Dutch King Willem-Alexander on Saturday issued an historic royal apology for the Netherlands’ involvement in slavery.
“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.
The commemoration of the abolition of slavery, known as “Keti Koti” in Surinamese, was attended by numerous descendants of slaves hailing from the South American nation of Suriname, as well as the Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. The event took place in Amsterdam and marked the 150th anniversary of the emancipation of these individuals.
Recall that Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte already officially apologised in December on behalf of the government.
