THE HAGUE — Dutch King Willem-Alexander welcomed the federal government’s apology for the Netherlands’ function in 250 years of slavery in his Christmas tackle on Sunday, saying it was the “start of a long journey.”
Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Monday formally apologized for the Dutch state’s involvement in slavery in its former colonies, calling it a “crime against humanity.”
“Nobody today bears responsibility for the inhumane acts that were inflicted on the lives of men, women and children,” Willem-Alexander stated from the palace of Huis ten Bosch in The Hague.
“But by honestly facing our shared past and recognizing the crime against humanity that is slavery, we lay the ground for a shared future—a future in which we stand against all modern forms of discrimination, exploitation and injustice.”
“The apology offered by the government is the start of a long journey.”
Bekijk de #kersttoespraak van Koning Willem-Alexander vanuit Paleis Huis ten Bosch: https://t.co/bFlB3eqRFb
— Koninklijk Huis (@koninklijkhuis) December 25, 2022
The Netherlands funded its “Golden Age” of empire and tradition within the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries by transport round 600,000 Africans as a part of the slave commerce, principally to South America and the Caribbean.
The Dutch authorities says a number of main commemorative occasions can be held from subsequent 12 months and has introduced a €200-million ($212-million) fund for social initiatives.
Willem-Alexander promised that the subject would retain the royal household’s consideration in the course of the commemorative 12 months and that they might stay “involved.”
But Rutte’s transfer went in opposition to the desires of some slavery commemoration organizations who needed the apology to be supplied on July 1, 2023.
Descendants of Dutch slavery will then rejoice 150 years of liberation from slavery in an annual celebration referred to as “Keti Koti” (Breaking the Chains) in Suriname.
The leaders of Caribbean island Sint Maarten and Suriname in South America regretted the shortage of dialogue from the Netherlands over the apology.
Some former Dutch colonies have demanded compensation for slavery and criticized the federal government for not providing concrete actions. — Agence France-Presse
