BRUSSELS: Belgium’s King Philippe expressed his “deepest regrets” on Tuesday for the harm done during Belgian colonial rule in DR Congo, in a first for his country. Philippe, who has reigned since 2013, made his remarks in a letter to the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, on the the 60th anniversary of Congo’s independence on June 30, 1960. Historians say that millions of Africans from areas in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo were killed, mutilated or died of disease as they worked on rubber plantations belonging to Belgium’s King Leopold II. Philippe, without mentioning Leopold by name, said that during this period “acts of violence and cruelty were committed which weigh on our collective memory.” Philippe said he would combat all forms of racism and said he wanted to encourage the reflection on the issue begun by the Belgian parliament so that such memories could be put to rest.
