Belgian king expresses regret for violence in colonial rule

For the first time in Belgium's history, a reigning king expressed regret Tuesday for the violence carried out by the former colonial power when it ruled over what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In a letter to the president of the DRC, Felix Tshisekedi, which was published on the 60th anniversary of the African country's independence, Belgium's King Philippe conveyed his “deepest regrets” for the “acts of violence and cruelty” and the "suffering and humiliation" inflicted on Belgian Congo. “To further strengthen our ties and develop an even more fruitful friendship, we must be able to talk to each other about our long common history in all truth and serenity,” Philippe wrote.