APOLOGY AND REPARATIONS

AUSTRALIA

1. Apology - On 13 February 2008 Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made a formal apology to Australia's Indigenous peoples, particularly to the Stolen Generations whose lives had been blighted by past government policies of forced child removal and Indigenous assimilation. [nma.gov.au].

2. Reparations - Aboriginals in Australia have won a ground-breaking case that paves the way for billions of dollars in compensation claims for colonial land loss, as well as loss of spiritual connection. [ibw21.org]

UNITED KINGDOM

1. Apology - On 27 November 2006, British Prime Minister Tony Blair made a partial apology for Britain's role in the African slavery trade. However African rights activists denounced it as "empty rhetoric" that failed to address the issue properly. They feel his apology stopped shy to prevent any legal retort.[25] Blair again apologized on 14 March 2007. On 24 August 2007, Ken Livingstone (then Mayor of London) apologized publicly for London's role in the slave trade. "You can look across there to see the institutions that still have the benefit of the wealth they created from slavery", he said pointing towards the financial district, before breaking down in tears. He claimed that London was still tainted by the horrors of slavery. Jesse Jackson praised Mayor Livingstone, and added that reparations should be made.

2. Reparations - Has not paid official reparations but there is a rising demand and raging discussions on why Britain must pay reparations to slaves in Britain it self AND all enslaved people in its colonies. [theguardian.com]

UNITED STATES

1. Apology - The United States has not officially apologized.

2. Reparations - Made many efforts to pay reparations to both. There is a long history. The famous was the "40 Acres and a Mule" in 1865 soon after the Civil War in 1865. Every black slave or his descendant was promised 40 acres of land and a mule. [nytimes.com]. More efforts were made too = [nytimes.com]