Portugal rejects suggestion to pay reparations for slavery after comments from president

Statement from government contradicts stance taken by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who said Portugal should not put issue in a drawer'

Portugal's government has said it refuses to initiate any process to pay reparations for atrocities committed during transatlantic slavery and the colonial era, contrary to earlier comments from President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

From the 15th to the 19th century, 6 million Africans were kidnapped and forcibly transported across the Atlantic by Portuguese vessels and sold into slavery, primarily in Brazil.