On Wednesday, marking the start of his first-ever trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Belgium’s King Philippe reiterated his “deepest regrets” over the brutal colonisation of the country during the late 19th and 20th centuries but once again stopped short of apologising.
Addressing the Congolese people and in particular President Félix Tshisekedi at the Palais du Peuple, acknowledged that Belgium’s former colonial regime was rooted in “exploitation and domination” and which fostered “an unequal relationship, in itself unjustifiable, marked by paternalism, discriminations, and racism.”
In this regard, the king proffered his “deepest regrets for these wounds of the past,” conceding that the DRC had suffered “abuse and humiliations.”
🇧🇪🇨🇩 Discours historique du roi Philippe à Kinshasa. Y compris des mots de profond regret sur les blessures liées au passé.
— Alexander De Croo 🇧🇪🇪🇺 (@alexanderdecroo) June 8, 2022
Nous nous tournons vers l'avenir, avec une forte volonté de coopérer et d’enrichir encore les liens humains existant entre la Belgique et la RDC. #BELRDC pic.twitter.com/VWeVD6TOe3
Keeping this in mind, he called on both nations to “write a new chapter in our relations and look to the future.” He noted that Belgium is an able and willing military partner in confronting insurgencies in eastern DRC, where he said “inhuman violence and impunity too often prevail.” “This situation cannot continue. It is the responsibility of all of us to do something about it,” the monarch declared, proclaiming the DRC as “our most important partner in Africa.”
Looking to the future, King Philippe noted the DRC’s “exceptional biodiversity,” pointing to its rich forest cover, “abundance of minerals”, and its “huge river complex,” which he said could fuel the “world’s largest hydroelectric system” to create clean energy for “the entire region.”
These sentiments were echoed by Prime Minister De Croo, who in a joint press conference with Tshisekedi remarked, “It’s important to face our history, to say words that are sometimes a little difficult,” while reiterating that “the real issue is the future.” He said that “in order to build a good future,” the two nations should be ready to “face the past.”
Furthermore, he echoed the king’s offer of military support to protect Congolese security.
Tshisekedi, meanwhile, said that while “the past is both glorious and sad,” he aims to “build something new and above all something that is constructive” for the two countries. When asked if Brussels should indeed apologise, he stated that it is “up to Belgium to think about this.”
🇧🇪🇨🇩Accueil chaleureux à Kinshasa⁰⁰ll y a douze ans qu’un souverain belge ne s’était pas déplacé en République démocratique du Congo.
— Alexander De Croo 🇧🇪🇪🇺 (@alexanderdecroo) June 7, 2022
La présence du Roi Philippe souligne l’importance des relations entre nos pays, aussi pour le futur. #BELRDC pic.twitter.com/dbzVyZyE7p
The Congolese leader added, “We have not dwelled on the past, which is the past and which is not to be reconsidered, but we need to look to the future.”
In this regard, he hailed Belgium as “the entry gate to Europe,” issuing a call for a “new partnership.”
To this end, Belgium made a series of reconciliatory measures both before and during the trip. For instance, it established a commission back in 2020 to investigate the country’s colonial history and will submit a final report later this year.
The Belgian delegation will also hand over a tooth belonging to the DRC’s first president, Patrice Lumamba, who was assassinated by Belgian-backed secessionists in 1961, just one year after the country gained independence. The Belgian government assumed partial responsibility for the event back in 2002.
Also in 2020, a statue of King Leopold II in Gent was also removed in recognition of his “acts of violence and cruelty.”
Furthermore, Philippe honoured Corporal Albert Kuyunku with the Commander of the Order of the Crown for fighting alongside Belgian troops during World War II.
Belgium has also begun returning some of the over 100,000 artefacts it stole during its colonial rule, including a Kakuungu mask from the Suku ethnic group. Around 70% of these objects will be returned.
🙏La première journée débute par une cérémonie au Mémorial des anciens combattants. Le Roi y rend hommage aux anciens combattants 🇨🇩.
— Belgian Royal Palace (@MonarchieBe) June 8, 2022
Le caporal Kunyuku, le dernier vétéran 🇨🇩 ayant combattu pour 🇧🇪 durant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, est fait Commandeur de l’Ordre de la Couronne! pic.twitter.com/hlC7Tu6YYz
Under Belgian colonial rule between 1885 and 1908, spearheaded by King Leopold II, the current monarch’s great-great-grandfather, it is estimated that at least ten million Congolese people died. Once Leopold II was forced to give up his control over the DRC, the Belgian state took over until 30 June 1960 after Patrice Lumumba became the country’s first democratic prime minister. However, he was assassinated in 1961 by Congolese rebels with the support of Belgian army officers.
King Philippe had earlier in 2020 expressed regret over this colonial history in a letter to President Tshikedi to commemorate DRC’s 60th year of Independence. However, like in his speech in Kinshasa this week, while the monarch expressed his “deepest regrets” for the “acts of violence” and “suffering” enacted upon the Congolese people, he did not apologise.
08.06.2022 #PhilippeMathildeEnRDC l #Kinshasa
— Présidence RDC 🇨🇩 (@Presidence_RDC) June 8, 2022
Le Président de la République et le Roi des belges ont présidé, ce mercredi 8 juin, à la cérémonie de restitution par la #Belgique @africamuseumbe d'un masque traditionnel du Congo au #MuseeNationalRDC pic.twitter.com/hmGSZUPInZ
It is thought that Belgium’s refusal to apologise stems from a fear that it may form the grounds for demands for reparations. This is in stark contrast to the actions of Germany, which has recognised colonial-era crimes committed between 1904 and 1908 against the Herero and Nama tribes in Namibia as genocide and offered a formal apology.
That being said, like Belgium, Germany, too, has dismissed the possibility of reparations, saying that offering “individual compensations” after over 100 years “would be unprecedented” and that the 1948 convention on genocide “does not apply retrospectively and cannot be the basis for financial claims.”
While it has pledged $1.3 billion in financial compensation, this is directed towards development and infrastructure initiatives; it has stressed that “legal claims to compensation cannot be derived from this.”
Om de stap te kunnen zetten naar de toekomst, moeten jongeren in Congo een stem krijgen over het verleden.
— Meryame Kitir (@MeryameKitir) June 8, 2022
Daarom sloten 🇧🇪 en 🇨🇩 vandaag een overeenkomst af om jongeren in het beheer van cultureel erfgoed te betrekken en de kunst van de jongeren een plaats te geven. pic.twitter.com/3Q09QulVGV
Similarly, Belgium has offered the DRC the promise of military support, trade, and investment.
King Philippe, accompanied by his wife Queen Mathilde, is scheduled to hold a ceremony with President Tshikedi at the Parliament today. He has also visited Kinshasa’s Digital Academy and plans to travel to the country’s south and east—Lubumbashi and Buvaku—in the coming days, where he will celebrate the projects being run by Congolese women, students, and civil society activists.