Europe and our former colonies.

[whatagain]

Our good king Philippe delivered a speech these last days in Congo expressing sorrow or regrets about some flaws during the time we were colonizing their country.
It is a big step, recognising we could have been better.
We don't won't shouldnot or even mustn't apologize because then we would open a door to reparations.
Since we deliberately killed a lot of Congolese or simpny left them or brought them to death by negligence, we would never have enough money to repay them.
Seems we are responsible from a few hundreds thousands deads to a few millions.
Hard to say.
A high price to pay to get some schools and hospitals and access to our civilization.
But the Congolese are nice oeople, they stoll like us and applauded our king.
Philippe even said a few words in Swahili or local language.

I went to school in a time we were all extatic about all the good things Belgium brought to Congo, then Zaire.

I wonder what is the real cost benefit ratio or if there was any benefit for the locals.
First they didn't ask anything and second are they living in a better world 'thanks' to us.

[bjd]

The French news emphasized the fact that King Philippe repeated his regrets but did not apologize, while apologies are what former colonials want. Reparations even more, of course.

I don't know whether the French, British, Portuguese, Spanish or any other traditional iperialist powers ever actually apologized to their former colonies. I don't include the USA which was imperialistic without admitting it.

[kerouac2]

Just about the entire world has been colonised with varying degrees of brutality by just a few countries over history. The Mongols, the Ottomans, the Romans, the Aztecs... More recently, the main European countries and Japan. Compensations have been few and far between, some reservations for native Americans, some art treasures finally returned to Africa... not much. And then there is Israel, which continues to colonise and proudly expand through Palestinian lands while the world turns blind eye or makes a weak tsk-tsk sound. Israel is lucky because now we are watching Russia expand through Ukraine, so we're not paying much attention any more.

[whatagain]

After the apologies, a tooth.

In 1961 the prime minister Lumumba was facing a secession of Katanga, the richest part of Congo. Since the katangese mercenaries were mostly belgian or belgian backed, Lumumba was not expecting much help from us and turned to USSR.
Which made him in our eyes a communist. US approved of a plot to get rid of him, but he was eventually killed by Katangese, with a passive help from Belgium (we didn't protect him, didn't stop his killing, didn't interpose and were basically glad he was disposed of).
Several days after his execution, his body was dug out to be dissolved in acid. This was done by or with the presence of belgian cops, and one kept teeth of Lumumba.
One has been found in 2016 and sent back now to his family.
Lumumba is celebrated in Congo as a hero, and i personally think rightly.
I guess his priblem was that he was not (as) corrupt as a Mobutu, who was thought easier to manipulate.