Belgian Parliament & hypocrisy

I was pretty irritated by the choice of the Belgian Parliament to chastise Pope Benedict, who – besides being a religious leader is a head of state.

It is remarkable to me that a government which has such a notorious history of colonial abuse in Africa would condemn Pope Benedict for his comments on AIDs and its solutions.

I have in mind, for example, how during Belgium’s occupation of the Congo, the Belgium overlords would slice off the hands of children on plantations (here and here) who didn’t meet their rubber quotas.  Ironic.

I wonder if the Belgian Parliament has ever apologized to the entire world, especially the Congolese people, and offer reciprocity to the children whom they afflicted.