Boris Johnson called for greater recognition of the role of black and Asian troops.
London, United Kingdom:
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday called for greater recognition of the role of black and Asian troops in WWII, ahead of Remembrance Sunday commemorations.
“Volunteers from India, Africa and the Caribbean made a huge contribution to the victory,” he said in a message to the Remember Together campaign, co-organized by the Royal British Legion, a charity that helps veterans.
Johnson cited the examples of the British Indian Army – the “largest volunteer force in history” – and the Fourteenth Army, which was made up of a majority of Commonwealth troops.
“I am delighted to remember their sacrifice and to celebrate their achievement,” he said.
Labor leader Keir Starmer, who has sought to stamp out anti-Semitism in his party, also stressed that the commemorations “remember those of all faiths and colors.”
The party leaders’ comments came ahead of the traditional weekend commemoration ceremonies, for the dead and veterans of all conflicts since World War I, whose scope will be reduced due to anti-coronavirus restrictions.
The Remember Together campaign published an open letter last week lamenting the contributions of black and Asian soldiers to World War II “have been forgotten.”
It was signed by figures such as London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Johnson’s former finance minister Sajid Javid, both UK-born Asian politicians.
The call to give equal weight to the war role of ethnic minorities comes as the Black Lives Matter campaign sparked protests in Britain and the destruction of a statue of a slave trader in the city from Bristol in the southwest of the country.
