Netherlands Issues First Official Apology for Black Slavery in the West... No Compensation Included

Dutch Prime Minister "Responsible for descendants' suffering"
Refuses compensation payment... "Allocates 200 million euros for education fund"

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Dutch government has become the first Western country to officially apologize for the slave trade committed during the 17th to 19th centuries. However, criticism has arisen as it rejected demands for reparations from the descendants of slave trade victims and former colonies.

Not only the Netherlands but other Western countries are also known to consistently ignore reparations demands from former colonies. The Japanese government is also being criticized for riding the wave of Western indifference toward reparations responsibility.

"Responsible for the suffering of slave descendants"... First official apology

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

On the 19th (local time), Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte delivered a speech at the National Archives in The Hague, inviting descendants of slavery victims. He stated, "For centuries, the Dutch state and its leadership made slavery possible and profited from it," and officially apologized, saying, "The Dutch government is responsible for the immense suffering inflicted on those enslaved and their descendants." He emphasized, "Slavery must be recognized as the clearest concept of a 'crime against humanity.'"

Although apologies for slavery and colonial rule have been made by individuals in the Netherlands and other Western countries, this is the first official apology by a head of state. During the imperialist era from the 17th to 19th centuries, the Netherlands exploited 600,000 people as slaves in colonies in Africa, Asia, and South America and forcibly transported them to the Netherlands.

Prime Minister Rutte also acknowledged, "About 600,000 men, women, and even children were forcibly transported like cattle from Africa to Suriname in South America, which was then a Dutch territory," calling it "a shameful history." The speech lasted about 20 minutes and was broadcast live on local television.

However, controversy arose as he stated in a press conference immediately after the speech that the government would not take responsibility for reparations. Rutte said, "The government is not considering paying reparations to the descendants of slavery victims," but added, "Instead, we plan to allocate 200 million euros (about 270 billion KRW) for educational funds to address the legacy of slavery and promote awareness change."

Western countries ignore reparations demands... Japan distorts history

[Image source=Yonhap News]

It is known that the total number of African black slaves exploited by European countries from the 17th to 19th centuries reached 12 million, but except for the Netherlands, no Western country has officially apologized or paid reparations.

According to The New York Times (NYT), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), consisting of 15 Caribbean countries, recently demanded $50 billion (about 69 trillion KRW) in colonial reparations from European countries. East African Burundi has also been demanding a total of $43 billion from Germany and Belgium since 2020, leading to a surge in reparations claims.

However, European countries are ignoring these demands. In June last year, the German government officially recognized the mass genocide committed in Namibia during its colonial rule from 1884 to 1915 and announced it would pay $1.35 billion, but this was delivered as "aid" rather than reparations. The NYT pointed out, "Major European countries of the imperialist era hesitate on reparations issues, fearing they might set an unmanageable precedent."

The Japanese government is also criticized for distorting history by following the Western countries' atmosphere. According to CNN, on the 1st of this month, the Japanese government submitted a report to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee that distorted the history of Hashima Island, also known as Battleship Island, which is designated as a World Cultural Heritage site.

In the report, the Japanese government claimed, "Laborers conscripted from the Korean Peninsula worked under the same conditions as Japanese workers and were paid wages; they were not forced to perform slave-like labor." However, on the island, about 1,000 laborers forcibly conscripted from Korea, China, and Taiwan during the Pacific War died. The governments of Korea and China have strongly protested Japan's historical distortion.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.