King Philippe of Belgium, who began a six-day visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo this Wednesday (8), returned to the country located in the center of Africa a traditional mask of the Suku people that, until then, was displayed in the Museum of Africa. , based in Tervuren.
Philippe said the return is intended to allow Congolese people to discover and admire an “exceptional work” that belongs to them. “And it marks the symbolic beginning of cultural collaboration between Belgium and the Democratic Republic of Congo,” he continued.
The African country has been under Belgian rule for decades. First through the Congo Free State, a territory that was privately owned by King Leopold II, Philippe’s great-great-uncle, from 1885 to 1908. Afterwards, the region was a colony of Belgium from 1909 to 1960. According to historians, about 10 millions of Africans died in Leopold’s reign.
King Philippe became, two years ago, the first monarch to publicly express regret for the violence committed against the population of the current DRC. At the time, he mentioned the “acts of violence and cruelty, which still weigh heavily on our collective memory”. He assumed the throne in 2013 after his father, King Albert II, abdicated.
The returned mask must now be on display at the National Museum, located in the country’s capital, Kinshasa. The king was accompanied by his wife, Mathilde, and the Belgian prime minister, Alexander De Croo.
Philippe once again showed regret for the colonization process, in what is his first visit to the former colony since he came to the throne. “While many Belgians loved Congo and its people, the colonial regime itself was based on exploitation and domination,” Philippe told the Congolese parliament.
He continued: “This led to acts of violence and humiliation. Before the Congolese people and those who still suffer today, I wish to reaffirm my deepest regret for these past wounds. That was a regime of unequal relations, marked by racism.”
President Félix Tshisekedi, elected in 2019 in an election with international fraud charges, and several of his supporters enthusiastically welcomed the visit. Many hoisted Belgian flags, and a banner in the legislature referred to the countries’ “common history”. The receptivity was another for opposition politicians.
Senator Francine Muyumba Nkanga, for example, said on a social network that public regrets are insufficient. “In light of the crimes committed by Belgium, he is expected to [o rei] an apology and a promise of reparation,” wrote the Congolese woman. “Only then will we definitely turn this page.”
Shortly afterwards, in another publication, Muyumba Nkanga said that the way in which many in the country were receiving messages from King Philippe hurt the memory of the heroes of independence – who, on the 30th, will turn 62. “What would Patrice Lumumba say,” he asked, mentioning the hero of Congolese independence.
Belgium will return a Lumamba tooth to its descendants. The Belgian government took partial responsibility in 2002 for the death of Lumamba, who was the first prime minister of the independent territory, but was assassinated by separatists backed by Brussels in 1961.
The tooth is preserved – it was taken to Belgium by a Belgian police officer named Gérard Soete as what he described as “a kind of hunting trophy”. Soete hid him for almost 40 years, until he confessed on a TV show to his participation in Lumamba’s murder. The return was scheduled to take place in 2020, but was delayed more than once due to the Covid pandemic.
Also on Wednesday, the Belgian king decorated what is considered the last Congolese veteran who fought in World War II. Corporal Albert Kunyuku, 100, enlisted in the Belgian forces in 1940 and served in countries such as Myanmar and India.
