After years of doubt, reflection and discussion, Prime Minister Rutte offered on December 19 apologize for the slavery past. The lead up to the apology was a disaster. There was criticism of the way the cabinet wanted to do it, the date and the organization. Minister Bruins Slot (Internal Affairs) said during the debate that she was also disappointed by this.
Members of parliament from left to right praise the apologies Rutte made. “These were nice words,” said Sylvana Simons of BIJ1. Prime Minister Rutte also received compliments from GroenLinks leader Jesse Klaver. During his speech about the apology, Rutte said, among other things, that ‘not a period, but a comma is put’.
The big question today was: how to proceed after the decimal point? There will be a so-called awareness fund of 200 million euros. Some parties, including the VVD, are critical of that fund. Pim van Strien (VVD) believes that the cabinet’s plans are still too vague. He wonders if the money is going to the right place. The PVV speaks of a ‘ridiculous’ fund and the SGP also considers it a ‘risk’ to ‘mix’ the past with ‘contemporary discussions about discrimination’.
The cabinet does not yet have a real plan for the fund. Jesse Klaver (GroenLinks) thinks it’s a good thing that the cabinet is not immediately working out the plan in detail and will first talk to the next of kin of enslaved people.
Lay down in law
Member of Parliament Tunahan Kuzu (DENK) believes that money should be made available on a structural basis. The MP also wants the apologies to be laid down in law because that leads to ‘clarification and sharpening’ of the apologies.
But Prime Minister Rutte does not want to start there. He fears that legal entrenchment “could delay the purpose of the apology – which is to express regret for the government’s historic suffering and a stepping stone towards reconciliation.”
Some parties, including PvdA, DENK and BIJ1, want reparations to be made in addition to apologies. VVD and CDA have previously spoken out against reparations. “Reparations are a no-go for us,” says VVD member Van Strien.
The cabinet also emphasized again today that no reparations will be made to descendants of enslaved people.
Slot is open to idea to make July 1 day off
Minister Bruins Slot is open to the idea that 1 July will be a day off to commemorate the slavery past and celebrate its end. According to the minister, whether July 1 should become a day off should be decided in the collective labor agreements, after advice from the Labor Foundation.
The House of Representatives has long wanted to declare July 1 a national holiday. The originally Surinamese holiday Keti Koti is celebrated on July 1, because on that date in 1863 it was decided by law to end slavery. In fact, this only came to an end ten years later.
