Dutch Politionele Acties in Indonesia during 1945-1949

[Silent_Hunter]

Politionele acties

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The politionele acties (Dutch: police actions) were the two military operations that the Netherlands undertook on Java (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_%28island%29) and Sumatra (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumatra) against the Republic of Indonesia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia) to reestablish colonial rule after World War Two (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Two). The first operation took place from July 21 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_21) until August 5 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_5), 1947 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1947), the second in December 1948 and January 1949. The operations took place during the time of the Indonesian fight for independence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_National_Revolution).
[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Politionele_acties&action=edit&section=1)]
[/URL]
Events leading to the 'Police Actions'

The Netherlands disagreed with the declaration of Indonesian independence after the Japanese capitulation, and together with British (http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/) forces succeeding in fully reoccupying all constituent islands except Java and Sumatra. On the latter two, constant skirmishes continued between Dutch and Republican troops. Eventually a ceasefire was declared and negotiations took place leading to a political accord in the Agreement of Linggadjati (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linggadjati_Agreement).
[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Politionele_acties&action=edit&section=2)]

First Police Action (Operatie Product)

The first 'police action' took place after - according to the Dutch administration - Indonesia cooperated insufficiently in the implementation of the agreement, which had on March 25 (http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/), 1947 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1947) been ratified by the lower chamber of the Dutch parliament.
Operation 'Product', set up by General Simon Spoor, was supposed to lead to the occupation of the economically important areas in West and East Java, leaving Yogyakarta (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogyakarta), the seat of the Republcan government, alone because of the high costs that the fighting was expected to incur. This operation actually did result in the occupation of large parts of Java and Sumatra, since the Republican army (TNI) offered only weak resistance. Nevertheless, the TNI and its allies continued to conduct guerilla operations in Dutch-controlled territory.
Soon after the military operation, the United Nations (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations) became involved, leading to the announcement of a ceasefire in January of 1948, soon followed by a formal armistice. As a consequence, what was previously considered to be an internal Dutch affair now took on an international dimension.
[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Politionele_acties&action=edit&section=3)]

Second Police Action (Operatie Kraai)

The second 'police action' had the goal to force the Republic to cooperate with the Dutch government in the implementation of the federalist policy as stipulated in the Linggadjati Agreement. The purpose was to organize the new Indonesia as a federal state that would remain closy associated with the Netherlands. Another issue playing a role in the decision were alleged breaches of the armistice by the Indonesians.
During this operation (kraai = Dutch 'crow'), Yogyakarta was attacked directly and the Indonesian administration, including president [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukarno"]Sukarno (http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/), was put under arrest. Furthermore, all major cities and roads on Java were occupied. This Dutch attempt to effectively eliminate the Republic failed because of UN intervention, an international boycott (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boycott) of Dutch shipping and airplanes, and stubborn resistance by the Republican guerilla, ending only in August of 1949 through a new ceasefire agreement. Eventually the Netherlands, under strong pressure by the United States, recognized Indonesian independence.
In both 'police actions', more than 100,000 Dutch troops were involved. This number makes obvious the fact that the operations did not constitute limited police actions as claimed by the Dutch government, but full-fledged military campaigns. Overall, the Dutch suffered approximately 5000 fatalities, the death toll on the Indonesian side is estimated to be as high as 150,000.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politionele_acties (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politionele_acties)"

[50pushman]

The Dutch troops militarily dominated the indonesians. The reason why the Dutch gave up Indonesia was because of Americans dominating world politics and pressuring the Dutch to give up indonesia.

[Xlimit]

Did the Americans forced us to give up a nice Holiday resort? Hmm ain't nice of you Yanks :p

[Digital Marine]

Did the Americans forced us to give up a nice Holiday resort? Hmm ain't nice of you Yanks :p

Wasn't it because the Indonesian people that wanted the Dutch out of Indonesia were also anti-communist?:oops:

[50pushman]

Wasn't it because the Indonesian people that wanted the Dutch out of Indonesia were also anti-communist?:oops:

I think Sp3c wrote somewhere about this. The fact why Holland left Indonesia was because of the ami's.

