There have been calls in South Africa for the world's largest known clear-cut diamond to be returned to the country after the Queen's death. The Great Star of Africa or Cullinan l was mined in South Africa in 1905 and was given to the British Royal Family as a gift.
It is part of a larger diamond and currently is held on the end of a sceptre that belonged to the Queen. There has been an ongoing debate in the South African media about who owns the Great Star of Africa - as well as other precious stones that were mined in the country, the Mirror reports.
It has formed part of a wider discussion about the significance of the monarchy and the part it has played in Britain’s colonial past. More extreme were the views of African Transformation Movement (ATM) MP Vuyo Zungula who believes that South Africa should sever its Commonwealth ties and have a new constitution.
“SA should now leave the Commonwealth, demand reparations for all the harm done by Britain, draft a new constitution based on the will of the people of SA not the British Magna Carta, and demand the return of all the gold, diamonds stolen by Britain” he said, reported by timeslive.co.za.
Similarly, former ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary Thanduxolo Sabelo said: “The minerals of our country and other countries continue to benefit Britain at the expense of our people.
"We remain in deep, shameful poverty, we remain with mass unemployment and rising levels of crime due to the oppression and devastation caused by her and her forefathers. The Cullinan Diamond must be returned to SA with immediate effect."
More than 6,000 people have signed a petition calling for the Great Star of Africa to be returned and put in a South African museum. South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa offered his condolences following the death of the Queen but did not ask for the diamond to be returned.
It is part of a larger diamond and currently is held on the end of a sceptre that belonged to the Queen. There has been an ongoing debate in the South African media about who owns the Great Star of Africa - as well as other precious stones that were mined in the country, the Mirror reports.
It has formed part of a wider discussion about the significance of the monarchy and the part it has played in Britain’s colonial past. More extreme were the views of African Transformation Movement (ATM) MP Vuyo Zungula who believes that South Africa should sever its Commonwealth ties and have a new constitution.
“SA should now leave the Commonwealth, demand reparations for all the harm done by Britain, draft a new constitution based on the will of the people of SA not the British Magna Carta, and demand the return of all the gold, diamonds stolen by Britain” he said, reported by timeslive.co.za.
Similarly, former ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary Thanduxolo Sabelo said: “The minerals of our country and other countries continue to benefit Britain at the expense of our people.
"We remain in deep, shameful poverty, we remain with mass unemployment and rising levels of crime due to the oppression and devastation caused by her and her forefathers. The Cullinan Diamond must be returned to SA with immediate effect."
More than 6,000 people have signed a petition calling for the Great Star of Africa to be returned and put in a South African museum. South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa offered his condolences following the death of the Queen but did not ask for the diamond to be returned.
