UN: Belgium must apologize for colonialism, face its racism

**PHDNM** · 02-11-2019, 06:29 PM

UN: Belgium must apologize for colonialism, face its racism

February 11, 2019

BRUSSELS — Racial discrimination against Africans “is endemic” in Belgium’s institutions and the nation needs to apologize for the crimes committed during its colonization of Congo and make reparations, U.N. experts said Monday.

Belgium’s actions in Congo have long been criticized as one of the worst examples of colonial abuse. Writer Adam Hochschild alleged in his 1998 book “King Leopold’s Ghost” that Leopold reigned over the mass deaths of millions of Congolese.

https://ottawacitizen.com/pmn/news-p...7-a735174b8932

**Bellbeaking** · 02-11-2019, 06:38 PM

Africans must first thank Europeans for creating modern civilization and progressing the world out the stone age.

**Ayetooey** · 02-11-2019, 06:43 PM

The hostility against European peoples is getting worse and worse.

**Creoda** · 02-11-2019, 06:45 PM

**The Lawspeaker** · 02-11-2019, 06:45 PM

All the more reason why Western countries should leave the UN and kick all its institutions from their lands. We should set up a League of Nations that is only for Western countries and some key allies.

**Ayetooey** · 02-11-2019, 06:47 PM

"Writer Adam Hochschild alleged in his 1998 book “King Leopold’s Ghost” that Leopold reigned over the mass deaths of millions of Congolese".

**Gold-Shekel** · 02-18-2019, 10:14 AM

While it's true that there was colonization and crimes linked to it, it cannot be attributed to Belgium as a country and Belgians as a people. The reason is simple and socialist friendly: other than the fact it was the personal property of Leopold II (therefore not the property of Belgium) until 1908, regular people didn't have the right to vote as we understand it today until 1919, only "higher social classes" had the right to vote so it would be unfair to blame the people even if it was their government who was implicated.

You cannot blame a whole country for the actions of a social class.

**B01AB20** · 02-18-2019, 10:21 AM

Originally Posted by Gold-Shekel

While it's true that there was colonization and crimes linked to it, it cannot be attributed to Belgium as a country and Belgians as a people. The reason is simple and socialist friendly: other than the fact it was the personal property of Leopold II (therefore not the property of Belgium) until 1908, regular people didn't have the right to vote as we understand it today until 1919, only "higher social classes" had the right to vote so it would be unfair to blame the people even if it was their government who was implicated.

You cannot blame a whole country for the actions of a social class.

If you're progressive and leftist enough, yes you can.

**Gold-Shekel** · 02-18-2019, 10:25 AM

Originally Posted by B01AB20

If you're progressive and leftist enough, yes you can.

It's not a problem of being progressive or leftist, it's a problem of extremism. In the same way you can blame all Muslims for 9/11 according to their logic, or all Catholics of being pedophiles because of the actions of some priests...

It's a far right practice usually.

**B01AB20** · 02-18-2019, 10:37 AM

Originally Posted by Gold-Shekel

It's not a problem of being progressive or leftist, it's a problem of extremism. In the same way you can blame all Muslims for 9/11 according to their logic, or all Catholics of being pedophiles because of the actions of some priests...

It's a far right practice usually.

It depends on the case, blame muslims is a far right practice, but calling 'racist' to the whole universe for whatever isolated reason is a leftist practice.