Dutch King issues historic apology for slavery
THE NETHERLANDS: Dutch King Willem-Alexander issued a historic royal apology on Saturday for the Netherlands’ involvement in slavery, saying he felt “personally and intensely” affected.
His speech before thousands of descendants of slaves from the South American nation of Suriname and the Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao got a positive reception, but many said they wanted the Netherlands to pay compensation.
“Today I’m standing here in front of you as your king and as part of the government.
Today I am apologising personally,” Willem-Alexander said to loud cheers.
“I am intensely experiencing this with my heart and soul,” the monarch said.
The “Keti Koti” (“breaking the chains” in Surinamese) event to commemorate 150 years of the abolition of slavery in former Dutch colonies, was held under a light drizzle in the capital’s Oosterpark gardens.
Many of the participants wore colourful Surinamese clothes.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had officially apologised in December on behalf of the government.
It was not certain whether the monarch would follow suit for a trade that had brought vast riches to his ancestors in the House of Orange.
But the king said: “Slave trading and slavery is recognised as a crime against humanity.”
“The monarchs and rulers of the House of Orange took no steps against it,” he said. “Slavery illustrates the injustices of these laws,” prevalent at the time which allowed trade in human beings, the king said in his speech, aired live on television.
Since the Black Lives Matter movement emerged in the United States, the Netherlands has embarked on an often difficult debate about its colonial and slave trading past that turned it into one of the world’s richest countries.
Dutch royals have often found themselves at the centre of the debate. A study released in June found that the royal family earned 545 million euros (US$595 million) in today’s terms between 1675 and 1770 from the colonies, where slavery was widespread.
The current king’s ancestors, Willem III, Willem IV and Willem V, were among the biggest earners from what the Dutch report called the state’s “deliberate, structural and long-term involvement” in slavery.
– THE HINDUSTAN TIMES