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Amsterdam: Dutch king Willem-Alexander on Saturday apologized for his country’s role in slavery and asked for forgiveness in a historic speech that drew cheers and cheers at a ceremony marking the anniversary of the abolition of slavery.
The king’s speech came after Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte apologized late last year for the country’s role in the slave trade and slavery. It is part of a broader reckoning with colonial history in the West galvanized in recent years by the Black Lives Matter movement.
in an emotional letter, Willem Alexander He again referred to this apology as he said to a crowd of invitees and spectators: “Today I stand before you. Today, as your King and a member of the government, I make this apology myself. And I feel the weight of the words in my heart and soul.”
The King said he had commissioned a study into the exact role of the Orange-Nassau royal family in slavery in the Holland.
“But today, on this Memorial Day, I ask forgiveness for the apparent failure to address this crime against humanity,” he added.
Willem-Alexander’s voice seemed broken with emotion as he finished his speech before laying a wreath at the country’s national slavery memorial in an Amsterdam park.
Some people want to work to back up their words.
“Honestly, I feel good, but I’m still looking forward to something more than an apology. Reparation, for example,” said 28-year-old Duelga Revos.
Refus added, “I don’t feel like we’re done. We’re definitely not there yet.”
Former MP John Leerdam told Dutch broadcaster NOS he felt tears streaming down his cheeks as the king apologised. “It is a historic moment and we have to realize that,” he said.
Slavery was abolished in Suriname and the Dutch colonies in the Caribbean on July 1, 1863, but most of the enslaved workers were forced to continue working on plantations for another 10 years. The ceremony and speech on Saturday marked the beginning of a year of events to celebrate the 150th anniversary of July 1, 1873.
Research published last month showed that the king’s ancestors received the modern-day equivalent of 545 million euros ($595 million) in slavery, including dividends that were effectively given to them as gifts.
When Rutte apologized in December, he stopped offering compensation to the descendants of slaves.
Instead, the government is creating a 200 million euro ($217 million) fund for initiatives that address the legacy of slavery in the Netherlands and its former colonies and to improve education on the issue.
This is not enough for some in the Netherlands. Two groups, the Black Statement and the Black Archive, held a protest march ahead of the King’s speech on Saturday under the slogan “There is no cure without compensation”.
“A lot of people including myself, my group, The Black Archives, and the Black Manifesto are saying that an apology is not enough. An apology must be linked to some form of restorative justice or reparations,” said Black Archives Director Mitchell Isagas.
Protesters dressed in colorful traditional clothes in Surinamese celebration of the abolition of slavery. The organizers said that the enslaved were forbidden to wear colorful shoes and clothes.
“Just as we remember our ancestors on this day, we also feel free, we can wear whatever we want, and we can show the world that we are free.” said Regina Benicia Van Wendt, 72.
The often brutal Dutch colonial history has come under renewed and critical scrutiny in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, a black man, in the US city of Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, and the Black Lives Matter movement.
A groundbreaking 2021 exhibition at the National Museum of Art and History gave an insight into slavery in the Dutch colonies. In the same year, a report described the Netherlands’ involvement in slavery as a crime against humanity and linked it to what the report described as ongoing institutional racism in the Netherlands.
The Dutch first became involved in the transatlantic slave trade in the late sixteenth century and became a major merchant in the mid-seventeenth century. In the end, the Dutch West India Company became the largest slave trader across the Atlantic, according to Karwan Fateh Black, an expert on Dutch colonial history and associate professor at Leiden University.
The authorities in the Netherlands are not alone in saying sorry for the historic abuses.
In 2018, Denmark apologized to Ghana, which it colonized from the mid-17th century to the mid-19th century. King Philippe of Belgium expressed his “deep regret” for the abuses in the Congo. In 1992, Pope John Paul II apologized for the church’s role in slavery. Americans had emotionally charged disputes over taking down statues of slave owners in the South.
In April, King Charles III A Buckingham Palace spokesman said it had, for the first time, signaled support for research into the UK’s ties to slavery after a document showed an ancestor with shares in a slave trading company.
Charles and his eldest son, Prince William, both lamented slavery, but did not acknowledge the Crown’s connections to the trade.
During a ceremony marking Barbados’ becoming a republic two years ago, Charles recalled “the darkest days of our past and the horrific horrors of slavery that have stained our history forever”. English settlers used African slaves to turn the island into a wealthy sugar colony.
Willem-Alexander acknowledged that not everyone in the Netherlands supports an apology, but called for unity.
