Latest news with #reburial
BBC News
a day ago
- General
- BBC News
Reburial service held for World War One soldiers
The bodies of eight British servicemen who died more than 100 years ago in World War One have been laid to rest in a reburial service in took place at the Loos British cemetery last week, after their remains were discovered during the construction of a new hospital outside have been identified, which include Cpl Alfred James Morrant and Pte Henry Joseph Rycraft of the 11th Battalion The Essex Regiment. Also discovered were Pte Arthur Albert Grayston and Pte Lewis Ephraim Lambert, of the 8th Battalion The Bedfordshire Morrant, the great, great nephew of Cpl Morrant, said: "The whole thing was a great experience." The four men all died in 1917 during the Battle of Arras and were identified through DNA testing. Two of the unknown soldiers were also known to belong to the Essex Regiment and several Canadian casualties were Strawn, the granddaughter of Pte Grayston, also attended the service, along with serving soldiers from 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
President killed in Liberian coup to be reburied in own grave
Liberia's former President William Tolbert is set to receive a symbolic reburial on Tuesday, 45 years after he was murdered during a coup and his body believed to be dumped in a mass grave. Ten days after the president's killing, following trials by a kangaroo court, 13 of his cabinet were stripped, tied to stakes and then executed by a firing squad on a beach next to an army barracks in the capital, Monrovia. None of the 14 corpses has been found but each man is due to get a state funeral at a ceremony attended by President Joseph Boakai and other dignitaries. The event is seen as an act of reconciliation and part of a process of the country coming to terms with its violent recent past. The 12 April 1980 coup in which 28-year-old Sgt Samuel Doe took power ended well over a century of political dominance by the minority Americo-Liberians, the descendants of freed black slaves who had come from the US in the 1800s. Tolbert's nine-year presidency was marked by growing dissatisfaction with the ethnic inequalities. His overthrow came at the start of a period of instability in Liberia, culminating in two devastating civil wars, that finally ended in 2003. Doe himself met a violent death at the hands of rebels in 1990. His reburial in his home town last week was also ordered by the president. "This is not just a burial; it is a moment of national reflection, a time to reconcile with our history, to heal from our wounds, and to remember with respect and purpose," Boakai said at Doe's funeral. For the families of those executed in 1980, Tuesday's ceremony is both an act of remembrance and a way of bringing some respect to those who died. "It has been 45 years and the pain is still fresh," prominent lawyer Yvette Chesson-Gibson, daughter of executed Justice Minister Joseph Chesson, told the BBC. She emphasised that Tuesday's reburials will be the start of a long-term process. "This is not just a ceremony, it is the beginning of a closure. Reconciliation is not an event," she said. "There are many facets to healing, but for us primarily this is just one of the many ways we continue to pay homage to deserving Liberian fallen heroes," Bindu Dennis, the daughter of Tolbert's Foreign Minister Charles Cecil Dennis, said. "Our fathers were simply murdered in one of the world's most despicable and inhumane public acts of brutality, violence and cruelty born out of an ugly spirit of greed for political power. "As long as you understand that closure doesn't mean forgetting, then we're on the same page." Until now, the 14 people executed in 1980 have been remembered by a tombstone, bearing all their names, where former presidents have paid their respects each year. However, when this was excavated earlier this year, no human remains were found. Jarso Maley Jallah, the minister in charge of the reburial programme, told the BBC that "there are some things that have happened in our country that we're not proud of, but yet we are Liberians, and we must come together to advance our nation". The family of each person killed is set to be presented with a Liberian flag as a mark of their public service and there will also be a 21-gun salute. A Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was set up in 2006 by former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to gather testimonies about the atrocities committed during the conflicts. In 2009 the TRC identified a list of people to be prosecuted for war crimes, but no action was taken. No-one has been tried in Liberia but some perpetrators have been convicted in other countries. Last year Boakai signed an executive order aimed at setting up a special court. How President Joseph Boakai hopes to rid Liberia of its problems Top Liberian doctor struck off over qualification doubts Liberia's war and peace: Lessons from 30 years' reporting How returning $50,000 changed a taxi driver's life Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Focus on Africa This Is Africa
