Former Cabinet postponed apology for Dutch slavery past several times

The previous cabinet postponed the apology for the Dutch slavery past several times. This is evident from documents requested under the Open Government Act. The final date for the apology, December 19, 2022, caused a lot of unrest.

The “Chains of the Past” report recommended that the Cabinet apologize for slavery in July 2021. Almost a year later, the Cabinet took the “decision in principle” to do so, although the timing and content of the apology had not yet been determined.

“A good date for an apology could be July 1, 2022,” the officials wrote. 2023 would be the commemorative year around the slavery past, and officials did not think it was a good idea to hang the apology as a “shadow” over the preparations. The date was not chosen “because more time was needed to achieve the necessary political support,” a spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations (BZK) told ANP.

In a later document, officials suggested that the then Prime Minister Mark Rutte should apologize on 23 November 2022 at the Zeeuws archive in Middelburg, but this day did not materialize either. According to the spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior, the end of November was “not feasible” due to “the social discussion and the discussion with Suriname about possible apologies”. The director of the Zeeuws Archief said he had no knowledge of the proposal.

When it leaked in early November 2022 that the government planned to apologize in December, the groups involved were outraged. They thought it was too hasty and wanted more input. Many would have preferred the apology to come on July 1, the day of Keti Koti.

The frustration was also evident during a visit to Curaçao by then State Secretary Alexandra van Huffelen (Kingdom Relations). “This is not just an issue, it's profound, it's alive and it hurts,” said one of those present, according to an internal report. “And now we're discussing something that's supposed to happen in less than a month? That makes me shudder.”

Still, the Cabinet pushed ahead. In Curaçao, Van Huffelen said there was "no specific reason" for December 19, but another document referred to a promise by Minister Franc Weerwind (Legal Protection). He promised in a speech that the Cabinet would respond to the slavery report before 2023. "Many have had to wait too long for that."

Nevertheless, Ruttes Cabinet IV remained adamant. On Curaçao, Van Huffelen said there was “no concrete reason” for December 19, but another document referred to a promise made by Minister Franc Weerwind (Legal Protection). He promised in a speech that the cabinet would present a response to the slavery report by 2023. “Many have had to wait too long for this,” he said.

According to the BZK spokesperson, December 19 was chosen because that was the first time "an event with all members of the Cabinet could be planned."