King of Belgium apologizes to Congo for genocide during colonial period.
King Felipe Leopold is the great-great-grandson of Leopold II, responsible for the deaths of over 3 million people during the colonial period. The request comes on the 60th anniversary of the independence of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Forum Magazine - On Tuesday (30), King Philippe Leopold of Belgium released a public letter to the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, in which he officially apologizes for the violence committed by his country during the colonial period of the African nation.
"During the Congo Free State era, acts of violence and cruelty were committed, which still weigh heavily on our collective memory. The colonial period that followed also caused suffering and humiliation," the king stated.
During the final years of the reign of Leopold II (great-great-grandfather of Philip Leopold), between 1885 and 1908, the territory of the Congo was officially a Belgian colony, although in practice it was administered as the monarch's personal property.
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