“There is no blueprint for the process of healing, reconciliation and recovery,” he said. Together, we are in uncharted territory. So let’s support and guide each other.”
The king’s speech came after Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte apologized late last year for the country’s role in the slave trade and slavery. It is part of a broader reckoning with colonial history in the West galvanized in recent years by the Black Lives Matter movement.
in an emotional letter, Willem Alexander He again referred to this apology as he said to a crowd of invitees and spectators: “Today I stand before you. Today, as your King and a member of the government, I make this apology myself. And I feel the weight of the words in my heart and soul.”
The King said he had commissioned a study into the exact role of the Orange-Nassau royal family in slavery in the Holland.
“But today, on this Memorial Day, I ask forgiveness for the apparent failure to address this crime against humanity,” he added.
Willem-Alexander’s voice seemed broken with emotion as he finished his speech before laying a wreath at the country’s national slavery memorial in an Amsterdam park.
Some people want to work to back up their words.
“Honestly, I feel good, but I’m still looking forward to something more than an apology. Reparation, for example,” said 28-year-old Duelga Revos.
Refus added, “I don’t feel like we’re done. We’re definitely not there yet.”
Former MP John Leerdam told Dutch broadcaster NOS he felt tears streaming down his cheeks as the king apologised. “It is a historic moment and we have to realize that,” he said.
Slavery was abolished in Suriname and the Dutch colonies in the Caribbean on July 1, 1863, but most of the enslaved workers were forced to continue working on plantations for another 10 years. The ceremony and speech on Saturday marked the beginning of a year of events to celebrate the 150th anniversary of July 1, 1873.
Research published last month showed that the king’s ancestors received the modern-day equivalent of 545 million euros ($595 million) in slavery, including dividends that were effectively given to them as gifts.
When Rutte apologized in December, he stopped offering compensation to the descendants of slaves.
Instead, the government is creating a 200 million euro ($217 million) fund for initiatives that address the legacy of slavery in the Netherlands and its former colonies and to improve education on the issue.
This is not enough for some in the Netherlands. Two groups, the Black Statement and the Black Archive, held a protest march ahead of the King’s speech on Saturday under the slogan “There is no cure without compensation”.
“A lot of people including myself, my group, The Black Archives, and the Black Manifesto are saying that an apology is not enough. An apology must be linked to some form of restorative justice or reparations,” said Black Archives Director Mitchell Isagas.
Protesters dressed in colorful traditional clothes in Surinamese celebration of the abolition of slavery. The organizers said that the enslaved were forbidden to wear colorful shoes and clothes.
“Just as we remember our ancestors on this day, we also feel free, we can wear whatever we want, and we can show the world that we are free.” said Regina Benicia Van Wendt, 72.
The often brutal Dutch colonial history has come under renewed and critical scrutiny in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, a black man, in the US city of Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, and the Black Lives Matter movement.
A groundbreaking 2021 exhibition at the National Museum of Art and History gave an insight into slavery in the Dutch colonies. In the same year, a report described the Netherlands’ involvement in slavery as a crime against humanity and linked it to what the report described as ongoing institutional racism in the Netherlands.
The Dutch first became involved in the transatlantic slave trade in the late sixteenth century and became a major merchant in the mid-seventeenth century. In the end, the Dutch West India Company became the largest slave trader across the Atlantic, according to Karwan Fateh Black, an expert on Dutch colonial history and associate professor at Leiden University.
The authorities in the Netherlands are not alone in saying sorry for the historic abuses.
In 2018, Denmark apologized to Ghana, which it colonized from the mid-17th century to the mid-19th century. King Philippe of Belgium expressed his “deep regret” for the abuses in the Congo. In 1992, Pope John Paul II apologized for the church’s role in slavery. Americans had emotionally charged disputes over taking down statues of slave owners in the South.
In April, King Charles III A Buckingham Palace spokesman said it had, for the first time, signaled support for research into the UK’s ties to slavery after a document showed an ancestor with shares in a slave trading company.
Charles and his eldest son, Prince William, both lamented slavery, but did not acknowledge the Crown’s connections to the trade.
During a ceremony marking Barbados’ becoming a republic two years ago, Charles recalled “the darkest days of our past and the horrific horrors of slavery that have stained our history forever”. English settlers used African slaves to turn the island into a wealthy sugar colony.
Willem-Alexander acknowledged that not everyone in the Netherlands supports an apology, but called for unity.
“There is no blueprint for the process of healing, reconciliation and recovery,” he said. Together, we are in uncharted territory. So let’s support and guide each other.”
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