[Mitch Rapp]

Wasn't it because the Indonesian people that wanted the Dutch out of Indonesia were also anti-communist?:oops:

On the contrary. The first Indonesian president Soekarno was communist. Eventhough the Dutch dominated militarily it would be just temprarily and they would give up their colonies sooner or later like the British did

[Silent_Hunter]

On the contrary. The first Indonesian president Soekarno was communist. Eventhough the Dutch dominated militarily it would be just temprarily and they would give up their colonies sooner or later like the British did

Soekarno is Non-BLOK not Communist

[sp2c]

On the contrary. The first Indonesian president Soekarno was communist. Eventhough the Dutch dominated militarily it would be just temprarily and they would give up their colonies sooner or later like the British did
true, but it wasn't about giving up the colonies it was about how to go about it.
We wanted the Netherlands Indies to break up in a number of independant nations (Bali, Atjeh, Molluccan republic etc.) while Soekarno wanted it all to be one single nation. These ideas clashed and we lost, blaming the Americans for it is just a tad too easy imo.

I think the deciding factor was the Americans threathening to stop the Marshall funds though.

[sp2c]

some photos from actie Product (and Quantico afaik), I have more but don't feel like uploading all that stuff right now

http://img111.imageshack.us/img111/2537/2267184em.jpg
http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/2495/2267195yg.jpg
http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/6016/2267223vx.jpg
http://img349.imageshack.us/img349/8145/2267247ay.jpg
http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/5934/2267267fe.jpg
http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/6852/2267410fk.jpg
http://img385.imageshack.us/img385/5963/landing19470721pasirputih1wl.jpg

[sp2c]

hmmmm ... not sure about that last picture though, could it be from Korea?
there were no helicopters in Dutch military service at the time afaik

edit: some more photos just for the heck of it
http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/6779/2275360zi.jpg

"Besides his fallen comrade, this rifleman takes revenge. The enemy had removed parts from the roof and shot the marine from this highground."

"The bazooka (tank-destroyer) is brought to bear in order to break the resistance on the opposite side of the river"
http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/6550/2275526ay.jpg
"some more extremists seize their resistance"

"The opposition is great but against these weapons, against such courage and perseverance she will lose"

http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/6127/2314045ja.jpg
[quote]ms. Pelikaan arrives at Soerabaja in 1946

http://img308.imageshack.us/img308/980/2374559yn.jpg
http://img308.imageshack.us/img308/4547/2374598md.jpg
http://img308.imageshack.us/img308/1365/2374702vi.jpg

Amtracs during operatie Product

[Silent_Hunter]

Dutch Politionele Actie in Indonesia during 1945-1949 similiar to Malay Emergency in Malaysia during 1948-1957

[Silent_Hunter]

Do yo have information about weapon used Dutch during Politionele Actie in Indonesia similiar guns, Tanks, APC, Planes, etc

[sp2c]

I'll make a list later but the Marines basically used American equipment (trained at camp Lejeune in the US to fight against the Japanese) while the army basically used anything they could get their hands on but most of it were Brittish ww2 leftovers

[janush]

I'll make a list later but the Marines basically used American equipment (trained at camp Lejeune in the US to fight against the Japanese) while the army basically used anything they could get their hands on but most of it were Brittish ww2 leftovers

yup, we where piss poor back then, my grandfather used to tell me all about it (he served there from 1946 until 1949, first as a truck driver later as a drive for some seniour officer)....

[Silent_Hunter]

Penjajah Wariskan Diskriminasi Warga Tionghoa

Penulis: Hendra Makmur
PADANG--MIOL: Pemaksaan pemakaian nama berbau Indonesia terhadap warga Tionghoa melahirkan dampak sosial budaya yang merobek tata hubungan kekeluargaan mereka.

Peneliti dari Arsip Nasional RI Mona

Lohanda mengemukakan hal itu ketika menjadi pembicara dalam konferensi dan workshop Dekolonisasi dan Posisi Etnis Tionghoa Indonesia 1930-an sampai 1960-an. Acara ini diselenggarakan oleh Jurusan Sejarah Universitas Negeri Padang (UNP) dan Nederlands Instituut Voor Oorlogsdocumentatie (NIOD) serta didukung Metro TV di Hotel Pangeran Padang, Sumatra Barat, Senin (19/6).

