Memory of Colonial Crimes in Belgium

The article explores Belgium as a case-study of the phenomenon of “colonial amnesia” in the EU. Contemporary discourse on European history includes the Holocaust and Communism as central and unifying themes, while colonialism is determined as a distinct phenomenon. Despite its official condemnation, European states attitude towards colonialism differ. The authors argue that European states tend to avoid responsibility for the colonial-era atrocities and even deny their involvement. At the same time, public discussions over the silencing of colonial crimes are fueled by research that implicates European states in (post)colonial violence and negatively impacts their reputation on the international arena. Concerns over their international image forces the European countries to publicly apologise for their past. In 2022 the subject-matter of public apologies in Belgium was colonial violence committed by Belgians against the Congolese, as well as the events of the early 1960s, which led to the murder of Congolese Prime-Minister Patrice Lumumba, allegedly condoned by the Belgian government. Under the public pressure, former colonial powers are forced to at least “turn over” the painful page of their past in order to normalize relations with the former colonies. Using critical discourse-analysis and qualitative and quantitative content-analysis, authors analyze the apologies addressed to the DRC by Belgium authorities in the period of 2002‒2022. The article concludes that these statements are meant to frame Belgium’s responsibility exclusively in terms of morality by acknowledging the “wrong moral choices”.

Belgium, memory politics, colonial amnesia, state apology, postcolonialism