Dutch PM apologizes for Netherlands' role in slave trade

Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte apologized Monday, on behalf of the Dutch state, for the Netherlands' role in slavery and the slave trade.

Rutte apologized in a 20-minute speech at the national archives in The Hague, and again in a tweet.

"Today, on behalf of the Dutch government, I apologize for the past actions of the Dutch State: to enslaved people in the past, everywhere in the world, who suffered as a consequence of those actions, as well as to their daughters and sons, and to all their descendants, up to the present day."

In his speech on Monday, Rutte said the Dutch state "enabled, encouraged and profited from slavery."

People were "commodified, exploited and traded in the name of the Dutch state," Rutte said.

"It is true nobody alive today bears any personal guilt for slavery ... But the Dutch state bears responsibility for the immense suffering of those who were enslaved, and their descendants," he said.

Rutte went on to describe how more than 600,000 African men, women and children were shipped "like cattle" to the former colony of Suriname by Dutch slave traders, calling history often "ugly, painful and even downright shameful."

While a number of activists welcomed the historic apology, many expressed disappointment that it lacked a plan for reparations. The government has ruled out reparations, but is planning to set up a $212 million educational fund.

Following Rutte's speech, a number of Dutch ministers will travel to seven former colonies in South America and the Caribbean to echo the apology.

"That's why the apology I just offered will be echoed today in seven other places in the world; places where the pain and consequences of slavery are felt the most and are the most visible, to this very day," Rutte said. "It will be echoed in the words spoken by seven representatives of the Dutch government. In Suriname. On Curaçao. On St. Maarten. On Aruba. On Bonaire. On Saba. And on St Eustatius."

Slavery was formally abolished in all Dutch territories on July 1, 1863, making the Netherlands one of the last countries to outlaw the slave trade. It took another decade to end slavery in Suriname because of a mandatory 10-year transition period.

Last year, Amsterdam became the first Dutch city to apologize for its role in the slave trade.

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema made the apology in a speech at a Keti Koti ceremony, marking the date when the Kingdom of the Netherlands abolished slavery in the South American country of Suriname and in the Caribbean colonies in 1863.

Next year will mark the 160th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the Netherlands and its former colonies. However, many activists consider it the 150th anniversary because of Suriname's 10-year transition period.

"We are doing this, not to wipe the slate clean. Not to close the book on the past and leave it behind us," Rutte said. "We are doing this -- and doing it now -- so that, standing on the cusp of an important commemorative year, we can find a way forward together."