Menurut Mona, orang Tionghoa sejatinya sangat menjunjung tinggi keluarga. Karena itu, penyebutan marga dalam nama China menjadi penting untuk menelusuri hubungan kekerabatan.

"Ketika nama (asli China) mereka berubah (menjadi nama Indonesia), kita sulit sekali menelusuri nama marganya. Misalnya, orang Tionghoa bermarga Wi, ada yang memakai nama Indonesia Wijaya, Winata, atau nama lain sama sekali," ujar Mona yang merupakan warga Tionghoa.

Dia kemudian mengisahkan pencarian anggota keluarga dari suatu marga Tionghoa yang dikabarkan meninggal di rumah sakit. Para anggota marga itu pun terpaksa harus mencari kerabat mereka itu dari satu rumah sakit ke rumah sakit lainnya.

"Alangkah tololnya karena harus mencari anggota kerabat itu sampai ke lima rumah sakit. Andaikan menggunakan nama Chinanya, tentu mudah ditelusuri dari nama marganya. Kalau sudah diketahui, baru mencari ke rumah sakit yang bersangkutan," terang Mona.

Menurut Mona, jatuhnya Pemerintahan Presiden Soeharto seperti membuka tabir layar pertunjukan. Penulisan tentang komunitas Tionghoa pun ramai bermunculan. Hal yang selama ini dilarang untuk kalangan Tionghoa, kini dibolehkan.

Misalnya, tradisi barongsai, lagu-lagu berbahasa Mandarin, akrobat, kelenteng, hari raya Imlek menjadi libur nasional, bahasa Mandarin yang boleh diajarkan di sekolah-sekolah dan mulai banyaknya tulisan historiografi tentang Tionghoa.

Ketua Asosiasi Pengusaha Indonesia (Apindo) Sofyan Wanandi yang berbicara dalam sesi sebelumnya, mengatakan diskriminasi yang dialami warga keturunan Tionghoa setelah kemerdekaan, berawal dari politik penjajahan zaman Hindia Belanda.

Etnis Tionghoa, ketika itu diletakkan pada kelompok menengah dalam struktur msyarakat. Akibat politik tersebut, kata dia, membuat orang Tionghoa di Indonesia cenderung eksklusif dan dibenci kelompok masyarakat lainnya.

"Hal itu bertambah karena Rezim Orde Baru cenderung memanfaatkan warga keturunan untuk kepentingan ekonomi, ibarat gundik dalam posisi perkimpoian raja yang membuat sebagian dari mereka menjadi kaya," kata pengusaha keturunan kelahiran Sawahlunto, Sumatra Barat (Sumbar) pada 1941 itu.

Kekuatan ekonomi sebagian warga Tionghoa, kemudian menimbulkan kecemburuan dan kebencian di tengah masyarakat terhadap etnis tersebut. Padahal, lebih banyak lagi yang hidup sederhana.

"Hanya sedikit yang kaya seperti saya," ungkap Sofyan.

Sikap diskriminasi itu, harus dihapuskan. Bangsa ini kata Sofyan, harus dibangun dengan kebhinekaan. Semua harus berintegrasi.

Selain Mona dan Syofyan, turut menjadi pembicara tokoh Tionghoa Myra Sidharta, Dosen Fakulti Pengurusan Awam dan Undang-Undang Universiti Utara Malaysia Mansor Mohd Noor, Peneliti National University of Singapore Didi Kwartanada, Guru Besar Universiti Utara Malaysia Mansoor Mohd Noor, Peneliti NIOD Remco Raben, Peneliti LIPI Erwiza Erman serta Produser Metro TV Susi Ong.

