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Prime Minister Mark Rutte spoke to representatives of descendants of enslaved people: "Immeasurable suffering"
Photo: IMAGO/Robin van Lonkhuijsen / IMAGO/ANP
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has condemned slavery in the country's former colonies and asked for forgiveness.
A government statement in The Hague spoke of historical crimes: "We can recognize slavery in the very clearest terms as a crime against humanity."
The head of government recalled the "immeasurable suffering": "For centuries, under Dutch state authority, human dignity was trampled on in the most abominable way." The government also acknowledges that the consequences are still being felt today.
She wants to work together with descendants to work through and alleviate the suffering.
"We posthumously apologize to all enslaved people who have suffered from the trafficking worldwide, to their daughters and sons and all their descendants to date," Rutte said.
resentment among descendants
The prime minister addressed representatives of descendants of enslaved people.
At the same time, seven ministers and state secretaries in the former colonies of Suriname and on six Caribbean islands delivered the government's message personally.
In the run-up to the speech, there had been great resentment among descendants and in the former colonies.
Associations felt ignored and wanted King Willem-Alexander to apologize on July 1, 2023.
On that day 150 years ago, slavery in the colonies officially ended.
The Netherlands were once one of the largest colonial powers in the world.
They enslaved an estimated 600,000 people.
For centuries, the Dutch state and its officials have enabled and benefited from slavery, Rutte said.
As one of the last countries in Europe, the kingdom officially abolished slavery on July 1, 1863.
But the people had to continue working on the plantations for another ten years.
Rutte's speech is a reaction to a commission report.
In July 2021, she recommended that the government officially apologize and fight the consequences of slavery, such as racism.
Germany used to have colonies too.
From around 1884 to 1915, the German Reich was the colonial power in what is now Namibia – and during this time it killed tens of thousands of Herero and Nama people.
After years of negotiations, Germany and Namibia agreed on what reparations should look like.
In the agreement, the Federal Republic of Germany officially recognizes the genocide of the Nama and Herero for the first time, albeit only in the historical sense, not in the sense of international law.
Berlin has also committed to paying a total of 1.1 billion euros in development aid to Namibia over the next 30 years.
German politicians speak of a historic step.
In Namibia, on the other hand, the agreement also met with massive criticism.
ptz/dpa
