查爾斯國王對奴隸制度的悲痛面臨考驗，賠償運動聲勢漸起

Sam Tabahriti報導By Sam Tabahriti

倫敦，10月30日（路透社）——查爾斯國王自2022年以來，對奴隸制度造成的苦難表達悲痛，但未跨越英國長期抗拒的一條界線：道歉。LONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - King Charles has since 2022 expressed sorrow for the suffering caused by slavery without crossing a line that Britain has long resisted: an apology.

這種平衡之舉，很可能在下週於安地卡及巴布達舉行的大英國協峰會上受到考驗；支持透過加勒比共同體（CARICOM）推動賠償運動的加勒比海國家領袖，預料將敦促各方正視他們的訴求。That balancing act is likely to be tested at next week's Commonwealth summit in Antigua and Barbuda, where Caribbean leaders who back a reparations campaign through the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) are expected to press their case.

白金漢宮已表示，查爾斯不會代表英國道歉；英國對其在跨大西洋奴隸貿易中扮演的角色，一再排除提供金錢賠償。Buckingham Palace has indicated Charles would not apologise on behalf of Britain, which has repeatedly ruled out financial reparations over its role in the transatlantic slave trade.

大英國協政府領袖會議將於週日開幕。查爾斯週二在會前於巴哈馬發表談話時表示，「我們理應承認過去的巨大苦難與不公」，並表示受影響國家的領袖將在峰會上討論此議題。Speaking in the Bahamas on Tuesday ahead of a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that begins on Sunday, Charles said it was "only right that we should acknowledge the great suffering and injustices of the past," and said leaders from affected countries would discuss the issue at the summit.

但巴哈馬國家賠償委員會主席尼安比・霍爾・坎貝爾-迪恩表示，這樣還不夠。她在聲明中說：「我們不需要更多關於療癒、經過精心措辭的說法。我們需要與所造成傷害規模相當的行動。」But Niambi Hall Campbell-Dean, chair of the Bahamas' National Reparations Committee, said that did not go far enough. "We do not need more carefully crafted words about healing," she said in a statement. "We need action equal with the scale of the harm inflicted."

週五，在國王抵達蓋亞那喬治城前，約15人進行抗議。他們聚集在烏瑪納亞納（Umana Yana）外；那是一座圓錐形、以棕櫚葉鋪頂的茅屋，最初為1972年不結盟國家外長會議而建，查爾斯稍後也在該處發表演說。On Friday, about 15 people protested ahead of the king's arrival in Georgetown, Guyana. They gathered outside the Umana Yana, a conical palm-thatched hut originally built for the 1972 Non-Aligned Foreign Ministers Conference, where Charles later delivered a speech.

反對黨APNU國會議員特倫斯・坎貝爾站在抗議群眾當中，手持寫著「任何道歉都無法歸還被竊走之物。現在就賠償！」的布條。他說：「這是一次機會，試著讓他深刻感受到對這裡曾發生之事所負有的歷史責任。」"It's an opportunity to try to impress upon him this historic responsibility for what took place here," said Terence Campbell, a member of parliament for the opposition APNU, who stood among the protesters holding a banner that read: "No apology will return what was stolen. Reparations now!"

王室與奴隸制度的關聯受到檢視ROYAL LINKS TO SLAVERY UNDER SCRUTINY

根據跨大西洋奴隸貿易資料庫，15世紀至19世紀間，至少有1,250萬名非洲人遭歐洲商人擄走並販售為奴；其中英國估計將320萬人運送橫越大西洋，使其成為最大的奴隸貿易國之一。From the 15th to the 19th century, at least 12.5 million Africans were abducted and sold into slavery by European traders, with Britain transporting an estimated 3.2 million people across the Atlantic, making it one of the biggest slave-trading nations, according to the Transatlantic Slave Trade Database.

薩塞克斯大學歷史學者艾倫・萊斯特的研究涵蓋奴隸制度與帝國遺緒。他表示，反對賠償運動的人已「成功將賠償只是開支票這個概念武器化」，而這個想法幾乎沒有西方政府願意考慮。Alan Lester, a University of Sussex historian whose research spans the legacies of slavery and empire, said opponents of the reparations movement had "successfully weaponised" the idea that reparations simply meant writing a cheque, an idea that few Western governments will countenance.

相較之下，加勒比海國家領袖往往以債務減免、發展融資、教育、醫療保健與氣候韌性的角度來表述其訴求；他們說，這些措施將處理根源於奴隸制度與殖民主義的不平等。Instead, Caribbean leaders often frame their demands in terms of debt relief, development finance, education, healthcare and climate resilience, measures they say would address inequalities rooted in slavery and colonialism.

王室評論員阿富亞・哈根說：「我認為查爾斯三世國王處境艱難，因為你可以對某件事表達悲痛，但道歉的意義要深遠得多。」"I think King Charles III is in a difficult position because you can express sorrow about something, but an apology goes much further," royal commentator Afua Hagan said.

《衛報》報導一份顯示歷史關聯的文件後，白金漢宮於2023年表示，查爾斯支持一項檢視君主制與奴隸制度關聯的研究。Buckingham Palace said in 2023 that Charles had given his support to research that was examining the monarchy's links to slavery after the Guardian newspaper reported on a document showing a historical connection.

在一項較新的發現中，獨立研究者德西蕾・巴蒂斯特告訴路透社，她即將出版的新書《喬治四世、帝國與威望物件》（George IV, Empire, and Objects of Prestige）將引用上議院文件與其他英國政府紀錄，顯示源自被奴役者勞動的利潤，曾協助支付喬治四世委託在王室宅邸製作家具與裝飾工程的費用。In a more recent finding, independent researcher Desiree Baptiste told Reuters her forthcoming book, "George IV, Empire, and Objects of Prestige," would cite House of Lords papers and other British government records showing that profits derived from enslaved labour helped fund furniture and decorative work commissioned by George IV at royal residences.

對此，負責維護並展示國王所託管藝術品與歷史物件的慈善機構王室收藏信託表示，持續進行的研究有助於該機構「持續檢視」其紀錄，以改善針對物件或主題所呈現的資訊。In a response, the Royal Collection Trust, a charity that maintains and displays artworks and historic objects held in trust by the king, said constant research helped it to keep its records "continually under review in order to improve the information presented on an object or subject".

（Sam Tabahriti報導；Kemol King與Isabel Infantes在喬治城Aditional reporting；Sharon Singleton、Xevi Fontdegloria與Raul Cortes編輯）(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Aditional reporting by Kemol King and Isabel Infantes in Georgetown; Editing by Sharon Singleton, Xevi Fontdegloria and Raul Cortes)