Selain mengikuti workshop, peserta juga mengikuti film dokumenter tentang etnis Tionghoa dari Metro TV. Acara masih akan dilanjutkan Selasa (20/6) hingga Rabu (21/6) dengan menghadirkan sejumlah pembicara dari akademisi dan peneliti dalam dan luar negeri. (HR/OL-02)

source : www.mediaindo.co.id (http://www.mediaindo.co.id/)

[Resurrection]

The board's language is English.

[Silent_Hunter]

Being a Chinese-Indonesia


Wijanto Hadipuro, Jakarta

Once I happened to meet a Chinese-American lawyer. When she found out I had
married a "native" Javanese woman, she asked me, "Has that made your life
easier?" Her question really made me realize some things about my position.

I remember what happened when I went to get my marriage certificate. I went
to the office alone, without my wife. The woman who waited on me picked up a
big book and tried to find my name. She looked two or three times but could
not find it.

She looked at me several times before asking me whether my wife was a
"native". When I nodded, she was angry and asked me why I didn't tell her in
the first place. She then picked up another book.

I do not care what kind of book they use to register my marriage. What I
care about is her _expression when she found out my wife was "native".

Marrying a woman from another ethnicity and religion has not actually made
my life easier. I have to think things over for a long time before I bring
my wife and my daughter to visit my family, because most of my relatives
cannot accept my wife's background.

My wife has also had bitter experiences. We got married according to my
religion. We both believed in Jesus Christ, but we had different religions.
She was told by her religious leader that she did not belong to the faithful
anymore because she got married outside her religion.

I have a Chinese-Indonesian friend who is Muslim. He married a "native"
woman. During the riots of in May 1998, I told him he was lucky that he
could go anywhere safely, because he had successfully assimilated with the
Indonesian majority. His answer surprised me: "Nobody will ask about my
religion or my wife," he said. "People will look at my face and because I
look like a Chinese, my religion and my wife will not save me from harm."

When I visited Atlanta, I was accompanied by a black officer from the Public
Works Office.

"Charles," I said, "there are so many black people living in Atlanta, and
you can work at government offices. I think it is good that there is not any
discrimination against black people here."

His answer, too, was a surprise. "Government rules can't make discrimination
disappear from my social life." he said. "Not all white people want to
interact socially with black people like me."

A place without social discrimination would be utopia. Charles' remark
reveals another fact we must accept: that government regulations can't
abolish social discrimination.

My wife was discriminated against in terms of her salary. She earned less
than her Chinese-Indonesian friend, just because they worked at a company
owned by a Chinese-Indonesian businessman. My wife with more than five
years' experience at the company got only half the salary of her
Chinese-Indonesian friend, who had worked for just a month at the same
managerial level.

Once I read an article about indicators of social tolerance. According to
the article, there are three degrees of social tolerance. The worst is when
somebody does not tolerate the existence of anyone from outside his group.
Such a person will try to banish "different" people if it's not possible to
make them the same as him- or herself.

In the case of religion, for example, somebody from a certain religion might
say someone from another belief system will go to hell. Another, less
extreme example is when somebody does not tolerate other people's religious
activities.

A better level of social tolerance is when someone accepts the existence of
"different" people. He or she may work together and cooperate with them, but
cannot accept the "different" person becoming a family member, for example,
through marriage.

The most tolerant people are those who not only accept "different" people,
but can welcome them as family members. This group of people is the
smallest. There are only a few people who can do that, and my experience
shows that people like this are marginalized both by their own groups and
their spouse's groups. If you belong to this group, believe me, your life is
more complicated than the lives of the other two groups.

We are born with differences. That is true. But some differences are
significant for certain people, and some are not. We have to accept that. It
is no use to claim equality among all those inherited differences, even by
way of the law.

My experience proves that if you are not strong enough, you should keep your
group identity as strong as possible. Assimilation and regulations cannot
remove social discrimination from every corner of the world.

I have never regretted my decision to marry a Javanese woman, and I will not
claim equal rights to citizenship. I am happy with that as long as everybody
can accept my existence. If you are Chinese-Indonesian you will be better
off going to a school where there are a lot of Chinese-Indonesians and
working for a company owned by a Chinese-Indonesian. It will help you avoid
a lot of discrimination.

