Ruptly
"Ghanaian legal experts and citizens have condemned a recent proposal by Reform UK to impose visa restrictions on several African and Caribbean nations, amid renewed disputes over reparations for Britain’s colonial-era actions. Speaking in an interview in Accra on Friday, lawyer Anokye Frimpong noted that the United Kingdom had previously applied similar measures to countries that supported South Africa during apartheid. "Hearing it sends one's mind back to the days of apartheid, when Britain ensured that countries that made laws against apartheid South Africa would not be given easy entry into their country," he pointed out. Law students at the University of Ghana, along with Ghanaians who lived through the colonial era, have also denounced the Reform UK proposal, calling it a "wrong signal". "Colonialism actually took a lot from us as Africans. And I think reparations is the least thing the UK can do for what they did to us," one student noted, while another added, "you are denying us the opportunities to come to your country, because we are asking for accountability. I think it's just really unfair." "Apologise and compensate Africa, most of the countries," demanded an elderly resident from the Osu neighbourhood. Frimpong urged African leaders to address the situation. "We need to work for the sake of our people and above all, to also ensure that we get what we deserve from the 350 years of slavery and then from colonialism," he underlined. On Tuesday, Reform UK announced plans to bar entry to nationals of countries seeking compensation for the transatlantic slave trade, including Ghana, Nigeria and Jamaica, describing the reparations drive as "unfair". Defending the proposal, the party’s home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf argued that Britain had made "huge sacrifices" in ending slavery, claiming the targeted countries had already received millions of visas and billions of pounds in aid over the past two decades, and insisting "enough is enough". The party also named Kenya, Haiti, Guyana, Barbados and The Bahamas, raising the prospect that their citizens could face similar entry restrictions. The proposal has drawn strong criticism from Caribbean, African and Latin American leaders, who argue that reparations are essential not only for historical accountability but also to address persistent inequalities rooted in slavery."
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