Confusion over Dutch apology for slavery
According to the Suriname government, the Netherlands has not formally apologised for slavery.
According to media reports, Dutch Minister of Legal Protection Franc Weerwind, who will be on a working visit to the Dutch-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country, will apologise.
Kenneth Amoksi, Justice and Police Minister, stated in the National Assembly on Tuesday that while a work programme for the December 1-5-20 visit has been agreed upon, it does not include an apology for slavery on December 19.
“Nothing has been reported about apologies on December 19,” Amoksi said, amid criticism of the Netherlands’ unilateral decision, with several legislators questioning Amoksi on the matter.
However, the government has stated that everything concerning the December 19 apologies has been reported in the press, with Minister of Spatial Planning and Environment Silvano Tjong-Ahin stating that the government is not ignoring the signals.
“The government will take a position. The council will also be involved in taking the position, as will the community as much as possible “He continued.
Rabin Parmessar, the leader of the opposition National Democratic Party (NDP) in the National Assembly, said that while he agreed with Amoksi’s statement, it had not escaped his notice that Weerwind is coming here to apologise for past slavery.
“Has it been approved? How is the government handling this? You know how sensitive the situation is in Suriname; have they been consulted? The government is concerned about this. We’d like to hear the government’s thoughts on this “According to Parmessar.
Another legislator, Patricia Etnel of the National Party of Suriname (NPS), stated that as a descendant of the enslaved, she and many others are opposed to apologies being offered in Suriname on December 19.
“We descendants will not accept it, and you, as a descendant, should not accept it,” Etnel told the National Assembly.
