Attendees throw flowers in the Maas during the commemoration in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 30 June 2022, of the abolition of slavery in Suriname and the Caribbean Netherlands. The Rotterdam Municipal Executive previously apologized for the city's participation in the colonial and slavery past. EPA-EFE/ROBIN UTRECHT Minister for Legal Protection Franc Weerwind confirmed a report by broadcaster RTL that the government planned to make a formal apology in December.
The government also plans to spend 200 million euros on a fund promoting awareness about the colonial power's role in slavery and 27 million euros to open a slavery museum, RTL reported.
The decision follows the recommendation last year by an advisory panel that the government acknowledge that the 17th-19th century transatlantic slave trade amounted to crimes against humanity, and that the Dutch government apologise.
It is a "big moment and a beautiful moment," Weerwind was quoted by news agency ANP as telling journalists in The Hague on Friday. By apologising, the government will "open the page to a shared future. You do that together and you do that by making this statement."
(Reporting by Anthony Deutsch; editing by Jason Neely)
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