A recovery fund for descendants of victims of slavery, the disappearance of Zwarte Piet from the public domain and criminalization of the use of the ‘n-word’. Only if these demands are met will the interest groups involved agree to the government’s public apology for slavery, scheduled for December 19. This is evident from a letter in the hands of News hourWhich message here on Saturday.
The letter is addressed to the cabinet and is supported by the Prime Minister of Aruba and, among others, Zwart Manifest, Kick Out Zwarte Piet, The Black Archives, NiNsee and Vereniging Antilliaans Netwerk. The interest groups also want the Netherlands to cancel the domestic debt of Suriname and the Caribbean islands and that black cultural institutions receive structural financial support. King Willem-Alexander also has to give a speech during Keti Koti in Amsterdam’s Oosterpark.
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Last Thursday, the planned apologies were discussed in the Catshuis between the cabinet on the one hand and politicians from Suriname and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom and interest groups on the other. On Thursday it was announced that five Surinamese organizations are going to court because of the plans for the slavery apology.