Slavery: 'shameful trade, appalling atrocity' - UK's Prince Charles

Ghana

Prince of Wales Charles has restated the disaster that slave trade was stressing that it was important that the incident is not allowed to repeat ever again or to be forgotten.

He described the occurrence of centuries ago as among others, “an appalling atrocity, indelible stain, shameful trade” and “abject horror,” that should never be forgotten.

“Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, the histories of our two nations are, I know, closely intertwined, and while today we enjoy shared opportunity, we can never forget that our past has sometimes borne witness to tragedy and loss and, at times, profound injustice.

“At Osu Castle on Saturday, it was especially important to me – as indeed it was on my first visit there forty-one years ago – that I should acknowledge the most painful chapter of Ghana’s relations with the nations of Europe, including the United Kingdom.

“The appalling atrocity of the slave trade, and the unimaginable suffering it caused, left an indelible stain on the history of our world. While Britain can be proud that it later led the way in the abolition of this shameful trade, we have a shared responsibility to ensure that the abject horror of slavery is never forgotten…

“… that we abhor the existence of modern slavery and that we robustly promote and defend the values which today make it incomprehensible, to most of us, that human beings could ever treat each other with such utter inhumanity,” he added.

Charles who is on the second of a three-nation African tour was delivering an address at the Accra International Conference Center, AICC. His message spanned his memories of when he first visited Ghana and how hospitable his trip had been.

He stressed the importance of Ghana-UK relations, spoke about the impact that Ghanaians were having on the UK society in different spheres of daily life and also showered Ghana with accolades of being a leading light across the sub region and the continent at large.

He also reserved praise for Kofi Annan, the former United Nations Secretary General who dies in Geneva and was buried back home last month.

He had earlier flown to the Ashanti regional capital Kumasi where he met with the Ashanti king, Osei Tutu II. Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall joined the king for the Akwasidae, a key cultural festival of the Ashanti people.

Charles visited the main market in Kumasi and also cocoa farms in the capital. Camilla on the other hand joined a literacy group that operated from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, KNUST – a public varsity in Kumasi.

The final stop for the royals will be in Nigeria where they are expected to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari and undertake similar social undertakings. The first stop was in The Gambia. The trip wraps up on November 8, 2018.