A group of intellectuals and politicians has called on France to repay 17bn euros (£14bn) "extorted" from Haiti in the 19th Century. The money, they say, would help impoverished Haiti rebuild after January's devastating earthquake, which killed more than 250,000 people. In 1825 France demanded 150m gold francs in compensation after Haiti gained independence in a slave revolt. Campaigners say that demand was illegitimate and illegal. The 'independence debt', which is today valued at over 17bn euros illegitimately forced a people who had won their independence in a successful slave revolt, to pay again for the freedom," said the appeal to President Nicolas Sarkozy, published in the French newspaper Liberation. The signatories included American linguist Noam Chomsky, French philosopher Etienne Balibar, and the Euro MPs Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Eva Joly.
The above article was extracted from Skyline updates of Skyline College. Skyline College is amongst the top MBA and BBA institutes in Delhi, Gurgaon (NCR).
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