, speaking on the 20th anniversary of his country's peace accords, told the military not to honour or promote those suspected of atrocities.

But days later human rights groups criticised Funes for appointing an army general to head the police force, a common government tactic in the region to signal a crackdown on crime.

Colombia's president, Juan Manuel Santos, sought forgiveness for the state's role in a rightwing paramilitary massacre of around 50 people in El Tigre during a 1999 offensive against leftwing guerrillas. The paramilitaries are officially disbanded but the conflict continues.

In Argentina, where the government and courts have been bolder in confronting its "dirty war" legacy, prosecutors for the first time charged a businessman with collaborating in dictatorship abuses.

Marco Levin, the owner of a private bus company, allegedly helped state agents abduct 12 drivers and other employees whom were subsequently tortured and questioned over trade union activities. A court hearing was scheduled for next month.

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South America and the New Energy ("The End of History")

.... South America is starting to consider the same thing. My partner was just there and I allowed him to see the energy of the potential future in that land.

I would like to paint history for you regarding South America. There was a time when every single country had a dictator. Less than 15 years ago, they had failing economies and currencies that were worthless. Trouble and strife and killings were the norm. Marauding drug lords openly killed in the streets and corruption was everywhere. Even the politicians created fear and many disappeared overnight, never to be seen again. Today it isn't that way. Today, there is an ongoing stability as one country after another brings a new, positive, stable energy to their cultures. So, without a concentrated effort by any kind of multi-national leadership or direction, how could this have changed in only 15 years?

Within the entire continent, there's only one dictator left. What's happening? If you think that's amazing, there is a move afoot that you're not going to hear about yet. But they're discussing it right now, so let me tell you what they're thinking. "What would happen if we took these countries and eliminated the borders?" Sound familiar? They're talking about it. In back rooms where nobody is reporting it, they're saying, "What about a plan of eventually having one currency from the top of Columbia to the bottom of Chile? And we would be strong and we would be unified." And dear ones, I'm here to tell you, that it's going to work, and it might not take 50 years. Soon the one dictator will be gone, and the unification can begin.... Read More …. "The End of History"- Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll)


"Recalibration of Knowledge" – Jan 14, 2012 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Channelling, God-Creator, Benevolent Design, New Energy, Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Reincarnation, Gaia, Old Energies (Africa,Terrorists, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela ... ), Weather, Rejuvenation, Akash, Nicolas Tesla / Einstein, Cold Fusion, Magnetics, Lemuria, Atomic Structure (Electrons, Particles, Polarity, Self Balancing, Magnetism), Entanglement, "Life is necessary for a Universe to exist and not the other way around", DNA, Humans (Baby getting ready, First Breath, Stem Cells, Embryonic Stem Cells, Rejuvenation), Global Unity, ... etc.) - New !