Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa recognized that Portugal is responsible for the crimes committed during the period of transatlantic slavery and the colonial era and that, therefore, it must pay reparations.
During an event that brought together several foreign correspondents in Lisbon, on Tuesday, the President of the Republic stated, quoted by the Reuters agency, that the country “takes full responsibility” for the mistakes made in the past, which, according to him, “had costs” that must now be paid by Portugal.
“Are there actions that were not punished and those responsible were not arrested? Are there assets that were looted and were not returned? Let’s see how we can repair this”, said the head of state.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa went further and said that recognizing the past and taking responsibility is more important than apologizing.
“Apologizing is the easiest part,” he declared.
Portugal trafficked millions of Africans
Over more than 400 years, at least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped and transported to various parts of the world to be sold as slaves.
Portugal alone was responsible for the trafficking of almost six million people, a number greater than that of any European nation.
The idea of compensating countries that suffered at the hands of colonizing nations has been gaining momentum around the world over the last few years. Many people even support the creation of a specific court for this issue.
