Belgian king admits regret for colonial past

Belgium's King Philippe expressed deep regret on Tuesday for the harm done during the 75 years of Belgian rule in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"I want to express my deepest regrets for these wounds of the past whose pain is reawakened today by the discrimination still present in our societies," said the monarch in a letter to DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi to mark the 60th anniversary of the country's independence.

"To further strengthen our ties and develop an even more fruitful friendship, we must be able to talk to each other about our long common history in all truth and serenity," he wrote.

The Central African country became independent in 1960 after 52 years as a Belgian colony, and having previously been the personal property of King Leopold II for 23 years.

During Leopold's rule "acts of cruelty were committed" while the subsequent colonial period "caused suffering and humiliation", said Philippe, who is a direct descendant of the 19th century ruler.

The letter came as Belgium faced growing calls to reassess its colonial history after global protests against racial inequality, sparked by the death of black United States citizen George Floyd in the US in May.

Statues of Leopold under whose rule as many as 10 million Congolese people are thought to have died, have recently been defaced or removed, and a petition calling for all statues of him to be removed.

This is the first time a Belgian monarch has formally expressed remorse for what happened during the country's colonial rule, but the remarks fell short of an outright apology, and Leopold is not mentioned directly by name in the letter.

Belgium is a constitutional monarchy-meaning Philippe's statement will have been agreed beforehand with the government of Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes.

Philippe pledged to "continue to fight every form of racism" and welcomed the Belgian Parliament's move to launch a reconciliation commission to address racism and the country's colonial past.

The novel coronavirus pandemic prevented the Belgian king from traveling to the DR Congo to mark the anniversary.

Earlier this month Philippe's brother, Prince Laurent, defended Leopold.

"He never went to (DR Congo) himself," the prince said in an interview. "I do not see how he could have made people there suffer."

Laurent did, however, add that whenever he met African heads of state he always apologized "for the actions Europeans have done to Africans in general".