Calls for slavery reparations grow louder as British king visits Caribbean

British King Charles' nine-day visit to the Caribbean is being overshadowed by increasingly vocal demands for reparations payments for his role in the slave trade. He did acknowledge the injustices of slavery on his first day in the Bahamas, saying Commonwealth leaders will discuss the issue at their summit next week. But demonstrators in Nassau's Clifford Park on Wednesday held banners saying regret was not enough, with others shouting, pay us what you owe us. Our message is that we want freedom, redemption, international repatriation with full compensation. Otherwise, no reparations. We understand that King Charles and British monarchy are saying they are not apologizing and they feel like they don't have nothing to answer to. But we are here to remind them that they do. Crime does not rot. There's no statute of limitation on murder. The reparations issue is gathering momentum across the Caribbean. Last month's regional bloc, CARICOM, said it wanted the matter on the agenda at the Commonwealth Summit. From the 15th to the 19th century, at least 12.5 million Africans were abducted by European traders and transported to the Americas, where they were sold into slavery.