Prime Minister Mark Rutte involves the Caribbean islands and Suriname in formulating the apologies for the slavery past on December 19. He made that promise in the Catshuis consultation.
This is confirmed by government sources and people who sat at the table at the consultations. The interest groups are allowed to read along and make suggestions for the extensive government response to the report of the Advisory Board on the Slavery History Dialogue Group set up by the cabinet. The participation increases the chance that no more accidents will happen, an insider confirms.
,,It does not mean that they are official, but that they can respond and provide input,” says one person involved. It is an important commitment that Rutte made to the organizations on Thursday. The gesture helped them to be conditionally positive on the path now taken by the cabinet.
Crime against humanity
It is expected that the speechwriters of Rutte’s ministry will draw on the speeches of the mayors of Amsterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. They previously apologized for slavery. Mayor Sharon Dijksma of Utrecht spoke of a ‘crime against humanity’.
Minister Franc Weerwind (Legal Protection), who is going to Suriname, was told that his gesture on December 19 is not appreciated. Chairman Johan Rozer of the Surinamese National Commemoration of Slavery Commemoration argued that Surinamese do not appreciate him apologizing as an ‘enslaved descendant’.
‘It has to stop sometime’
One of the participants in the Catshuis meeting, who wishes to remain anonymous, says about this: “It is about ‘in the spiritIt’s not good for Weatherwind to do it, because he’s seen as one of them. But how long do you want to keep that up? It has to stop at some point.”
According to a cabinet source, Weerwind will not let himself be driven off the rails ‘by the ethnic map, which is by a very vocal group is played.’
The other ministers who will be available on December 19 to explain the apologies on the Caribbean islands are Secretary of State Eric van der Burg (Asylum) who is going to Aruba, Minister Karien van Gennip (Social Affairs) on Bonaire, Secretary of State Alexandra Van Huffelen (Kingdom Relations) on Curaçao, State Secretary Marnix van Rij (Finance) on St. Eustatius, State Secretary Maarten Ooijen (Welfare) on Saba and Minister Ernst Kuipers (Public Health) on St. Maarten.
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