The inaugural Afro-Surinamese religious organization Tata Kwasi ku Tata Tinsensi, established in May 2005, has issued a profound statement addressing historical accountability amid the current visit of Ashanti King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II to Suriname. While acknowledging the symbolic significance of this historical encounter, the organization emphasizes that certain uncomfortable truths must be confronted regarding Africa’s complicity in the transatlantic slave trade.
The organization highlights that historical records definitively establish the Ashanti Kingdom as principal trading partners with Dutch colonial powers, actively participating in the capture and sale of enslaved Africans. They contend that this painful legacy cannot be overlooked during the king’s diplomatic visit without addressing ancestral responsibilities.
Tata Kwasi ku Tata Tinsensi insists that the Ashantehene, as leader of his people, must publicly acknowledge this historical role and express profound remorse to descendants of enslaved Africans in Suriname. The organization calls for a collective cleansing of what they term ‘internal baggage’ stemming from ancestral actions that violated human dignity.
The statement graphically details the horrific circumstances under which captives were transported from inland regions to coastal forts like Elmina—often by their own tribal members—enduring burned villages, physical injuries, and family separations before being traded at fortress gates and loaded onto slave ships.
Noting that Surinamese descendants rightly demand accountability from the Dutch state and monarchy, the organization maintains equal standards should apply to African leaders whose ancestors actively participated in the trade. They argue that without public acknowledgment and healing, what they metaphorically call ‘Africa’s maternal womb’ will find no peace.
In a broader context, the organization revealed parallel efforts to address the Vatican’s historical role, referencing Pope Nicholas V’s 1452 authorization allowing Portugal and Spain to trade Africans as commodities—a decision that initiated centuries of suffering and dehumanization.