英国首相伯纳姆对奴隶制道歉持开放态度但坚拒赔偿British PM Burnham Weighs Slavery Apology but Rejects Reparations

在英国《卫报》刊登的署名文章中，首相安迪·伯纳姆将涉及非洲人口贩卖的跨大西洋奴隶贸易定性为“残暴且野蛮的侵犯”，并表示英国必须直面这段历史。伯纳姆指出，英联邦国家多年来一直要求开展坦诚对话，英国政府现在提议与受影响各方建立结构化对话机制，而倾听各方要求英国国家正式道歉的呼声将构成该进程的重要环节。

In his opinion piece for The Guardian, Prime Minister Andy Burnham characterized the transatlantic slave trade as a "brutal and barbaric violation" and stated that Britain must face up to its past. Burnham noted that Commonwealth nations had for years been asking for an honest conversation, and he proposed establishing a structured dialogue with affected parties. He added that listening to calls for a formal state apology on behalf of the British government will form an integral part of this process.

不过，伯纳姆在文中明确划定政策界限，排除了考虑经济赔偿的可能性。他写道，现代英国人不应对在不同时代、不同法律下发生且个人未参与的历史罪行承担责任，无论这些行为多么恶劣。英国广播公司援引政府内部人士的说法称，开启正式道歉的探讨在道德层面是正确的做法，但伯纳姆依然延续了前任官员拒绝提供货币赔偿的基本立场，坚持认为经济赔偿并非正确答案。

Burnham explicitly drew the line at monetary reparations, stating that financial compensation was not the right answer and remaining aligned with previous administrations on that point. He wrote that British people today cannot be held liable for historical wrongs, however heinous, that occurred in a different age under different laws and in which modern citizens played no personal part. A government source told the BBC that Burnham's openness to discussing an apology was morally the right thing to do, even as Downing Street refuses to consider financial settlements.

首相伯纳姆发表上述声明之际，英国国王查尔斯三世正在加勒比地区开展访问行程，沿途再次遭遇了要求英国就奴隶制道歉与赔偿的呼声。在巴哈马访问期间，查尔斯到访了克利福德公园，该地曾是他在1973年代表英国王室移交巴哈马独立权力的地点。访问期间，当地拉斯塔法里社区成员和抗议者聚集在附近街道，高呼要求英国偿还历史欠债的口号。在公开讲话中，查尔斯提及过去的苦难，表示理应承认这些岛屿乃至更广泛地区历史上承受的巨大苦难与不公。

Prime Minister Burnham's remarks coincide with King Charles III's tour of the Caribbean, where the monarch faced renewed public demands for historical recognition and financial reparations. During the first leg of his journey in The Bahamas, Charles visited Clifford Park, the historic location where he granted the nation independence in 1973 after three centuries of British rule. Members of the local Rastafarian community and other demonstrators gathered along a nearby road during the visit, chanting slogans demanding repayment for historical atrocities. In his initial public address there, Charles acknowledged the past, remarking that it was only right to acknowledge the great suffering and injustices experienced across the islands and beyond.

随后查尔斯前往圭亚那，走访了当年被奴役人员反抗英国殖民当局起义的历史遗址。下周，查尔斯作为英联邦元首将前往安提瓜和巴布达，主持新一届英联邦政府首脑会议。加勒比多国在国王出访前已要求英国正视历史，牙买加近期还将赔偿诉求递交至查尔斯，该案随后被转交至英国最高上诉法院处理。伯纳姆在此节点提出结构化对话建议，使奴隶贸易历史议题成为即将举行的峰会关注焦点。

The King subsequently traveled to Guyana, where his itinerary included visiting the site of a historic rebellion by enslaved people against British colonial authorities. Next week, Charles is scheduled to preside over the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda as head of the family of nations. Caribbean nations had pressed Britain to acknowledge its role in the transatlantic trade before the royal visit, and Jamaica recently presented its reparations case to Charles, after which the matter was referred to the United Kingdom's highest court of appeal. Burnham's offer of structured dialogue establishes the historical reckoning as a key diplomatic theme for the upcoming regional summit.