BBC News
01-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
William Tolbert: Liberia's slain president to be reburied in own grave
Liberia's former President William Tolbert is set to receive a symbolic reburial on Tuesday, 45 years after he was murdered during a coup and his body believed to be dumped in a mass grave. Ten days after the president's killing, following trials by a kangaroo court, 13 of his cabinet were stripped, tied to stakes and then executed by a firing squad on a beach next to an army barracks in the capital, of the 14 corpses has been found but each man is due to get a state funeral at a ceremony attended by President Joseph Boakai and other event is seen as an act of reconciliation and part of a process of the country coming to terms with its violent recent past. The 12 April 1980 coup in which 28-year-old Sgt Samuel Doe took power ended well over a century of political dominance by the minority Americo-Liberians, the descendants of freed black slaves who had come from the US in the nine-year presidency was marked by growing dissatisfaction with the ethnic overthrow came at the start of a period of instability in Liberia, culminating in two devastating civil wars, that finally ended in himself met a violent death at the hands of rebels in 1990. His reburial in his home town last week was also ordered by the president. "This is not just a burial; it is a moment of national reflection, a time to reconcile with our history, to heal from our wounds, and to remember with respect and purpose," Boakai said at Doe's the families of those executed in 1980, Tuesday's ceremony is both an act of remembrance and a way of bringing some respect to those who died."It has been 45 years and the pain is still fresh," prominent lawyer Yvette Chesson-Gibson, daughter of executed Justice Minister Joseph Chesson, told the emphasised that Tuesday's reburials will be the start of a long-term process."This is not just a ceremony, it is the beginning of a closure. Reconciliation is not an event," she said."There are many facets to healing, but for us primarily this is just one of the many ways we continue to pay homage to deserving Liberian fallen heroes," Bindu Dennis, the daughter of Tolbert's Foreign Minister Charles Cecil Dennis, said."Our fathers were simply murdered in one of the world's most despicable and inhumane public acts of brutality, violence and cruelty born out of an ugly spirit of greed for political power."As long as you understand that closure doesn't mean forgetting, then we're on the same page."Until now, the 14 people executed in 1980 have been remembered by a tombstone, bearing all their names, where former presidents have paid their respects each when this was excavated earlier this year, no human remains were Maley Jallah, the minister in charge of the reburial programme, told the BBC that "there are some things that have happened in our country that we're not proud of, but yet we are Liberians, and we must come together to advance our nation".The family of each person killed is set to be presented with a Liberian flag as a mark of their public service and there will also be a 21-gun salute.A Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was set up in 2006 by former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to gather testimonies about the atrocities committed during the 2009 the TRC identified a list of people to be prosecuted for war crimes, but no action was taken. No-one has been tried in Liberia but some perpetrators have been convicted in other year Boakai signed an executive order aimed at setting up a special court. More BBC stories from Liberia: How President Joseph Boakai hopes to rid Liberia of its problemsTop Liberian doctor struck off over qualification doubtsLiberia's war and peace: Lessons from 30 years' reportingHow returning $50,000 changed a taxi driver's life Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
CBC
26-06-2025
- General
- CBC
Indigenous leaders urge reburial of Beothuk remains in Newfoundland
