Parliament leader will not attend slavery abolition ceremony on July 1 over racism row

Dutch parliamentary leader Martin Bosma will not attend the annual memorial for the history of slavery in the Netherlands. Bosma was invited to attend the event at the monument to enslaved people in Amsterdam's Oosterpark on Monday, but the possibility of his attendance was considered controversial by a collection of activists and politicians due to Bosma's past remarks and membership in the far-right PVV political party.

Bosma was invited because he is the chair of the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Parliament. The unrest has not died down since his attendance was confirmed a few weeks ago. He discussed the matter with the organization responsible for the memorial, the National Institute for the Dutch Slavery History and Heritage (NiNsee).

NiNsee was going to rescind Bosma's invitation if he did not choose to decline to attend the Amsterdam ceremony after the discussion. "Bosma has, among other things, called the slave leader and resistance hero Tula, who was rehabilitated by the state, a criminal," NiNsee chair Linda Nooitmeer told Nu.nl. “These types of statements are a slap in the face to the descendants of enslaved people.”

"The commemoration should not be about me, but about the history of slavery," a spokesperson for Bosma told ANP. He made the decision "jointly" with NiNsee after a conversation with the organization on Wednesday.

During his tenure in the Tweede Kamer, but before he was the house chair, Bosma called on the Cabinet and King Willem-Alexander to withdraw their apologies for the country's historic ties to the slave trade. Prime Minister Mark Rutte apologized on behalf of the Netherlands in December 2022, and King Willem-Alexander delivered his own remarks at the slavery memorial ceremony last year in Amsterdam.

Both men will attend the event this year. For Rutte, it will be his last official agenda item as the country's prime minister. Bosma's presence could have cast a shadow on the event, and was also expected to lead to public protests.

Bosma also submitted a bill in Parliament in 2017 saying actors should be required to use blackface makeup when depicting Zwarte Piet during Sinterklaas events that are sponsored by municipalities. The character of Zwarte Piet was frequently portrayed by white actors using dark brown makeup, bright red lipstick, gold hoop earrings, and black curly wigs.

The character is the assistant to Sinterklaas, but is often dressed in Moorish clothing used to depict enslaved people in artwork from the 17th through 19th centuries. The popularity of the blackface appearance has declined over the last decade, in favor of more inclusive portrayals of the character.

"That has to stop. Zwarte Piet is a tradition in the Netherlands that we should be proud of. It is total nonsense to connect Zwarte Piet with racism or slavery," Bosma said in 2017.

"We wanted to avoid having to take action at all costs against people who rightly want to demonstrate against Bosma's presence at the commemoration," Nooitmeer said. "That's why I was willing to take this extreme measure."

Bosma's spokesperson said he made it clear during the conversation with NiNsee "that he understands the importance of a dignified commemoration."