Netherlands Apologizes for Role in Historic Slave Trade | DW News

Dec 19, 2022 | Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte delivered a speech formally apologizing for his country's historical role in slavery and its consequences into the present day. "Today on behalf of the Dutch government, I apologize for the past actions of the Dutch state," Rutte said in a speech. "For centuries the Dutch state and its representatives have enabled and stimulated slavery and have profited from it. It is true that nobody alive today bears any personal guilt for slavery ... (however) the Dutch state bears responsibility for the immense suffering that has been done to those that were enslaved and their descendants," he added. He also said that slavery must be recognized in "the clearest terms" as "a crime against humanity." According to Rutte, the government will establish a fund for initiatives that will help tackle the legacy of slavery in the Netherlands and its former colonies.

LIRE EN FRANÇAIS :

Aux Pays-Bas, les excuses de Mark Rutte pour l’esclavage : Le premier ministre a qualifié la traite, pratiquée jadis par son pays, de « crime contre l’humanité ». »

UND AUS DER NEUEN ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG AUF DEUTSCH LESEN:

Die Niederlande entschuldigen sich für das düsterste Kapitel ihrer Vergangenheit: den lukrativen Menschenhandel: Die Niederlande, deren Reichtum vor vier Jahrhunderten mit der Ausbeutung von Kolonien begann, haben sich bei den Nachkommen der Sklaven entschuldigt. Ministerpräsident Rutte sprach im Namen der Regierung von einem historischen Verbrechen. »