King Charles visits Georgetown execution site amid apology calls

King Charles III visited Independence Park in Georgetown on October 30, the site where 33 people involved in the 1823 Demerara Rebellion were hanged, as Caribbean leaders renewed calls for Britain to apologize for slavery and address its consequences. Charles stood at the former execution site with Guyana’s Culture Minister Steven Jacobs, who showed him a plaque commemorating those condemned to death. The park marks a place where executions followed the rebellion against slavery, which British colonial authorities suppressed. Accounts of the uprising say hundreds were killed. The visit came three days after Charles told a youth rally in the Bahamas that it was right to acknowledge the great suffering and injustices of the past. He did not apologize in those remarks. Guyana’s President Mohamed Irfaan Ali has said Charles recognized slavery’s darkest days and that an apology should be the next step. Calls for an apology and reparations have accompanied the King’s nine-day Caribbean tour. In Guyana, a small group of protesters demonstrated during the visit, urging action on reparations. Terrence Campbell, a Guyanese lawmaker, said police stopped him and other activists from...