PORT OF SPAIN (CMC):
Secretary General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Stephen Twigg, on Monday said Barbados’ decision to become a republic had prompted “a lot of discussion around the future of the Commonwealth”.
Twigg, a former British legislator, said it was important to put the debate in the context of the Commonwealth, the colonial legacy, as well as the impact of slavery. He was addressing the formal opening of the 11th Commonwealth Youth Parliament here.
He said he is hoping for “an open, honest debate about the problematic history of the Commonwealth, which only serves to strengthen our organisation going forward”.
Barbados on November 30, last year, officially removed the head of the British monarch as its head of state, becoming the world’s newest republic. The move ended Britain’s centuries of influence over the island, which was a hub for the transatlantic slave trade for more than 200 years.
Barbados announced its plan to become a republic last year, but it will remain within the Commonwealth.
Formerly known as the British Commonwealth, the Commonwealth of Nations is a loose association of former British colonies and current dependencies, along with some countries that have no historical ties to Britain.
Twigg told the opening ceremony that “Barbados’ decision to become a republic prompted a lot of discussion around the future of the Commonwealth, but I pointed out when people say those things to me, that actually, the majority of members of the Commonwealth are republics.
“It is no threat to the Commonwealth. Some of the Commonwealth members decided to have a different head of state to the head of state of the United Kingdom, who is also the head of the Commonwealth.”
Twigg said that with the death of the 96-year-old Queen Elizabeth 11 on September 8 and the coming to the throne of King Charles, “there is an opportunity, I think particularly for young people within the Commonwealth, to talk about what the Commonwealth means to you.
“What the Commonwealth means, yes, in terms of its history and the legacy, but the Commonwealth today and, most importantly, the Commonwealth of the future,” he said.