King Philip has again expressed “sincere regrets” for atrocities supposedly committed in the Democratic Republic of Congo when it was a colony of Belgium.
“The colonial regime as such was based on exploitation and domination. This regime was one of an unequal and unjustifiable relationship, marked by paternalism, discrimination and racism” King Philippe who is visiting DR Congo for many years said.
His speech was apologetic about the “atrocities” committed by his ancestor Leopold II in the Belgian Congo, which he transformed into a “personal property” between 1885 and 1908, before turning it into a Belgian colony until independence in 1960.
The Belgian king’s six-day official visit to the DR Congo, the continent’s second-largest country, comes two years after his apologetic letter to Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi.
The occasion was Dr Congo’s 60th anniversary of independence, during which the monarch expressing his “deep regrets” and “wounds of the past.”
“Although many Belgians were sincerely committed, deeply loving the Congo and its people, the colonial regime (…) gave rise to exactions and humiliations,” the king acknowledged in a first speech on Tuesday upon his arrival in Kinshasa.
This royal visit is the first since that of Albert II, Philippe’s father, in 2010.
It was twice postponed, in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic and then at the beginning of this year because of the war unleashed by Russia in Ukraine.
With this symbolic trip, the sovereign hopes to close a painful chapter between the two countries and seal reconciliation between Belgium and its former colony.
A large part of Congolese public opinion has expressed “anger” and “bitterness” for the “pains of the past”.
Some demand reparations for the suffering endured and the “plundering” of the DR Congo’s wealth.
King Philippe, who has ruled Belgium since 2013, acknowledged the “acts of violence and cruelty” committed during the time of his ancestor Leopold II.
According to historians, Belgian colonial rule resulted in the deaths of millions of Congolese.
“We do not forget the past, but we look to the future,” said Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya.
King Philippe and his wife Mathilde visited the national museum on Wednesday where he gave a speech on the esplanade of the National Assembly.
They will then travel to Lubumbashi, in the south-east of the country, on Friday to meet university students, before heading to Bukavu, in the east, a region that has been plagued by violence from armed groups for nearly three decades.
On the economic front, Belgium wants to propose a new type of win-win partnership with the DR Congo.
Belgian government intends to return artefacts plundered from its former colony.
Development aid will also be at the heart of talks between King Philippe and Félix Tshisekedi as Belgium is the fourth largest donor to the DRC after the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany.
CD/lb/as/APA