On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the independence of the DRC, King Philippe of Belgium wrote a letter to President Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo in which he admitted that "to further strengthen our ties and develop an even more fruitful friendship, we must be able to speak of our long common history in all truth and serenity. "
Philippe is a descendant of Leopold II, who owned what was then called the Congo Free State between 1885 and 1908 and ruled his people brutally, exploiting their work. Historians estimate that under Leopold's bad regulations, 10 million people died.
"Our history is made of common achievements but has also experienced painful episodes. At the time of the independent state of Congo, acts of violence and cruelty have been committed, which still weigh on our collective memory", writes the King.
"The colonial period that followed also caused suffering and humiliation," the letter said.
"I would like to express my deepest regrets for these wounds of the past, the pain of which is now rekindled by the discrimination still too present in our societies," he added.
A re-evaluation of Belgium's colonial heritage took place in the wake of the global protests against Black Lives Matter. Several statues representing the chief have been dismantled in the country.
After 1908, the territory became a colony of the kingdom, known as the Belgian Congo from 1908 to 1960, when it became independent.