Dutch King Willem-Alexander issued a historic royal apology Saturday for the Netherlands’ involvement in slavery, saying he felt “personally and intensely” affected.
Thousands of descendants of slaves from the South American nation of Suriname and the Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao attended the celebrations in Amsterdam for “Keti Koti” (“breaking the chains” in Surinamese) to commemorate 150 years since the practice was abolished.
“Today I’m standing here in front of you as your king and as part of the government. Today I am apologising personally,” Willem-Alexander said to loud cheers from the crowd.
“I am intensely experiencing this with my heart and soul,” the monarch told those attending the event, held under a light drizzle in the capital’s Oosterpark gardens.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte already officially apologised in December on behalf of the government.
It was not certain whether the monarch would follow suit on behalf of the royals for a trade that researchers say brought vast riches to his ancestors in the House of Orange.
“Slave trading and slavery is recognised as a crime against humanity,” the king said.
“The monarchs and rulers of the House of Orange took no steps against it.”
“Today, I am asking for forgiveness for the crystal-clear lack of action, on this day when we are commemorating slavery in the Netherlands,” Willem-Alexander said in his speech, broadcast live on television.
Ahead of the ceremony descendants of slaves have called for the king to use the occasion to apologise.
“That is important, especially because the Afro-Dutch community considers it important,” Linda Nooitmeer, chairman of the National Institute of Dutch Slavery History and Legacy, told public broadcaster NOS.
“It is important for processing the history of slavery.”
