News item | 6/19/2023 | 4:56 pm
Minister Hoekstra of Foreign Affairs today apologized on behalf of the government to the children and other relatives of Anton de Kom for the suffering he and his family experienced at the hands of the then Dutch authorities. In order to give substance to Anton de Kom’s rehabilitation, the cabinet, in consultation with his family and the Anton de Kom Foundation, has decided to establish a chair at VU University Amsterdam.
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Minister Hoekstra: ‘Anton de Kom was a brave man who fought for justice, equality and human dignity. He did so as an anti-colonial thinker and writer, as an activist, and as a resistance hero. Unfortunately, these were not the words the then authorities used to describe him. He was hindered in his activities, captured in Suriname and then put on a ship to the Netherlands. And despite all that, he gave his life for the Netherlands by joining the resistance during World War II.
The deeds of Anton de Kom and his important contribution to Dutch and Surinamese history, including through his impressive book ‘We Slaves of Suriname’, deserve honor and recognition. This chair will help to give Anton de Kom and his body of ideas a rightful place in history education and the academic world.’
The chair focuses on the historical processing of the Dutch slavery past and how this affects the present. Anton de Kom’s ideas will be central to this. With this gesture, the government wants to make Anton de Kom’s rehabilitation concrete and visible to a wider audience. The chair, financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will start in the academic year 2023-2024.
By establishing an Anton de Kom chair, the cabinet is implementing the motion of the member of Ojik (28 January 2021).