Colonial reparations: From France to Germany, Europe begins to pay for the mistakes of the past – Politics

French President Émmanuel Macron opened the way for the issue in 2017. “I’m from a generation that doesn’t come to tell Africans what to do,” he said before university students in Burkina Faso.

A report commissioned by Émmanuel Macron in 2018 suggested restituting without reservation works of art taken “without consent” from former French colonies in Africa. In 2021, France returned to Benin 26 pieces looted from the former colony’s royal palace in 1892, including statues, thrones and ceremonial axes.

Germany also began returning the so-called Benin bronzes to Nigeria in 2022. The agreement signed between the Germans and Nigerians provided for the return of more than 1,100 pieces.

In 2023, the Netherlands returned 484 artifacts stolen in the colonial era to Indonesia and Sri Lanka, such as precious stones and gold and silver jewelry. Switzerland returned to Egypt a stolen fragment of the statue of Pharaoh Ramses II, among dozens of other cultural objects.

The controversy over reparations broke out in Portugal with the suggestion by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, to assume responsibility for crimes committed in the colonial era. “We have to pay the costs. 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”, he said at a dinner with foreign correspondents on Tuesday.

In less than 48 hours, two Brazilian government officials commented on Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s statements. Brazil’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, gave as an example the internal policy “of reparation for the Brazilian population of Afro-descendants”, but referred the issue to Portugal. On Wednesday, the Brazilian Minister of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco, rushed to ask for “concrete actions” and announced contacts “with the Portuguese Government” to define the next steps.

The Portuguese Government denied in a statement on Saturday that it was negotiating reparations, highlighting the country’s “truly excellent” relations with its former colonies.