THE HAGUE - The Rutte cabinet is not yet sure whether it will proceed with the rehabilitation of the Curaçao resistance hero Tula. The organization Plataforma Sklabitut i Herensha di Sklabitut has already submitted a request to this effect to the Dutch government twice.
The Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Hanke Bruins Slot indicated that on August 27, 2020, she received the letter requesting her attention again for the previous request for rehabilitation of Tula. The minister emphasized that current government also deeply regrets that slavery is part of the Dutch history and, like previous cabinets, deeply regrets how the Netherlands dealt with human dignity during the slavery past.
During a working visit to the Caribbean part of the Kingdom last February, the State Secretary for Kingdom Relations and Digitization Alexandra van Huffelen also visited the Tula monument: a memorial to the leader of the slave revolt in 1795 who had to pay for his struggle with a violent death. There she also spoke with relevant experts in the field of slavery.
On 1 July last year, the independent Advisory Board on the Slavery History Dialogue Group presented its report of findings, entitled 'Chains of the Past'. One of the recommendations of the dialogue group relates to the rehabilitation of Tula. The minister indicated that the cabinet will respond to the recommendations in this report before the summer, including the request for the rehabilitation of resistance fighter Tula.