‘Some people will feel unheard’
Actually, says Sigrid Kaag, she should never have traveled to Suriname. “I find it very honorable to be the first deputy prime minister of this cabinet, but ideally my visit would not have been necessary,” she said, afterwards on her return to the Netherlands. “But I experienced cordiality and reciprocity in the conversations.”
In the Netherlands, the cabinet’s mission seemed doomed to fail after it was leaked to December 19 slavery excuses could be made. It sounded too hasty, too determined from The Hague and without Suriname’s participation. Moreover, Surinamese-Dutch organizations border additional requirements on.
insulted
But Kaag harvest in Paramaribo less resistance, says the D66 minister. “There was criticism and I therefore tried to explain what did not go well, but how we can hopefully organize the future. There are also groups that are less interested in the date, but ask more questions: The Netherlands, what are you going to do now? It’s not for me to judge. People express worry, frustration, emotion. But whatever I heard: thanks for the information, for the openness. This is clear. We now want to give the energy to the next steps and that is a process of many years. Whatever happens on the 19th, it’s a start.”
However, not everyone has been admitted, the minister acknowledges. Surinamese groups believe that the plan for December 19 had to be deleted. And that July 1 was a better date, the commemoration date of the abolition of slavery.
Kaag: “I cannot rule out the possibility that people feel insulted, not appreciated. And I can well imagine that the 19th is a date that is not acceptable to everyone. There have been a number of phases. The report of the dialogue group is presented to the previous, then outgoing cabinet. After that, agreements were made in the formation. A commitment was made that the government’s response would come before the end of the year. Also because it is so important and has been awaited for so long. That date has become December 19. I didn’t make it bigger than it is either.”
Starting shot
Wasn’t the whole cabinet plan set in stone anyway, even before she left? “Nothing is ever set in stone by a crucial speech, work is done from the last minute. But I go a lot of my feedbacks and there are a lot of elements that are important to the follow-up in the early years. This is a kick-off to the year of remembrance, but the processing, the healing, the respect and how you can think of the past and create, that is not done overnight.”
She also doesn’t have everyone who can enjoy Franc Weerwind (Legal Protection) is the right man to relieve her on Monday to explain the excuses Rutte makes. After all, Weatherwind is “a man of color,” say critics. Kaag: “He is not here on Monday to apologize: categorically not. But he will be present to hear the Prime Minister’s speech, accomplice there are comments, criticism, then he can take that too.”