Historic apology

The CARICOM Reparations Commission has described the apology issued by Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte for the country’s role in slavery as “historic” and “significant”.

However, the Commission’s chairman and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles has called for further reparation negotiations between the Netherlands, CARICOM, Africa and the indigenous Caribbean communities.

“This is indeed a historic moment…With this formal apology of the Dutch state and the acknowledgement that the Trans-Atlantic slave trade enchained African bodies and chattel slavery in general, that they represent a crime against humanity and that such a crime must be repaired with specific remedies, this formal apology is significant and we understand it to be a historic moment,” Sir Hilary told a press conference on Wednesday. The media event was called to address Rutte’s apology.

On Monday, the Netherlands PM formally apologized on behalf of his government for the country’s role in abetting, preserving and profiting from the slave trade.

“For hundreds of years, people were made merchandise, exploited and abused in the name of the Dutch state,” Rutte said.

He also said Dutch governments had not done enough to acknowledge that slavery had had lasting negative effects since it was abolished in the Dutch colonies in 1863.

Sir Hilary said the Netherlands should be commended for its stance, while suggesting that their position made them the European state “best poised at this moment to bring global leadership to this long and sustained call for reparatory justice”.

But Sir Hilary took issue with the fact that Hutte did not consult with CARICOM before issuing his statement.

“We recognize however, that this development is best understood as an internal conversation within the Dutch state. The Prime Minister did not bring to the table those who are the survivors of this historic crime. The victim communities in the Caribbean and beyond are therefore not stakeholders to this historic statement.

“So historic though it is, the statement can be challenged and must be challenged on the basis that the Prime Minister did not seek the organised input and support of the Caribbean community and the reparatory justice movement in general,” Sir Hilary explained.

“It is a statement that is unilateral in its conception and execution and we are of the opinion that it is only multilateralism and full inclusion of all stakeholders that will give us the impetus we need to move forward in a dignified way with this matter of an apology. The marginalisation of the victim communities will undoubtedly be experiencing this moment with deep ambivalence, but they will be concerned that it seems to emanate from an imperial consciousness rather than a democratic sensibility.”

Sir Hilary said he was looking forward to meeting with Rutte and his team to “speak about the movement of the statement of apology into a development approach in which reparatory justice is at the centre of the conversation.”

Director of the Centre for Reparations Research, Professor Verene Shepherd, also agreed that Rutte’s apology was a “step in the right direction” and a reflection of the success of all reparation activists.

randybennett@barbadostoday.bb