AMSTERDAM, July 1, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - King Willem-Alexander is widely expected
to make a royal apology for the Netherlands' involvement in slavery on
Saturday at an event marking 150 years since slaves were freed in former
colonies.

Thousands of descendants of slaves from the South American nation of Suriname
and the Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao will attend the
celebrations in Amsterdam for "Keti Koti" ("breaking the chains" in
Surinamese).

Dutch media reported that the king is expected to make some form of apology
on behalf of the royal family, to follow on from an official government
apology in December.

However Willem-Alexander has stopped short of confirming that he will say
sorry for a trade that researchers say brought vast riches to his ancestors
in the House of Orange.

"I think we will have to wait until July 1," the Dutch monarch told
journalists when asked on a recent state visit to Belgium whether he would
apologise at the ceremony.

"I clearly understand peoples' wishes that I'll do it but I'm asking you to
wait until then."

The speech will be broadcast live on national television, and Queen Maxima
and Prime Minister Mark Rutte will attend the event at the Oosterpark in the
Dutch capital.

Descendants of slaves have called for the king to use the occasion to
apologise.

"That is important, especially because the Afro-Dutch community considers it
important," Linda Nooitmeer, chairman of the National Institute of Dutch
Slavery History and Legacy, told public broadcaster NOS.
 
"It is important for processing the history of slavery."

- Colonial riches -

Since the Black Lives Matter movement emerged in the United States, the
Netherlands has embarked on an often difficult debate about the colonial and
slave trading past that turned it into one of the world's richest countries.

And the Dutch royals have often found themselves at the centre of the debate.

A Dutch study released in June found that the royal family earned 545 million
euros ($595 million) in today's terms between 1675 and 1770 from the
colonies, where slavery was widespread.

The current king's distant ancestors, Willem III, Willem IV and Willem V,
were among the biggest earners from what the report called the Dutch state's
"deliberate, structural and long-term involvement" in slavery.

Separately, in 2022 King Willem-Alexander announced that he was ditching the
royal Golden Coach that traditionally transported him on state occasions
because it had images of slavery on the sides.

One side panel had a picture called "Tribute of the Colonies" depicting
kneeling black people handing over produce like cocoa and sugarcane to their
white masters.

Rutte in December described slavery as a "crime against humanity" when he
delivered a long-awaited apology, and Dutch ministers travelled to seven
former colonies.

The king said days later, in his Christmas address, that the government
apology was the "start of a long journey".

Slavery was formally abolished in Suriname and other Dutch-held lands on July
1, 1863, but the practice only really ended in 1873 after a 10-year
"transition" period.

The Dutch funded their "Golden Age" of empire and culture in the 16th and
17th centuries by shipping around 600,000 Africans as part of the slave
trade, mostly to South America and the Caribbean.