Monarchy

For People In Caribbean, Leaving British Monarchy More Than Symbolic

September 17, 2022 Tommy Yang, Sputnik News. Resist! Caribbean, Decolonization, Monarchy, Sovereignty

Born in the Bahamas in the late 1940s when the archipelago was still under the British rule, Niambi Hall Campbell-Dean’s mother was taught in school a version of colonial history that did not focus on the suffering of the slaves who were brought to the islands against their will. "Their version [of the history], I think, more than changing the story was the story of a mission. For example, my mother, who was born as a baby boomer, grew up learning that coal came from a certain part of England. But it was never about the archipelago of the islands of the Bahamas. Their focus of the education was really on creating good Commonwealth citizens. As citizens of this land, you learned about their history, their story, and all the wives that King Henry had.

Anti-Monarchy Protesters Make Their Voices Heard, Are Arrested

September 13, 2022 Eliza Egret, The Canary. Resist! Monarchy, Police, UK Imperialism, United Kingdom (UK)

If you read the mainstream media, you’d be forgiven for thinking the whole of Scotland is in mourning as Queen Elizabeth’s coffin arrives in Edinburgh. Thousands are lining the streets to pay their respects to the former ruler. However, less covered in the media are the thousands who feel disgust at a monarchy that epitomises colonialism, oppression and racism. There were protests in both Edinburgh and Cardiff as Charles Windsor was proclaimed King Charles III. In Cardiff, people held up signs in Welsh and English saying “It’s colonial subjugation of the Welsh people”, and “Not our King”. Meanwhile, in Edinburgh, a 22-year-old woman was arrested for breach of the peace as she held up a banner which read “Fuck imperialism, abolish monarchy”.

Monarchs Belong In The Dustbin Of History

September 12, 2022 Chris Hedges, Scheer Post. Educate! Monarchy, oligarchy, United Kingdom (UK), White Supremacy

The fawning adulation of Queen Elizabeth in the United States, which fought a revolution to get rid of the monarchy, and in Great Britain, is in direct proportion to the fear gripping a discredited, incompetent and corrupt global ruling elite. The global oligarchs are not sure the next generation of royal sock puppets – mediocrities that include a pedophile prince and his brother, a cranky and eccentric king who accepted suitcases and bags stuffed with $3.2 million in cash from the former prime minister of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, and who has millions stashed in offshore accounts – are up to the job. Let’s hope they are right.

Antigua And Barbuda Announces Referendum To Become A Republic

September 12, 2022 Telesur English. Create! Antigua, Barbuda, Monarchy, Republic, United Kingdom (UK)

The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, announced that he will call a referendum in the country within three years for the population to decide whether it wants to remain united to the British monarchy or proclaim a republic. "It does not represent any form of disrespect to the monarch. This is not an act of hostility, nor any difference between Antigua and Barbuda and the monarchy," he said. "It is a final step in completing the circle of independence to become a truly sovereign nation," he asserted. The Caribbean country is one of the 14 nations that maintains the British monarchy as its head of state.

That’s Enough Monarchy For Now, Thank You

September 10, 2022 Craig Murray, Consortium News. Educate! Media, Monarchy, United Kingdom (UK), Wealth

No doubt millions of people felt a heartfelt attachment to the queen, which will be displayed fully in the next few days. But the anachronistic nature of monarchy is also fully on display, in the obvious absurdities and pantomime procedure, with Heralds Pursuivant and royals buckled with the weight of their unearned medals. Yesterday some BBC stenographer had to type with a straight face the strapline “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Are Now the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge,” which would even 50 years ago have already been absurd enough to be a line in a Monty Python sketch. Still more absurd is the millions in feudal income that goes with that title, all real money paid by actual ordinary people as feudal dues.

Let Them Eat (Jubilee) Cake

June 5, 2022 Laura Clancy, Red Pepper. Educate! Britain, Democracy, Monarchy, wealth inequality

When Marie Antoinette discovered her subjects were facing a bread shortage and starvation in around 1789, due to multiple poor crop harvests and rodent infestations, she apparently exclaimed ‘let them eat cake!’ Her hereditary privilege meant she had no grasp of the severity of their suffering, or the fact that cake was much more expensive than bread to produce. Inequality during this period, immediately before the French revolution, was very high. Historians have estimated that around 90 per cent of working-class families lived at or below subsistence level, meaning they could only afford bare necessities. Marie Antoinette’s comment made her a symbol of hatred, which fueled the French revolution and the fall of the monarchy.

Activists Launch Referendum Over Future Of Monarchy

June 16, 2014 Ashifa Kassam, www.theguardian.com Resist! Activism, Elections, Monarchy, Spain

Emboldened by the tens of thousands of Spaniards who have taken to the streets to demand a say in the future of Spain's monarchy, activist groups have announced they will be holding their own referendum in the five days leading up to the coronation of Prince Felipe. The idea came about on the night King Juan Carlos announced his abdication, after an estimated 20,000 people dressed in the red, yellow and purple of the former Spanish republic descended upon the Puerta del Sol square in Madrid calling for an end to the monarchy. "It seems absurd to us that in a democracy nobody is asking the citizens if they want a monarchy or a republic," said Kike Castelló of ¡Democracia Real Ya! (Real Democracy Now!), one of the dozen or so collectives involved in organising the referendum. The referendum will begin on Saturday morning and run until 19 June, the day of the coronation. About 60 polling stations staffed by volunteers will be set up along major streets in cities across the country, with voting also taking place online.

Spanish Cities March Against Monarchy

June 9, 2014 RT, www.rt.com Resist! Monarchy, Protest, Spain

Thousands of Spaniards flooded Madrid’s downtown Puerta del Sol on Saturday, relentless in their pursuit of a referendum to do away with what they see as an out-of-touch and outdated monarchy. Fifty cities have erupted in protest. Public sentiment in a country struggling with a huge recession and plagued by several years of bad government decision-making reached a new tipping point when on Monday, June 2, when King Juan Carlos announced his abdication in favor of his son, 46-year-old Crown Prince Felipe. Fifty of Spain’s largest cities have now joined in the chorus of national discontent. Protesters waved the red, purple and gold flags of the Second Spanish Republic and banners reading "No more kings! Referendum! Real democracy without kings" and "Referendum for a constitutional process." The same scene could be seen Monday after the abdication led to a spontaneous outpouring of 20,000 people onto Madrid’s streets in a protest coordinated by the 15-M anti-austerity movement. “Spain, tomorrow, will be Republican,” protesters chanted. On Saturday, the protesters repeated their demands. The crowds wish to change the course of Spain’s political history ahead of June 19, when Felipe’s coronation is due to take place.

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