When our prime minister can only express "deep regret" about the Amritsar massacre, when 279 innocent people were gunned down in cold blood by British troops, with more than 1,200 injured, and when an apology is refused because, according to the junior foreign minister, it could have "financial implications", there are clearly serious questions to be asked about this government`s moral compass (Regret but no apology from May on centenary of Amritsar massacre, 11/04/19)! Equally shameful was Mark Field`s comment about "debasing the currency of apologies"; the fact that so many massacres, murders, lootings, rapes and tortures were carried out in the name of the British empire does not mean government apologies should not be forthcoming. On the contrary, such apologies could promote a better understanding of this country`s often disgraceful past, and lead to schools` history teaching including all the details of imperialism.
As the MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, Preet Kaur Gill, recently said, "By writing people out of our history can we really be surprised that hate crime continues to exist or racism continues to fester?" How can this country claim to be a supporter of international human rights, condemning countries like Brunei for being opposed to the "values of respect, diversity and equality", when it refuses to acknowledge its own culpability for atrocities in its not too distant past?
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