Dutch king welcomes government apology for slavery

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands on Sunday welcomed the apology for slavery made by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at the beginning of the week.
No one alive in the Netherlands could be blamed for the inhumanity perpetrated on men, women and children in the former colonies of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander said during his Christmas Day address to the nation.
"But by viewing our joint history in an honest way and by acknowledging the crime against humanity that slavery was, we are however laying the foundations for a joint future," the king said.
In his government address on Monday, Rutte expressed apologies on behalf of the country for the crimes around 150 years after slavery was abolished in Dutch colonies. Its effects remain visible up to the present, he said.
The Dutch government plans to confront the country's slavery history, with 2023 declared as a year of commemoration.
Willem-Alexander said the royal house would participate actively in this. The aim was to oppose all forms of discrimination, exploitation and injustice, he said.
The Netherlands is believed to have enslaved an estimated 600,000 people before abolishing slavery officially on July 1, 1863, as one of the last European nations to do so.