ORANJESTAD - Aruba accepts the apologies Prime Minister Mark Rutte expressed yesterday for the Dutch slavery past. “Any sincere apology is always welcome,” said Prime Minister Evelyn Wever-Croes. She said that she is grateful to the Netherlands for the first step, but repeated what Rutte also said: today should not be a point, but a comma.
Wever-Croes called the apologies a turning point in the kingdom's history. According to the Aruban prime minister, the apologies mean that enslaved Arubans are retroactively recognized as people who had the right to be free.
“They had the right to freedom and self-determination and that was taken away from them. They are recognized as victims of crime against humanity.
Wever-Croes believes that slavery should not be a source of shame, but a source of pride and strength. “Our ancestors deserve to be recognized.”
The prime minister would rather have the apology on July 1 next year. “Closer involvement in the process would also have been better,” she says.