Dear Editor,
In memory and honor of our spiritual and courageous Afrikan ancestors who fought for our freedom against oppression, we, Ubuntu Connected Front Caribbean (UCF), request your kind attention to the following two statements regarding the so-called apologies for the slavery past made by the Dutch government. These statements were sent to the Dutch government and contain important historical facts that we should all be aware of. The first statement dates December 19, the other November 26, 2022.
December 19, 2022
“NO to Apologies for the Dutch slavery past on December 19, 2022”
Dear Prime Minister Rutte,
In memory of our warrior Afrikan ancestors who fought against colonial rule for our freedom, we, Ubuntu Connected Front (UCF), D’HERO, Ubuntu Connected Front Caribbean and many supporting advocacy organizations bring to you, your cabinet and government the following message.
1. We will not accept the apologies for the Dutch slavery past which you are most likely going to pronounce on behalf of the Dutch State, December 19, 2022. The reason for rejecting your apologies is prompted by the following.
2. You, your previous and successive cabinets and governments have never seen the descendants of enslaved people as full citizens of our society. Time and time again you insulted descendants of enslaved people and or citizens of Afrikan descent in your policies, laws and regulations as well as openly in the media;
3. In 2001, slavery and the slave trade (including the trans-Atlantic slave trade) was declared a crime against humanity by the United Nations and the same goes for the European Parliament. We recall that the State of the Netherlands voted against the resolution in this vote;
4. Your cabinet (and government) subsequently failed to implement the United Nations “International Year for People of Afrikan Descent” in 2011, which included the themes of recognition, justice and development.
5. Your cabinet (and government) did not establish a national action plan in the subsequent United Nations “International Decade (2015-2024) for people of African descent” with the same themes and baptized the ‘Reparations Decade’.
6. Your cabinet (and government) recently voted in Geneva in October 2022 (less than two months ago!!) against a United Nations resolution against the trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonization, global racism and discrimination;
7. Your cabinet (and government) has never given a substantive response to questions from the civil society about the annual use of the Golden Coach on ‘Prinsjesdag’. Even the King has never responded to our requests or formally distanced himself from the Golden Coach to this day;
8. Your statement in 2013 that “Black Pete is black” and the announcement in July 2020 that your cabinet sees nothing in Dutch apologies for the slavery past because it would only have a polarizing effect, are etched in our memory despite your recent U-turn;
9. Finally, your announcement during the weekly press conference on last Friday. in which you indicate that after apologizing, the cabinet and the government will not transfer reparations for running the most criminal enterprise in Dutch history. Not only is this the umpteenth insult of the descendants of enslaved people in our country, the cabinet and government are also denying that same history and its impact in the present;
10. Your statement that no reparations in the form of payment of arrears of wages for enslaved people will be paid is also proof to us that the racist colonial actions of your predecessors are also deeply rooted in your genes, your cabinet and government.
11. The preparations leading up to this day have also clearly shown that the cabinet and government have not understood what this dossier is essentially about: recognition, justice and development. For example, conclusions of ongoing investigations into the slavery past will not be included, apologies will be made for irrelevant groups with regard to the slavery past, and descendants of the true heroes in the battle will not be included on the list of invitees in the Netherlands, the Republic of Suriname and the Caribbean islands ( Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba).
12. By applying the colonial divide and conquer techniques and also setting a date in a colonial manner, expressed against the wishes of those directly involved, not only shows that the cabinet and government still treat the descendants with disrespect, but also that your cabinet and government has not learned enough from the slavery past.
In view of the disrespectful treatment that our ancestors had to undergo under your predecessors and the disrespectful treatment that we as descendants of enslaved people still undergo today, also due to the actions of your cabinet and government, we cannot possibly accept a possible pronounced apology from the Dutch State today. Accepting your apology under the current facts and circumstances is a betrayal to our ancestors who fought against colonial oppression and for our freedom and a betrayal to our future generations.
In the spirit of Ubuntu, we have proudly accepted the legacy of our spiritual and courageous Afrikan ancestors and it is our moral obligation to continue their struggle to preserve and cherish the legacy of our ancestors, for our generation and for our posterity.
Ubuntu (I am because we are)!
November 26, 2022
“Apologies for the slavery past without reparatory justice are no apologies.”
(also available via
https://tinyurl.com/no-to-slavery-apologies)
Dear Prime Minister Rutte,
In memory and honor of our spiritual and courageous African ancestors who fought against oppression for our freedom, we, Ubuntu Connected Front (UCF), D’HERO and the Reparatory Justice Cooperative Alliance, request your kind attention to the following.
