Belgium’s King Philippe expressed his “deepest sorrow” for the abuses committed by his country in its former colony, the Democratic Republic of Congo, on Wednesday.
During his first official visit to the country, he gave a speech in which he stated that Belgian colonial authority was illegitimate and racist.
His remarks were similar to those he gave two years ago on the 60th anniversary of Congo’s independence.
Then, unlike any of his predecessors, he went much further in condemning “acts of violence and cruelty” committed during Belgian colonial authority.
In recent years, Belgium has been forced to confront its colonial past, notably in the run-up to the 60th anniversary of Congo’s independence in 2020.
In the same year, Belgium demolished a statue of King Leopold II, who plundering Congo from 1865 to 1909 and enslaving thousands of its people to harvest resources for his own profit.
Killings, forced labor, and other sorts of brutality were common in the early years after Leopold claimed the African country.
According to some estimates, up to ten million Congolese died.
After Leopold’s claim to Congo expired in 1908, he turned it over to the Belgian state, which ruled the territory until 1960, when the African nation gained independence.
