In the DRC, the King of the Belgians expresses his “deepest regrets for the injuries, abuses and humiliations” caused by colonialism – Le Monde

King Philippe of Belgium repeated, Wednesday, June 8, in Kinshasa, his “deepest regrets for the wounds” inflicted on the Belgian Congo during the colonial period, on the second day of a first visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The colonial regime, “based on exploitation and domination”, was “that of an unequal relationship, in itself unjustifiable, marked by paternalism, discrimination and racism. It gave rise to abuses and humiliations,” solemnly acknowledged the sovereign in a speech delivered on the esplanade of the People’s Palace. The King of the Belgians had already expressed regrets in a letter to the Congolese President, Felix Tshisekedi, two years ago, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of independence. It was then a historic first. Read also Article reserved for our subscribers The King of the Belgians presents his “regrets” for the “wounds of the past” in Congo Some Congolese want to see in this examination of the colonial past the beginning of a “new partnership”, when others claim more apologies and reparations for the suffering endured and the “looting” of the wealth of the DRC. “We must also compensate the families” The King of the Belgians and his wife, Queen Mathilde, have been making a visit to the DRC since Tuesday afternoon, at the invitation of Mr. Tshisekedi, with a strong symbolic significance. The second day of their trip began at the Memorial to Veterans, where the sovereign awarded a decoration to the last surviving Congolese veteran of the Belgian Force Publique who took part in the Second World War. King Philippe of Belgium greets Corporal Albert Kunyuku, 100, the last surviving Congolese World War II veteran. The sovereign awarded him a decoration. SAMY NTUMBA SHAMBUYI / AP Corporal Albert Kunyuku, who has just celebrated his 100th birthday, was enlisted in 1940 and was part of the military medical support contingent sent to Burma in 1945. Sitting on a chair, the old man spent a long time shook hands and exchanged a few words with the king. “The king has just made me promises. It is very good. You have to materialize them,” Corporal Kunyuku later told reporters. “Decorating is good. But, we must also compensate the families of these veterans who lost their lives in a war that did not concern them, ”commented in the street Madeleine Yowa, a 43-year-old nurse. Restitution of works of art to the former colony The king then went to the National Museum of the Democratic Republic of Congo (MNRDC), where the question of the return of works of art to the former was discussed. -colony, for which the Belgian government has defined a roadmap in 2021. The sovereign gave the museum a giant kakuungu mask, which was used for initiation rites of the Suku ethnic group. This object, he said, is lent for an “unlimited” period to the MNRDC by the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, near Brussels. “Our works were taken away by the colonizer, it is legitimate for them to be returned to us”, declared to Agence France-Presse Louis Karhebwa, a 63-year-old entrepreneur, “happy” with the arrival of the Belgian king in the DRC. . King Philippe visited the National Museum of the Democratic Republic of Congo (MNRDC), in Kinshasa, created in 2019, where he handed over a ceremonial mask that the Suku use in initiation rites. ARSENE MPIANA / AFP History was also present at a ceremony at the Palais de la Nation, the official residence of the Congolese president, where independence was proclaimed on June 30, 1960. It was there that Patrice Lumumba , hero of independence who was to become Prime Minister, had marked the spirits by his violent indictment against Belgian colonization, in the presence of King Baudouin, uncle of the current King of the Belgians, who had for his part praised the civilizing work from his country. Read also Restitution of African art: Belgium gives the DRC a “complete inventory” of its collections Visit to gynecologist Denis Mukwege The royal couple must still spend the day Thursday in Kinshasa, before going to Lubumbashi (south-east ) then to Bukavu, in the East, where he will visit, on Sunday, the clinic of gynecologist Denis Mukwege, co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 for his action in favor of women victims of rape. Read also Article reserved for our subscribers Denis Mukwege, Nobel Peace Prize, to the “World”: “We need an international convention to eliminate the use of rape as a weapon of war” The east of the country is plagued by violence from armed groups for nearly thirty years and this visit comes at a time of renewed tension between the DRC and its neighbor Rwanda, accused by Kinshasa of supporting rebels. The king mentioned in his speech “the territorial integrity of the Congo” and the instability in the East, “where too often inhuman violence and impunity reign”. “This situation cannot go on any longer,” he said. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Tensions in eastern DRC are undermining the rapprochement between Kinshasa and Kigali Among the areas of cooperation he would like to see strengthened, the Congolese president mentioned for his part, to the press, the “military cooperation”. Suspended for a time, it has resumed with training, but, he said, “it’s up to Belgium to see what more it can bring”. The World with AFP