On the 60th anniversary of the independence of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, King Philip of Belgium wrote a letter to President Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo in which he admitted that “to further strengthen our ties and develop an even more fruitful friendship, we must be able to talk about our long common history in all truth and serenity. “
Philippe is a descendant of Leopold II, who owned what was then called the Congo Free State between 1885 and 1908 and brutally ruled over his people, exploiting their work and committing atrocities against them. Historians estimate that, under the Leopold government, up to 10 million people died.
“Our history is made of common achievements, but it has also experienced painful episodes. At the time of the independent state of the Congo, acts of violence and cruelty were committed, which still weigh on our collective memory,” wrote the King.
“The colonial period that followed also caused suffering and humiliation,” the letter added, referring to the subsequent 52 years of Belgian state rule until the independence of the Congo and the formation of the DRC. Leopold had personally governed the region until 1908.
“I would like to express my deepest regret for these past hurts, the pain of which is now reviving with discrimination that is still too present in our societies,” he added.
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