The writer is a Chinese-Indonesian who married a pribumi (native) woman.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detail...613.E02&irec=1 (http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20060613.E02&irec=1)

[Silent_Hunter]

http://www.kukb.nl./

[Silent_Hunter]

KOMITE UTANG KEHORMATAN BELANDA

(Kommitee Nederlandse Ereschulden / Committee of Dutch Honorary Debts)

Secretariate: Jl. Wahyu No. 2 B, Gandaria Selatan, Jakarta Selatan 12420

Tel.: xx62-21–70454982 / 70712924. Fax: xx62-21–75901884. Email: batara44rh@yahoo.com (batara44rh@yahoo.com)







Press Release Nr. 3

20.05. 2005

Dear Sir/Mdm.
In conjunction with National Ascension Day on Friday, May 20, 2005, a delegation from Committee of Dutch Honorary Debts which consists of :
1. H.M.S. Tadjoedin SH., Exponent of ‘45,
2. Brig. Gen (ret.) Drs. Ismu Edi Ismakun, MM,
3. Batara R. Hutagalung, Chief of Delegation,
4. Ir. Teuku Agam Saifudin, Secretary of Delegation,
had conveyed a Petition to the Embassy of Netherlands, in Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said, Kav. S-3, Jakarta, which constitute message as follows :

Inquire the Dutch Government to :
I. RECOGNIZE THE INDEPENDENCE OF REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA WAS ON AUGUST 17, 1945
II. DULY APOLOGIZE TO THE PEOPLE OF INDONESIA FOR COLONIALISM, SLAVERY, HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY

The Delegation was received by Drs. Maarten C.D. Mulder, Counsellor for Press, Culture and Education/Director Erasmus Huis, on behalf of the Embassy of Netherlands. Meeting was held from 09.40 to 10.20 am.
The Delegation had submitted the Petition which consists of list of supporters of the Petition, both those had signed directly and those signed in internet online-petition.
The Chief of Delegation affirmed that :
v The inquiry is pursuance of what had been demanded by National Committee for the Defense of the Dignity of Indonesian People on March 20,2002, and on March 8, 2005, which haven’t been answered by the Dutch Government.
v The inquiry is directed to the Dutch Government and not to the People of Netherlands, because since the past there have been a great number of Dutch people have shown sympathies to the People of Indonesia, and currently there are many Dutch prominent figures include members of Parliament who have acknowledge the Independence of Republic of Indonesia was on August 17, 1945. Not less than Queen Beatrix herself had in fact, agreed to present at the celebration of 50 years of Independence of Indonesia on August 17, 1995, but was opposed by a number of Dutch Veterans.




A member of Delegation had added as follow :
v Currently there are many Dutch Veterans who have consented the acknowledgement, include the Chairman of Dutch Veteran Organization, who has personally expressed his agreement, as stated in the meeting with Republic of Indonesia Veteran Legionnaire in his visit to Indonesia.

Drs. Maarten Mulder answered as follows :
v He has full understanding on the inquiries of the Petition.
v The messages will be conveyed to Dutch Foreign Minister.
v The Dutch Government look over the matter seriously.
v Dutch Parliament is a representative of Dutch People, and reflection of Dutch People aspirations. The reality is majority of Dutch Parliament members are still denying that the Independence of Republic of Indonesia was on August 17, 1945. Therefore, majority of Dutch People are still in disagreement regarding the matter.

The Delegation of the Dutch Honorary Debts have duly submitted the copy of the Petition to the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia in DPR-RI Building in Jl. Gatot Subroto.
The Delegation was received by Vice Speaker of House of Representatives, H. Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno, BSc. The meeting was from 11.15 to 11.45 am.
Vice Speaker of the House gave his full support on the Petition and would convey the Petition to Commissions and Fractions within the House and to the President of Republic of Indonesia.


