Jallianwala Bagh massacre: UK PM Theresa May voices regret, a ‘shameful scar on British history’
Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, had demanded a ‘full and unequivocal apology’.
United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday expressed regret over the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919, but stopped short of a full apology, AFP reported.
“We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused,” May told the British parliament on Wednesday. May called it a “shameful scar on British history”, according to BBC.
April 13 marks the centenary of the massacre, which took place in Amritsar in the erstwhile British India.
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, had called for “a full, clear and unequivocal apology”.
Theresa May says the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh in Punjab 100 years ago is "shameful scar on British history" but doesn't apologise as called for by cross parties MPs yday #PMQs
— Rajdeep Sandhu (@Rajdeep1) April 10, 2019
AT PMQs @theresa_may expresses regret but no official apology for Amritsar massacre when thousands shot by troops under British command: "The tragedy of Jallianwala Bagh in 1919 is a shameful scar on British-Indian history. We deeply regret what happened & the suffering caused."
— James Landale (@BBCJLandale) April 10, 2019
British MPs had discussed demands for the United Kingdom to tender a formal apology for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, but the government expressed reluctance to do so on Tuesday. “I feel a little reluctant to make apologies for things that happened in the past,” said Minister for Asia Pacific Mark Field. “There are concerns that any government department has to make about any apology, given there may well be financial implications to making an apology.”
Conservative Party MP Bob Blackman had started the debate, and several others from across parties called for a formal apology by May. Blackman said children should be taught about the massacre, “because people should know what happened in our name”.