King of Belgium expresses regrets to Congo president

BRUSSELS: For the first time in Belgium’s history, a reigning king expressed his regret on Tuesday for the violence carried out by the former colonial power when it ruled over what is now Congo.

In a leter to the Congolese president, Felix Tshisekedi, Belgium’s King Philippe stopped short of issuing a formal apology but conveyed his “deepest regrets” for the “acts of violence and cruelty” and the “suffering and humiliation” inflicted on Belgian Congo. The leter was published on the 60th anniversary of the African country’s independence.

“To further strengthen our ties and develop an even more fruiful friendship, we must be able to talk to each other about our long common history in all truth and serenity,” Philippe wrote.

Philippe’s leter was sent amid growing demands that Belgium reassess its colonial past and take responsibility for the atrocities commited by former King Leopold II. In the wake of the protests against racial inequality triggered by the May 25 death of George Floyd in the United States, several statues of Leopold, who is blamed for the deaths of millions of Africans during Belgium’s colonial rule, have been vandalised. A petition has called for Belgium to remove all statues of the former king.

A bust of Leopold II is expected to be taken down from display later on Tuesday in the city of Ghent following a decision from local authorities.

Earlier this month, regional authorities also promised history course reforms to beter explain the true character of colonialism. The federal Parliament has decided that a commission would look into Belgium’s colonial past.

Belgium Prime minister Sophie Wilmes has called for “an in-depth” debate conducted “without taboo.”

“In 2020, we must be able to look at this shared past with lucidity and discernment,” she said on Tuesday. “Any work of truth and memory begins with the recognition of suffering. Acknowledging the suffering of the other.”

In his leter to Tshisekedi, Philippe stressed the “common achievements” reached by Belgium and its former colony, but also the painful episodes of their unequal relationship.