英国议会非洲赔偿全党议会小组主席、克拉珀姆和布里克斯顿山选区工党议员贝尔·里贝罗-阿迪向英国广播公司第四台《今日》节目表示，政府承认自身历史角色值得肯定，但该表态仍未达到正式国家道歉的标准，而道歉本身并不产生经济成本。里贝罗-阿迪指出，承认历史并不等同于理解历史，在英国正式道歉之前双方无法建立平等地位。她提到就其所知英国并未收到任何经济赔偿账单，聚焦货币赔偿偏离了赔偿正义的核心诉求，反映出没有真正倾听诉求者的声音。

Bell Ribeiro-Addy, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Afrikan Reparations and MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the government's acknowledgment of its past role was welcome but argued that it fell short of a formal state apology, which carries no financial cost. Ribeiro-Addy stated that acknowledgment is not identical to understanding, maintaining that member states cannot interact on equal footing until an apology occurs. She added that, to her knowledge, no formal invoice for financial reparations had been presented to Britain, warning that fixating on monetary settlements misinterprets reparatory justice and ignores what affected communities have articulated.

加勒比地区政要对此展现了谨慎参与的态度。巴巴多斯总理米娅·莫特利在社交平台表示，对英国首相就正式道歉展现开放态度表示欢迎，并称将以诚意推进接触，同时继续寻求赔偿正义。牙买加总理安德鲁·霍尼斯同样发文称，开放的对话始终是解决棘手问题的良好开端。与官方领导人的温和反应不同，“修复运动”创始人丹尼斯·奥布莱恩评价伯纳姆的言论令人失望且未达到要求，他指出英国政府必须停止推诿，立即给出全面正式的国家道歉，以此作为走向赔偿正义的第一步。

Caribbean leaders responded with measured engagement to the British prime minister's announcement. Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley stated on X that she welcomed Burnham's openness to an apology, indicating she would proceed in good faith while continuing to seek reparatory justice. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness posted that open-minded dialogue represents a positive starting point for addressing difficult issues. In contrast, Denis O'Brien, founder of The Repair Campaign, described Burnham's remarks as disappointing and insufficient, arguing that the British government must cease obfuscation and deliver an immediate formal apology as an indispensable first step toward justice.

自16世纪起，英格兰当局及英国王室成为长达数个世纪跨大西洋奴隶贸易的重要参与者。在此期间，数百万非洲人被贩运至美洲种植和采收经济作物，遭受暴力、酷刑与基本人权的剥夺，成为欧洲殖民主义和早期大英帝国扩张的核心支柱。直到1833年，英国议会通过废除奴隶制法案，英国在终结这一贸易体系中发挥了关键立法作用。这段既包括早期深度参与又包括后续立法废奴的双重历史，构成了加勒比国家与英国长期围绕道歉和赔偿展开交涉的历史焦点。

Beginning in the 16th century, English authorities and the monarchy were prominent participants in the centuries-long transatlantic slave trade. Millions of Africans were trafficked to the Americas to cultivate and harvest cash crops while being subjected to violence, torture, sexual abuse, and the denial of fundamental human rights, forming a central pillar of European colonialism and British imperial expansion. Britain subsequently played a key role in ending the transatlantic enterprise when Parliament passed legislation to abolish slavery in 1833. This dual legacy—spanning both extensive early participation and later statutory abolition—remains central to ongoing discussions between Caribbean nations and the British government over accountability.

在历史责任讨论之外，唐宁街将巩固与英联邦各国的关系视为维护英国国家利益的关键举措。面对中国和俄罗斯在国际事务中寻求扩大影响力的现实，英国政府将英联邦视作重要的多边纽带。就在本周，俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京在莫斯科主持召开了俄罗斯-非洲峰会。唐宁街官员认为，面对其他大国积极争取非洲及发展中伙伴支持的国际动态，英国通过开启历史对话来稳定并深化英联邦内部的合作关系，具备现实的外交战略意义。

Beyond historical appraisal, Downing Street views reinforcing ties across the Commonwealth as directly aligned with British national interests. As nations such as China and Russia actively seek to build international influence, British officials see the Commonwealth as an essential partnership. Illustrating this global competition, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted a Russia-Africa summit in Moscow earlier this week. British strategists consider addressing historical grievances through dialogue to be an important diplomatic mechanism for preserving cohesion with African, Caribbean, and other member nations as alternative global alliances emerge.