Dutch lawmakers recommend apology for slavery
A Dutch delegation comprising lawmakers from multiple parties, which had visited Suriname and Dutch colonies in the Caribbean in August has recommended a formal government apology for the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade and also wants visa free travel for Surinamese.
The team led by Kiki Hagen had visited Suriname, Curacao and Bonaire to determine for themselves the lingering effects of slavery and how locals felt about increasing demands for an apology and for reparations. It also suggested that dialogue should be maintained and stepped up with other Dutch territories in the region including St. Maarten, Saba, St. Eustatius and Aruba.
The visit came ahead of plans both in Suriname and former colonizer, The Netherlands, of 150th anniversary celebrations for the abolition of slavery next year. The report which the team compiled says that while today’s generation is not responsible for slavery, the Dutch government and society in general played a significant and decisive role in it and should therefore take responsibility.
“This is an essential beginning of recognition and recovery in how we deal in the here and now with our colonial history, with the indigenous peoples, the heirs of the enslaved and with other victims of the colonial era, such as the indentured labourers,” the document submitted to Dutch authorities stated. There is a widely shared feeling that the year 2023 can be an important year and that this is seen in Suriname, the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, as well as in the Netherlands as an opportunity to start a conversation and to be quiet. stand with the transatlantic slavery and colonial past.”
The Dutch cabinet had at midyear come under severe pressure from rights groups to make a formal apology but officials say the timing is not yet right as society is distracted by several issues including rising inflation.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte had visited Suriname last month but he stayed clear of issuing an apology or from discussing demands for reparations in any detail.
He did acknowledge that the visit would have been a learning experience for him to understand “the social impact. I want to hear first hand what the slavery past means today for the different population groups in Suriname. Recognition of the horrible suffering inflicted on the enslaved, acknowledgment of the struggle and resistance that there was and of course recognition of the social impact of the period of slavery in our present. I want to understand the impact of the past so that the recognition that needs to come can be as healing and reconciling as possible. That is my wish and that of the entire Dutch government,” said Rutte.
