Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte responds in The Hague to suggestions from a panel of experts to acknowledge the nation's history of slavery and its continuing effects.

 THE HAGUE: Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte issued a formal apology on Monday for the country's involvement in slavery for 250 years, referring to it as a "crime against humanity."


The apology comes nearly 150 years after slavery was abolished in the European nation's possessions abroad, which comprised Suriname and the Caribbean islands of Curacao and Aruba as well as Indonesia in the East.


In a speech in The Hague, Rutte apologized on behalf of the Dutch government for the state's previous acts.


Living in the present, he declared, "we can only clearly recognize and denounce slavery as a crime against humanity." Seven former colonies in South America and the Caribbean have been visited by Dutch ministers for the.

The Dutch deputy prime minister and finance minister, Sigrid Kaag, stated last week during an official visit to Suriname that a "process" will start building up to "another tremendously crucial event on July 1 next year."



Following that, descendants of Dutch slaves will commemorate 150 years of freedom from slavery with a Surinamese festival called "Keti Koti" (Breaking the Chains).


However, the idea has generated controversy, with organisations and some of the impacted nations criticising the action as hurried and claiming the Netherlands' lack of engagement smacked of a colonial attitude. But Rutte claimed that picking the ideal time was a "difficult affair" in his speech on Monday.

He declared, "There is not one correct word for everyone, one suitable place for everyone, or one appropriate moment for everyone.



Approximately 600,000 Africans were transported as slaves throughout the 16th and 17th centuries by the Dutch, principally to South America and the Caribbean, to finance their "Golden Age" of empire and culture.



The United Provinces, which are now known as the Netherlands, at their peak controlled colonies like Suriname, the Caribbean island of Curacao, South Africa, and Indonesia, which served as the base of operations for the Dutch East India Company in the 17th century.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Role of Rai Ahmad Khan Kharal, Nawab of Jhamra, in the War of Independence (1857)

Image
Rai Ahmad Khan Kharal, also known as the Nawab of Jhamra , was a Muslim ruler of the Kharal family who was born in Punjab and lived from around 1776 to 21 September 1857. He led an uprising against the British East India Company in the Punjabi district of Bar during the War of Independence of 1857. When he died on September 21, 1857, while fighting, he was 81 years old. He is now held in high regard as a folk hero in Punjab. In the Sandal Bar region of Punjab, in the hamlet of Chak 434 Gb Jhamra, 23 kilometers from the Tandlianwala Faisalabad District and 57 kilometers from the city of Faisalabad, Rai Ahmad Khan Kharal was born into a wealthy landowning family of the Kharal Rajputs dynasty. He was the de facto king of Jhamra and had extensive land and livestock holdings. All Kharals, as well as other tribes like Kathia, Wattoo, Fatayana, and others, respected him. Sandal Bar as a whole was under Rai Kharal's control. Lord Berkley, or Berkeley in the regional tongue, was the additio...
Read more

In Toronto condo building shooting, six people perish, including the culprit.

Image
 After a tragic mass shooting at a condominium complex in the Canadian city of Vaughan, Ontario, on December 19, 2022, flowers are left at the scene.  TORONTO - A high-rise condominium complex near Toronto was the scene of a shooting on Sunday that left six people dead, including the suspect, and one person injured. The 73-year-old gunman is suspected of killing his neighbors before being killed by police. After getting a call of an active shooter at around 7:20 p.m. ET on Sunday (00:20 GMT on Monday), police sped to the Ontario city of Vaughan, which is located approximately 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of downtown Toronto, according to York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween. Francesco Villi, a resident of the 16-story building, was the suspect, according to MacSween, who claimed that police located him before shooting and killing him there. By his actions last night, the cop who killed the suspect "very likely saved lives," according to MacSween. In the structure, all vi...
Read more

FIFA World Cup 2022: In yet another unexpected outcome, Japan shockingly upsets four-time champions Germany 2-1.

Image
 Kou Itakura of Japan joins Takehiro Tomiyasu and Daniel Yabuki in jubilation following the World Cup match between Germany and Japan on November 23 at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar. The Reuters Japan did the same, fending off Germany's ferocious attempts to salvage a point from the Group 'E' opener for both teams on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after Saudi Arabia lit up the FIFA World Cup with a shocking upset of Argentina. Takuma Asano eliminated Nico Schlotterbeck from the equation with a first touch for the ages after getting the ball wide out on the right from a free kick in his own area. Asano continued to run with the goal in his sights, but the shooting angle was getting more congested. For Asano to defeat Manuel Neuer, a monster shot was required. Asano, who came on as a replacement just before the hour mark, accomplished that. The ball made a clean connection with the goalie before crashing into the net's ceiling and bringing down the Khalifa S...
Read more