The prime minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, has apologized on behalf of his country's government for its role in the slave trade and slavery.
apologized Monday on behalf of his government for the Netherlands’ historical role in slavery and the slave trade, despite calls for him to delay the long-awaited statement.
Rutte told reporters after the speech that the government is not offering compensation to"people — grandchildren or great grandchildren of enslaved people." Describing how more than 600,000 African men, women and children were shipped, mostly to the former colony of Suriname, by Dutch slave traders, Rutte said that history often is"ugly, painful, and even downright shameful."
"Why the rush?" Barryl Biekman, chair of the Netherlands-based National Platform for Slavery Past, asked before the prime minister's address. Some of the groups went to court last week in a failed attempt to block the speech.Rutte referred to the disagreement in his remarks Monday. Rutte's gave his speech at a time when many nations' brutal colonial histories have received critical scrutiny because of the Black Lives Matter movement and the police killing of George Floyd, a Black man, in theThe prime minister's address was a response to a report published last year by a government-appointed advisory board.
The government has said that the year starting July 1, 2023, will be a slavery memorial year in which the country"will pause to reflect on this painful history. And on how this history still plays a negative role in the lives of many today."found widespread racism at the Dutch Foreign Ministry and its diplomatic outposts around the world.