Call for demonstrations in Curaçao and St. Maarten on Dec. 19, expected apology by Rutte

Independence organizations in Curaçao and Sint Maarten have called for demonstrations on Monday, December 19. On that day, Prime Minister Mark Rutte is expected to apologize in the Netherlands for the past of slavery.

Afterwards, in Curaçao, Aruba, St. Maarten, Bonaire, St. Eustatius, Saba and in Suriname, several Dutch ministers and state secretaries will explain the Cabinet's response to the report "Chains of the Past". The report calls for recognition, apology and reparation for the Dutch slavery past.

The Prime Minister of St. Maarten, Silveria Jacobs, said in Parliament last Wednesday that, in her opinion, there was too little consultation on the response on Dec. 19.

According to Jacobs, the Netherlands is suddenly in a hurry. Consequently, she could not say whether the possible apology will be accepted or not. For that, an advisory committee must first have done its work, Jacobs said.

The organizations calling for demonstrations believe that the Netherlands is trying to push through the apologies without involving the representatives of the islands in a dignified manner. They accuse The Hague of "a sense of superiority.”

On the islands it is still unclear to many people what exactly will happen. The case receives modest attention in (social) media on the islands.

After Rutte's speech in the Netherlands, there is a different program for each island. In Curaçao, Secretary of State Alexandra van Huffelen (Kingdom Relations) will speak in a park containing the statue of the Curaçao “national hero” Tula, who led a slave revolt in 1795 and was subsequently sentenced to death by the Netherlands