Sincerelly,




Batara R. Hutagalung Ir. Teuku Agam Saifudin
Chairman Secretary


















KOMITE UTANG KEHORMATAN BELANDA

(Kommitee Nederlandse Ereschulden / Committee of Dutch Honorary Debts)

Secretariate: Jl. Wahyu No. 2 B, Gandaria Selatan, Jakarta Selatan 12420

Tel.: xx62-21–70454982 / 70712924. Fax: xx62-21–75901884. Email: batara44rh@yahoo.com (batara44rh@yahoo.com)





PETITION
Jakarta, May 20, 2005


To :
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
The Honorary dr. Jan Peter Balkenende
Den Haag
Nederland



Excellency,
First of all we would like to congratulate the Dutch People on the achievement in the inquiry to demand an apology from Japanese Government to Dutch People on human rights abuses which had been committed upon Dutch internees in Japanese internment camps during the period of 1942-1945 in the former Netherlands Indies (Indonesia).

The whole world have listened to the apology that ****ounced by the Prime Minister of Japan, Junichiro Koizumi, on his May 2, 2005 visit to Netherlands.

On the other side, as history reported, between 1946-1949, after the People of Indonesia proclaimed their independence on August 17, 1945, the Dutch army conducted military aggression and various massive human rights abuses and crimes against humanity, which include rapes, tortures and genocides on thousands of people in South Sulawesi between December 1946 – February 1947, and the murders of 500 people in Rawagede on December 1947.

The Dutch Government have not apologized nor expressed regrets on the above massive human rights abuses; and the same goes for the colonialism, slavery and other human rights abuses and crimes against humanity which occurred for hundred years in the soil.

Other than that, what is more offensive to the feeling of the People of Indonesia as an independent and sovereign nation, is the fact that until this moment, the Dutch Government only recognize the independence of Indonesia was on December 27, 1949, which was the acknowledgement of the Federal Republic of Indonesia (RIS); and not on August 17, 1945 as proclaimed by our founding fathers.
The Federal Republic of Indonesia (RIS) had been dissolved on August 16, 1950 and the Unitary State of Republic Indonesia (NKRI) had been constituted on August 17, 1950.

Therefore, the present day, the Dutch Government carry out diplomatic relationship with the Government of Republic of Indonesia which independence was on August 17, 1945.

Whenever two nations have diplomatic relationship, it is a norm that each nation displays respects and appreciations on the sovereignty of the other which is its diplomatic partner, and do not impose one sided interest as when is the National and Independence Day of the other nation shall be enacted.

Such attitude of the Dutch Government do not reflect friendship and mutual respects among independent nations which have diplomatic relationship, and more alike to insult on the sovereignty of Republic of Indonesia which is degrading the self-esteem of the People of Indonesia.

Therefore, the Committee of Dutch Honorary Debts inquire the Dutch Government to :
I. RECOGNIZE THE INDEPENDENCE OF REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA WAS ON AUGUST 17, 1945
II. DULY APOLOGIZE TO THE PEOPLE OF INDONESIA FOR COLONIALISM, SLAVERY, HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY

Thank you very much for your attention.


Yours sincerely,




Batara R. Hutagalung Ir. Teuku Agam Saifudin
Chairman Secretary



With Copies to :
1. The Honorary President of Republic of Indonesia.
2. The Honorary Chairman and Members of House of Representatives
3. The Honorary Chairman and Members of People Consultative Assembly
4. The Honorary Ministers of United Indonesia Cabinet.
5. The Honorary Ambassadors of All Foreign Embassies in Jakarta
6. Representatives of United Nations in Indonesia, to be conveyed to Secretary General of the United Nations.
7. Representatives of European Union in Indonesia.

[Silent_Hunter]

To: The Netherlands Government Petition to urge the Netherlands Government
to recognize Indonesian Independence Day was on August 17th 1945,
and to apologize for the colonialization, slavery, violation of human rights and horrific crimes against humanity

In the opinion of Dutch Government, the independence of the Republic of Indonesia was on December 27th 1949, and not August 17th 1945.

The fact is, the Dutch had lost its rights over the colony, the Netherlands-Indies, after Lieutenant General Hein ter Poorten, in the capacity as Supreme Commander of the Netherlands Indies Forces, and also on behalf of the Gouverneur General Jonkheer Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer, has signed the document of unconditional surrender to the Japanese Imperial Forces under the command of Lieutenant General Hitoshi Imamura, on 9th March 1942 at the airfield Kalijati, West Java. In other words, the Dutch had handed over its colony – Indonesia – to Japan.