1. Earlier this month (November 3, 2019) it was announced that the cabinet would soon apologize for the slavery past. A majority of the House of Representatives has insisted on this after a visit by a parliamentary delegation to Suriname, Curaçao and Bonaire;
2. In recent days, various media have reported on the intention of the cabinet to apologize for the Dutch slavery past on Monday 19 December;
3. According to sources from The Hague, seven members of the cabinet will travel to Suriname and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom where they will give speeches in which they will express regret on behalf of the State of the Netherlands. The speeches will all be delivered on the same day in the Netherlands and in the former colonies that had to deal with slavery;
4. Prime Minister Rutte will apologize in the Netherlands. Minister Weerwind (Legal Protection) will travel to the Surinamese capital Paramaribo as a descendant of enslaved people;
5. State Secretary Van der Burg (Asylum) goes to Aruba, Minister Van Gennip (Social Affairs) to Bonaire, State Secretary Van Huffelen (Kingdom Relations) to Curaçao, State Secretary Van Rij (Finance) to St. Eustatius, State Secretary Van Ooijen (Welfare) to Saba and Minister Kuipers (Public Health) to St. Maarten;
6. The apologies are not accompanied by reparations or direct financial compensation for the descendants of enslaved people;
7. Despite the fact that the content of the above messages has not (yet) been confirmed by the cabinet, the intention of the government and the cabinet to apologize for the Dutch slavery past after almost 150 years is in itself a good gesture;
8. Our thanks go in the first place to all persons and organizations who have committed themselves in recent years in the context of the slavery file and making apologies and to all who had no doubt that this moment would arrive;
9. In view of these developments, we recall on behalf of UCF, D’HERO and the Reparatory Justice Cooperation Alliance that the Netherlands has a long history of Afrophobia (anti-black racism), colonialism, slavery and the otherwise oppression of Afrikans and citizens of Afrikan descent;
10. We agree that slavery and the slave trade (including the trans-Atlantic slave trade) were declared a crime against humanity by the United Nations in 2001 and the European parliament;
11. We point to the fact that the racist ideas that underlie slavery and the discrimination that characterized slavery can still be seen in society today;
12. We emphasize that without remedial measures, which explicitly include reparations, the negative consequences of colonialism and trans-Atlantic slavery, which are still present today, in particular for citizens of Afrikan descent, will continue to exist;
13. We emphasize that apologies for the Dutch slavery past are only of value if they are expressed unconditionally (without restrictions on reparatory justice). Apologies without ethical, historical, educational, financial, socio-economic or cultural reparation are no apologies, especially when it is taken into account that the negative effects of that slavery past are still felt today in Dutch society, the Caribbean (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba) and the Republic of Suriname and the Afrikan continent where our ancestors forcefully against their will were taken and enslaved by the trans-Atlantic European slave trade and colonialism.
14. We point out to the current government and cabinet that, despite the fact that they have been made aware of the need for legal reparatory justice for many years, they are partly responsible for allowing the various negative effects of the slavery past to continue to have an effect in the present;
15. We would like to point out to the government and cabinet that other matters that stand in the way of successful apologies at this stage, such as remedial measures (including payments), the crime scenes, the role of the current cabinet, the role of the prime minister, the position and possible role of the King, the proposed role of Minister Weerwind as the descendant of an enslaved person, the impact of the slavery past, etc.;
16. We are well aware that this is not the time to delve into the complexities, underlying problems and possible solutions of making unconditional apologies for the Dutch slavery past;
17. We assume that if, as appears from the messages, you as a member of the government and cabinet intend to apologize for the Dutch slavery past on December 19, 2022, you wish to do so successfully. In order to achieve this, we have tried to make it clear that the government and cabinet will have to take more time to make the intention of apologizing for all involved in the spirit of Ubuntu a success.
Sincerely / Kind regards,
Mr. R.P. Vaarnold LL.M.
President Ubuntu Connected Front (UCF) I Director D’HERO
To cite Martinican poet and politician Aimé Césaire on colonization:
“I am talking about societies drained of their essence, cultures trampled underfoot, institutions undermined, lands confiscated, religions smashed, magnificent artistic creations destroyed, extraordinary possibilities wiped out.”
Ubuntu (I am because we are)!
Sincerely / Kind regards,
Kenneth Cuvalay
President Ubuntu Connected Front Caribbean (UCF)
