Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 20, 2025

PM Rowley wants Prince William to go beyond acknowledging slavery

PM Rowley wants Prince William to go beyond acknowledging slavery

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has called on Britain's Prince William to do more than just offer words of acknowledgement that his country had played a significant role in the slave trade and ensure a level of compensation to those who had their liberties taken away as a result of the Atlantic slave trade.
Rowley, addressing the Spiritual Baptist Liberation Day organised by the ruling People's National Movement (PNM) on Monday night, said he was pleased to have heard Prince William acknowledge that slavery was wrong during his visit to the Caribbean last week.

"Recently I was very pleased to hear Prince William say that he acknowledged that slavery was wrong and that the British government, the British people, have some responsibility in that piece of unforgettable history,

"I was pleased to hear a member of the Royal household in the United Kingdom. But tonight I want to say to Prince William, having said that, I believe you. But I will believe you more if you do what you must now do, which is the offer of some reparation to the people who were wronged in the way that you have acknowledged.

Rowley said it is not "sufficient to say that I acknowledge this, but not to seek to help those who were harmed by it.

"In the bible and in your teaching it says that there are two conditions and they go side by side. One is repentance and the other, if you want to be redeemed, you have to repent, then salvation could be yours," Rowley said.

Prince William, who was accompanied by his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, to the region in celebration of Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee, said in Jamaica last Thursday that he strongly agrees with his father, the Prince of Wales, "who said in Barbados last year that the appalling atrocity of slavery forever stains our history. I want to express my profound sorrow. Slavery was abhorrent. And it should never have happened".

During their visit to Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas, the Royal couple were exposed to calls for reparations. Their week-long tour of the Caribbean ended on Saturday. The visit had mixed reviews, with some calling it a failure and others a success.

In his address, Prime Minister Rowley said members of the Spiritual Shouter Baptist faith, which is indigenous to Trinidad and Tobago and is a unique religion, comprising elements of Protestant Christianity and African doctrines and rituals, should have been compensated for the years they suffered in practising their religion.

Spiritual/Shouter Baptist Liberation Day, which is observed on March 30, is an annual public holiday and commemorates the repeal on 30 March 1951 of the 1917 Shouter Prohibition Ordinance that prohibited the activities of the Shouter or Spiritual Baptist faith...

"This country of yours acknowledged that there ought to have been some recompense and the government that I led continued to add to the progress that you are making".

He told the ceremony that religion must play a significant role in Trinidad and Tobago society and that the teachings of the bible will save the population.

"I ask you the Spiritual Baptist to lead this country away from the direction that we are going. So you move from hiding to being a Spiritual Baptist to being asked by the country to lead us.....

"I know that you the Spiritual Baptist will think differently of your country and you will guide us to a future that some think that we do not have.," Rowley said, adding that "one does not have to be a zealot, or overbearing in religion, but I dare say, if this country is to pull itself up from the brink that we are heading to....religion has a major role to play.

"I have seen no substitute for raising children and inculcating into them that there is good and there is evil. I have seen no substitute for respect for your elders, I have seen no substitute for caring for your brothers and sisters, I have seen no substitute for acknowledging a supreme being that is bigger than you and is expecting you to account someday," Rowley said.

He said one of the problems in Trinidad and Tobago today is that a generation is not being properly brought up with a total absence of a value system and then we want to find out why they could kill so callously, why they could behave so uncaringly.

"If you know a substitute that is better than the religious teachings that we have all benefitted from...then bring it forward."
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
×