英国部长安迪·伯纳姆表示，他对英国就其在跨大西洋奴隶贸易中的角色发表正式道歉持“开放”态度，但排除了考虑经济赔偿的可能性。
Minister Andy Burnham has said he is "open" to the possibility of the UK issuing a formal apology for its role in the transatlantic slave trade, but has ruled out considering financial reparations.
伯纳姆表示，他希望与“受奴隶贸易影响的人进行对话”，并对“要求道歉的呼声”持开放态度。他否定了支付经济赔偿的想法，称这“不是正确的答案”。
Burham said he wanted a "dialogue with those affected by the slave trade" and was open to "calls for an apology". He dismissed the idea of paying financial reparations, saying they were "not the right answer".
这些言论发表于下周在加勒比地区举行的英联邦领导人峰会之前，伯纳姆将出席该峰会。随着查尔斯三世国王访问该地区，加勒比国家重申呼吁英国为其在奴隶贸易中的角色道歉，并要求赔偿。
The comments come ahead of a Commonwealth leaders summit in the Caribbean next week, which Burnham will attend. Caribbean nations have renewed calls for the UK to apologise for its role in the slave trade, and for reparations, as King Charles III tours the region.
伯纳姆将跨大西洋奴隶贸易——即非洲人被贩运至美洲——描述为“残酷野蛮的侵犯”，并表示英国必须“直面过去”。
Burham described the transatlantic slave trade, when Africans were trafficked to the Americas, as a "brutal and barbaric violation" and said Britain must "face up to the past".
英国政府从未就奴隶制正式道歉，也未提出支付赔偿。伯纳姆延续了其前任的政策，未提出考虑赔偿支付的任何意向。
The British government has never formally apologised for slavery or offered to pay reparations. Burnham has stuck with the policy of his predecessors, and has stopped short of offering any consideration of reparation payments.
伯纳姆在为《卫报》撰写的文章中写道：“我不认为当今的英国人应为发生在不同时代、不同法律下、且他们未参与其中的历史罪行承担责任，无论这些罪行多么恶劣。”
"I do not think that British people today can be held liable for historical wrongs, however heinous, that happened in a different age under different laws and in which they played no personal part," Burnham wrote in his piece for the Guardian.
他表示，英联邦国家多年来一直在要求进行“诚实的对话”。伯纳姆称希望提供“结构化对话”，并补充道：“倾听以英国国家名义提出的正式道歉呼声，将构成这一进程的重要组成部分。我对此持开放态度。”一位政府消息人士告诉英国广播公司（BBC），这是“在道义上正确的做法”。
He said Commonwealth countries had for years been asking for an "honest conversation". Burnham said he wanted to offer a "structured dialogue" adding: "Listening to calls for a formal apology on behalf of the British state will form an important part of this process. I am open to them." A government source told the BBC this was "morally the right thing to do".
唐宁街认为，在中俄寻求施加影响的世界中，加强英联邦符合英国利益。仅本周，俄罗斯总统普京就在莫斯科主办了俄罗斯-非洲峰会。
Downing Street believes it is in the UK's interest to strengthen the Commonwealth, in a world where China and Russia are seeking to exert influence. Only this week, President Vladimir Putin hosted a Russia-Africa summit in Moscow.
巴巴多斯总理米娅·莫特利曾寻求赔偿，她欢迎伯纳姆的声明，表示将本着诚意进行接触，同时仍将寻求补偿性正义。
Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley, who has sought reparations, welcomed Burnham's statement, saying she would engage in good faith while still seeking reparatory justice.
修复运动组织创始人丹尼斯·奥布莱恩表示，伯纳姆的声明令人失望，且力度不够。
Denis O'Brien, founder of The Repair Campaign, said Burnham's statement was disappointing and did not go far enough.
他说：“英国政府必须停止遮遮掩掩，现在就给出充分且正式的道歉。这将是迈向补偿性正义的一个重要且具有象征意义的第一步。”
"The British Government must stop obfuscating and give a full and formal apology now. This would be a significant and symbolic first step towards reparatory justice," he said.
从16世纪起，英国当局和君主制就是持续数百年的奴隶贸易中的重要参与者。
From the 16th Century, English authorities and the monarchy were prominent participants in the centuries-long slave trade.
英国在结束该贸易方面发挥了关键作用，议会于1833年通过法律废除奴隶制。作为该法律的一部分，英国种植园主因失去奴隶而获得了赔偿。英国直到2015年才还清为支付这些赔偿而产生的债务。
Britain had a key role in ending the trade, through Parliament's passage of a law to abolish slavery in 1833. As part of that law, British plantation owners were paid for the loss of their slaves. The UK only finished paying off the debt it incurred to cover the payments in 2015.