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Grenada government and opposition join forces to drop oath of allegiance to King Charles Grenada government and opposition join forces to drop oath of allegiance to King Charles
(about 2 hours later)
Move comes amid calls for reparations for slavery and king’s removal as head of state of Caribbean countryMove comes amid calls for reparations for slavery and king’s removal as head of state of Caribbean country
The government and opposition in the Caribbean island of Grenada have joined forces to drop the oath of allegiance to the British crown amid growing calls to remove King Charles as the country’s head of state.The government and opposition in the Caribbean island of Grenada have joined forces to drop the oath of allegiance to the British crown amid growing calls to remove King Charles as the country’s head of state.
A statement from the government announcing the move said that in “a commendable display of national unity” the country’s parliament had agreed bills to amend the country’s constitution.A statement from the government announcing the move said that in “a commendable display of national unity” the country’s parliament had agreed bills to amend the country’s constitution.
The change will remove the words “His Majesty King Charles the Third, His Heirs and Successors” from the pledge of allegiance and replace them with “Grenada”.The change will remove the words “His Majesty King Charles the Third, His Heirs and Successors” from the pledge of allegiance and replace them with “Grenada”.
In the statement, Grenada’s prime minister, Dickon Mitchell, said: “The unanimous support for this amendment demonstrates our shared commitment to national identity and constitutional progress and while we may differ on many issues, today we stand together in affirming that our allegiance belongs to Grenada and its people.”In the statement, Grenada’s prime minister, Dickon Mitchell, said: “The unanimous support for this amendment demonstrates our shared commitment to national identity and constitutional progress and while we may differ on many issues, today we stand together in affirming that our allegiance belongs to Grenada and its people.”
Later, he told local media: “I don’t think anyone in their right mind will expect me – or any future prime minister of Grenada – on taking the oath of office to serve them, that I should be swearing allegiance to King Charles, his heirs and successor.”Later, he told local media: “I don’t think anyone in their right mind will expect me – or any future prime minister of Grenada – on taking the oath of office to serve them, that I should be swearing allegiance to King Charles, his heirs and successor.”
He added: “What is it about King Charles that is superior to me, that requires me not to swear allegiance to the people of Grenada but to him?”He added: “What is it about King Charles that is superior to me, that requires me not to swear allegiance to the people of Grenada but to him?”
The prime minister added: “Sovereign countries have excellent bilateral relations. That doesn’t mean that you have to swear allegiance to the head of a state of another foreign country.”The prime minister added: “Sovereign countries have excellent bilateral relations. That doesn’t mean that you have to swear allegiance to the head of a state of another foreign country.”
This only happened, he pointed out, because Grenada was a former British colony and not because it was voted on by Grenadians.This only happened, he pointed out, because Grenada was a former British colony and not because it was voted on by Grenadians.
The move comes as the Grenada Reparations Commission vowed to step up the pursuit of an apology and reparations from the monarch and intensify calls for the removal of King Charles as the country’s head of state, after new research revealed that George IV personally profited from slavery on the Caribbean island. The governor-general, Dame Cécile La Grenade, the Crown’s representative in Grenada, assented to the two pieces of legislation to amend the oath, after they were approved in both the lower and upper Houses of Parliament.
Grenada’s tourism and culture minister, Adrian Thomas, said the move was a response to decades of calls from Grenadians to change the oath, setting it amid a broader trend to decolonise society, assert the country’s independence and reform the constitution.
He said: “Although we still have many institutions, like the royal prison, the Royal Grenada Police Force, we are on the road to decolonising our society and apart from the oath of allegiance we will be doing much more in years to come.”
On the streets of St George’s, communications consultant Sherene Thomas-Isaac, said the change was “long overdue”.
“We’re independent. I think that’s a mark of our sovereignty … We have to follow the true course of what independence means for our region,” she said.
The change to the oath comes as the Grenada Reparations Commission vowed to step up the pursuit of an apology and reparations from the monarch and intensify calls for the removal of King Charles as the country’s head of state, after new research revealed that George IV personally profited from slavery on the Caribbean island.
Arley Gill, the head of the commission, thanked Francis Alexis, a former attorney general and government minister, for lobbying for the change, which he described as “one small step in the further deconstruction of a new colonialism process”.Arley Gill, the head of the commission, thanked Francis Alexis, a former attorney general and government minister, for lobbying for the change, which he described as “one small step in the further deconstruction of a new colonialism process”.
Gill said: “We need to strengthen the lobby in Grenada to get rid of the king as head of state. The royal family is not fit and proper to be the head of state of a country where they have directly profited from slavery. We need to move to republicanism immediately.”Gill said: “We need to strengthen the lobby in Grenada to get rid of the king as head of state. The royal family is not fit and proper to be the head of state of a country where they have directly profited from slavery. We need to move to republicanism immediately.”