Perched atop Signal Hill, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, daily tours often recount the colonial tale of St. John's — a narrative of European settlers forging new lives on distant shores. Yet beneath the echoes of colonial triumph lies an even deeper story: one of the Beothuk, the Indigenous people of Newfoundland whose voices were largely silenced by colonization. Indigenous leaders in Newfoundland and Labrador are calling for the return and reburial of two Beothuk ancestors, Demasduit and Nonosabasut, whose remains have been in storage for more than two centuries. Now under the care of The Rooms provincial museum archives in St. John's, discussions are under way about their final resting place on their ancestral land. "They were stolen, they were taken, they were grave robbing and it's long overdue for them to come back where they belong," said, Mi'sel Joe, traditional chief of Miawpukek First Nation. A history of tragedy Nonosabasut, a Beothuk leader, was killed by European settlers during a violent clash in 1819 near Beothuk Lake in central Newfoundland. His wife, Demasduit, was captured shortly thereafter. She gave birth to their child, only for the infant to perish days later. Although attempts were made to return Demasduit to Beothuk Lake that summer, she succumbed to tuberculosis in January 1820 and was laid to rest beside her husband in a simple coffin. Decades later, Scottish explorer William Cormack located their gravesite and brought their remains to the National Museum of Scotland — an act that historians now recognized as grave robbing. For nearly 200 years, the remains were kept in Edinburgh before being repatriated to Canada in 2020. "She was taken away from her home and her infant child violently by colonists and later she and her husband had their skulls removed from their grave," said Leahdawn Helena, a Mi'kmaw playwright originally from Bay St. George, N.L. "It's just an all‑around really tragic series of events." Helena's extensive research into the lives of Beothuk women, most notably featured in her play-turned-book Stolen Sisters, resurrects the otherwise marginalized narratives of Indigenous women before and after colonization. Her work revisits the story of Demasduit, whose life and suffering mirror repeated patterns of dispossession and violence. "I think it's really exemplary of a universal Indigenous experience of colonialism… a story that repeats over and over again with just as much tragedy, just as much loss, just as much violence," Helena said affirms, highlighting how the Beothuk experience aligns with Indigenous histories across the globe. Remembering the Beothuk The Beothuk were the original inhabitants of what is now known as Newfoundland. They predominantly resided in central Newfoundland, near the Exploits River and Beothuk Lake. Travel within their island homelands was facilitated by birchbark canoes, and large sedentary camps were interspersed with seasonal encampments along rivers and lakes. Their sustenance was drawn from the land and sea: they harvested fish, hunted caribou and sea animals, and gathered berries and roots. The Beothuk were a hunting and fishing people whose seasonal movements were closely tied to the availability of resources. In spring and summer, families spread out along the coast to fish and gather, while in the fall they moved inland to hunt, trap, or organize caribou drives along rivers and streams. To meet their subsistence needs, each band required access to a large and varied territory rich in natural resources, according to N.L.'s Heritage project. In the early 1600s, for instance, the Beothuk — who interacted and traded with John Guy of the English settlement at Cupids — gathered seabirds, eggs, and fish along the shores of Trinity Bay. In Placentia Bay, they fished for salmon in the Come-by-Chance River and likely hunted the plentiful harbour seals on nearby islands. In a distinctive cultural practice, the Beothuk adorned their bodies, clothing, and tools with red ochre, earning them the misnomer "Red Indians" by early European explorers — a term now recognized as derogatory. Through displacement, disease, loss of natural resources, and violent encounters with settlers throughout the 17th to 19th centuries, the Beothuk population dwindled dramatically. With no transmission of culture and no new generations to carry on traditions, the Beothuk are often referred to as culturally extinct. The path to repatriation The repatriation process began in 2015 when Chief Mi'sel Joe initiated a campaign to return Beothuk remains to their homeland. This effort gained momentum with support from the provincial and federal governments and several Indigenous organizations, including the Nunatsiavut Government, Innu Nation, Qalipu First Nation and NunatuKavut Community Council. "There's nobody around to speak for the Beothuk people at this time. And somebody has to start a process of bringing those remains back to this land where they belong," said Chief Joe. Today, the remains of Demasduit and Nonosabasut are held at The Rooms in St. John's. While the physical repatriation is complete, Indigenous leadership is guiding the process to determine their final resting place. A statement from the office of Scott Reid, Newfoundland's Minister Responsible for Indigenous Affairs and Reconciliation, said that they are leaving it in the hands of the Final Resting Place Circle to determine where Demasduit and Nonasabusut will be buried and that the province "will not dictate to them timelines as this is an Indigenous‑led process." In the meantime, Demasduit and Nonosabasut continue to wait in the vault at The Rooms.
