King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima speaking with a descendant of the enslaved. Photo by Remko de Waal via DutchNews.nl.
PARAMARIBO--Dutch King Willem-Alexander has again asked forgiveness for the Netherlands’ role in slavery, this time during the first state visit to Suriname in 47 years.
The King met descendants of enslaved people and representatives of indigenous communities behind closed doors on Monday, the first day of the royal visit.
The group had requested a conversation with the King following his formal apology during the national slavery commemoration in Amsterdam on July 1, 2023. At that time, the King had also asked for forgiveness and acknowledged that his ancestors had failed to act against the system of slavery.
Hesdy Ommen, chairman of Federatie van Para Plantages, accepted the King’s apology on behalf of the group.
“I accepted the apology and the offered forgiveness on behalf of all the leaders,” he is quoted as saying by Dutch news agency ANP. “From this point, we must build on what comes next.”
After the meeting, Surinamese President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons said the country now wants to start talks with the Netherlands about the recovery programme, for which 66 million euros was set aside in 2023.
Suriname, she said, should have a leading role in shaping and implementing the programme.
“The 66 million euros are not reparations according to the Surinamese government and, as far as I understand, the Dutch government also sees it as a gesture,” she said.
The formal apologies by King Willem-Alexander in 2023 and then-Prime Minister Mark Rutte in 2022 led to a string of measures and the establishment of a fund of 200 million euros to combat racism and raise “knowledge and awareness”.
The descendants of enslaved people can change their surnames for free, and Amsterdam will host a museum dedicated to slavery.
Tula, who led the enslaved in Curaçao in an uprising against the Dutch colonial government in 1795, has been rehabilitated.
Slavery was formally abolished in the colonies of Suriname and the Dutch Antilles on July 1, 1863, after being in force for more than 200 years. However, enslaved people in Suriname were only fully freed in 1873 due to a mandatory 10-year transition period that was instituted for the colony.
Suriname became an independent nation on November 25, 1975.