On August 15th 1945, the Japanese Emperor Hirohito declared the unconditional surrender to the Allied Forces, but the document was signed on September 2nd 1945, on the USS Missouri at the Tokyo Bay.

So, between August 15th and September 2nd, 1945, there was a vacuum of power. In line with the Atlantic Charter declared by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on August 14th 1941 regarding “the rights of self determination of people”, Indonesian leaders proclaimed the independence of the Indonesian Nation on August 17th 1945. The following day, on August 18th 1945, they elected Sukarno as President of Republic Indonesia, and Mohammad Hatta as Vice President of Republic of Indonesia. These marked an establishment of Government of Indonesian, which occurred before September 2nd 1945. The mandatory conditions to establish a state have been fulfilled, which include:
1. Territory,
2. Population, and
3. Government.

It is stated in the memorandum of the delegation of Republic of Indonesia to Security Council of The United nations on January 22nd 1949, that after the second Dutch military aggression, the head of the delegation, Mr. Lambertus Nicodemus Palar declared :

“The Republic of Indonesian was not born as a result of a revolution against the Dutch, but it was born, after the Dutch had handed over Indonesia to the Japanese. The Dutch made no efforts to protect its citizens, they even obstructed Indonesian people to obtain military training to defend themselves from Japanese aggression.

In the process to reassert control over its colony, some special units of the Dutch military were responsible of what official records refer to ‘excesses'. In facts, these ‘excesses' were nothing less than war crimes.

After the Dutch had tried and ultimately failed to re-impose their colonial power on the nation after World War II, at the official ceremony on December 27th 1949, Queen Juliana made a reference to ‘transfer the sovereignty' to The United States of Republic of Indonesia. But The United States the Republic of Indonesia have been existed less than a year, because the States have been dissolved one by one, and on August 16th 1950, The United States of the Republic of Indonesia was officially dissolved. On August 17th 1950, President Sukarno declared the reestablishment of The Republic of Indonesia, and on July 1957, he put the constitution of 1945 into effect.

Today, The Netherlands have maintained diplomatic relations with Republic of Indonesia, which independence and constitutions was on 1945.

After nearly 60 years, the Dutch as a nation are still in the ‘state of denial' about history. It is high time for the Dutch to acknowledge their past. To the present day, official accounts of the period, as well as school textbooks in the Dutch education system, do not mention the term of war crimes or atrocities. Oppositely, the past wrongdoings are referred as ‘excesses' committed by the Dutch troops. And no Dutch veteran of the colonial war has ever been tried for war crimes. The state of denial persists largely because many of those involved are still alive. On Indonesian side, many more of the victims of war crimes are also alive.

The refusal of the Dutch to recognize Indonesian independence after nearly 60 years, is an offense to the sovereignty and dignity of the Indonesia as a nation.

Through this petition, we urge the Dutch Government, to acknowledge the Independence of Republic of Indonesia was on August 17th 1945, and to apologize for the colonialization, slavery, violation of human rights and horrific crimes against humanity.

To people who agree with this petition addressed to the Netherlands Government, please inscribe your respective name and address on the list.


Jakarta, April 22nd 2005

Batara R. Hutagalung
Chairman of the
National Committee for the Defense of the Dignity of the Indonesian Nation

[Engine Mech]

My father served in Indonesia in the dutch army and my uncle served in the marines in Malaya and Indonesia. You never hear about the dutch marines fighting in malaya. Why not?

[sp2c]

because it was a sticky situation!!!

the Brits didn't want us to land in the Netherlands indies so they stationed whole brigades in their own territories while Brittish units (Shiks and Ghurka's for example) were send to the Netherlands indies/Indonesia ... now after ww2 everything was a mess and these units acted more or less on their own.

nowadays nobody wants to acknoledge that we were ever that unfriendly towards each other during the cold war so you never hear about Dutch marines fighting in malawi

unless you mean during the second world war in case my answer would be "I dunno"