Queen Elizabeth’s death sparked a wave of grief and poignant praise from world leaders and the general public.

While many in the former British colonies openly saluted the memory of the queen, others shared photos of the monarch during her visits to their home countries.

But admiration is not unanimous. For some, his death has rekindled memories of Britain’s often bloody colonial history – atrocities against indigenous peoples, statues and artifacts from West African nations, gold and diamonds from South Africa and India, slavery and oppression.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the queen as an outstanding public figure who should be fondly remembered by many around the world, while the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party says no.

“During her 70-year reign as queen, she never acknowledged the crimes committed by Britain and her family around the world, and was indeed the flag bearer of these atrocities,” the country’s third-largest party said in a statement. Said. forwarded.

“For us, his death is a reminder of a very tragic period in this country and in African history,” the statement said. Said.

Social media criticism has gone much further.

The tweets of Nigerian-American teacher Uju Anya, hours after the death of the queen, sparked great controversy. One of the tweets was removed by Twitter for violating its rules.

In a second tweet, he wrote: “If anyone expects me to express anything more than contempt for the monarch who sponsored the genocide that murdered and displaced half my family and guided a government that those still alive are still trying to overcome, I wish it was a star.”

His tweet apparently refers to the Biafra war in the late 1960s, when the British government supported and armed the Nigerian government, which blocked, starved, and eventually destroyed the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra’s separatists.

Twitter user @ParrenEssential stated that Nigerians don’t act like this and said, “You are misrepresenting our culture and country.”

Some said it was “not African” to hit someone at the time of death.

Articles demanding the return of the Star of Africa diamond found in South Africa in 1905 and today part of the British Crown Jewels also surfaced on the day of the queen’s death. Many called it “stolen”.

Despite being bought by the Transvaal government (a republic that now forms the north of South Africa and later united with the country) and presented as a show of loyalty to the British Royal Family, the prevailing view on social media is that it would truly belong to the people of South Africa.

Twitter user @Qban_Linx said that the $400 million diamonds carried by monarchs at their coronations, the largest piece of which are covered with the royal scepter, could cover the higher education costs of 75,000 South African students.

A similar claim, Queen II. It also exists in India, where the hashtag “Kohinoor” quickly rose to popular spotlight following Elizabeth’s death – a reference to a large diamond on the royal crown that will reportedly be worn by the new queen consort, Camilla.

Other critics say the queen should use her power and influence to ensure that the human remains of those who fought against the British colonial power are repatriated.

Kenyans and South Africans are calling for the murder of heads of heroes such as Koitalel Samoei, who led the Nandi resistance in modern-day Kenya in the late 19th century, and Hinstsa kaKhawula, King of South Africa’s Xhosa kingdom, who was assassinated in 1835. Their bodies were dismembered and their heads taken to England as trophies.

The brutal killing of Kenyans during the Mau Mau uprising was also remembered. Gitu Wa Kahengeri, who joined the rebellion 81 years ago at the age of 17, recalled being held in a British forces camp where she was beaten and starved.

“They invaded my land, it’s my birthright,” he told Reuters. “But we mourn the Queen’s death because she’s a human, a human,” she said. “We are sad when people die.”

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta came under fire for declaring four days of national mourning, who referred to the Queen as “an imposing symbol of selfless service”.

Former Botswana President Ian Khama was another champion of the Queen’s legacy, calling her “irreplaceable”.

“Colonialism is not something we want to remember, it was a dark period,” he said. “The Queen inherited this legacy, not her architect… but when she left it was as if it were to repair the ravages of colonialism. She showed that we are not above you, that we want to participate in your development and help you grow as nations”.

The African continent should look at him as someone who “opens a new era after a dark past”.

Many said the queen never apologized for crimes committed on behalf of the Empire. However, he conceded that there were “sadly episodes” and “difficult”, such as the Amritsar massacre in northern India in 1919.

In 1997, he gave a speech expressing regret, before visiting the site where a British general ordered his soldiers to shoot protesters in a walled garden from which they could not escape.

“History cannot be rewritten no matter how much we want to. It has its moments of joy as well as of sadness. We must learn from our sorrow and build from joy.”

This text was published at https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-38447222.