{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1815701,
        "msgid": "dutch-pm-apologises-to-moluccan-soldiers-for-historical-wounds-1782093076",
        "date": "2026-06-22 08:05:00",
        "title": "Dutch PM Apologises to Moluccan Soldiers for Historical Wounds",
        "author": "",
        "source": "CNBC",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Politics",
        "summary": "The Dutch government has formally apologised to thousands of Moluccan soldiers who served in the colonial army during Indonesia's independence struggle, acknowledging their dismissal and subsequent treatment as callous and dishonourable. The apology was delivered at the inauguration of a community-funded monument in Rotterdam, symbolising the forced migration of the soldiers and their families to the Netherlands in 1951. The gesture has been met with mixed emotions, as many survivors and descendants feel the recognition has come too late for the first generation who endured broken promises and decades of marginalisation.",
        "content": "<p>The Dutch government has officially apologised to thousands of\nMoluccan soldiers who fought for the Dutch colonial army during\nIndonesia\u2019s struggle for independence. Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten\ndescribed the treatment received by the former soldiers as a \u2018callous\u2019\nand dishonourable act. The apology was delivered by Jetten during the\ninauguration of a national monument built through community fundraising\nin the port area of Rotterdam, the arrival point of the last ship that\nbrought the Moluccan soldiers and their families to the Netherlands in\n1951. Approximately 12,500 people, comprising former members of the\nRoyal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) and their families, were\nrelocated from the Maluku archipelago to the Netherlands after Indonesia\ngained independence. Many arrived without any other choice, believing\nthe relocation was only temporary. The soldiers hoped to return to their\nhomeland after six months and witness the realisation of the Republic of\nMaluku they aspired to. However, that hope never materialised. They were\ninstead forcibly discharged from military service, prohibited from\nworking or voting in elections, and placed in holding locations,\nincluding the former Nazi transit camp Westerbork. For some families,\nthe promised return never came. Some never even unpacked their\nsuitcases, continuing to hope they would one day go back to Maluku. In\nhis speech, Jetten openly apologised for the Dutch government\u2019s\ntreatment of the community. \u2018For their dismissal as soldiers, which was\ndone callously and without honour, for the inadequate reception and\naccommodation, because they were ignored and abandoned, for the longing\nto return home that was never fulfilled, for the sorrow and suffering in\nso many Moluccan families \u2026 for all of that, I offer my apologies today\non behalf of the Dutch government. This is not only long overdue, but\nalso necessary if we want to move forward,\u2019 Jetten said. The\ndissatisfaction of the Moluccan community with the Dutch government\u2019s\ntreatment peaked in the 1970s. Activism by descendants of Moluccan\nfamilies at that time included school hostage-takings and armed train\nhijackings, which were ended by bloody operations by Dutch special\nforces. In 1986, the Dutch government and representatives of the\nMoluccan community reached an agreement that included cultural support\nand job creation programmes. However, in recent years, demands for the\ngovernment to officially acknowledge past wrongs have intensified.\nJetten stressed that an upcoming parliamentary inquiry is crucial. The\ninvestigation will involve the Moluccan community in the Netherlands,\nwhich now numbers an estimated 70,000 descendants. Rotterdam Mayor\nCarola Schouten said the construction of the monument is intended to\nprovide a space for the community to tell a history that has often been\nneglected. \u2018They were treated coldly, their loyalty was repaid at a very\nhigh price and often became suppressed sorrow,\u2019 Schouten said. \u2018It is\nimportant that the injustice done to you is acknowledged.\u2019 The monument\nis the work of artists Ja\u00efr Pattipeilohy and Maurice den Boer. Its shape\nresembles the bow of a traditional ship and symbolises the long journey\nof the Moluccan people to the Netherlands. Chairman of the monument\nfoundation, Yordi Tahamata, said the project required a decade-long\nstruggle before finally being realised. \u2018I stand here as the grandson of\nmy grandfathers \u2026 part of the generation that came to the Netherlands\nunder military orders and built a life in a foreign country, without\ncertainty about a future they had never imagined before,\u2019 he said. \u2018This\nis about the right to tell our history and pass it on to the next\ngenerations.\u2019 According to Tahamata, the monument is not merely a\nphysical symbol, but also a form of recognition of the Moluccan\ncommunity\u2019s right to tell their history to future generations. Despite\nbeing welcomed by some, criticism also emerged that the Dutch government\nappeared to be taking over the momentum of the monument\u2019s inauguration,\nwhich was actually built by the Moluccan community themselves. Some also\nfelt the apology came far too late for many victims who have already\npassed away. One of the surviving former soldiers, 98-year-old Eduard\nLatuheri, was invited to bless the monument alongside several other\nveterans and first-generation family members. Due to his health\ncondition, his grandson, Dennis van Peterson, conveyed Latuheri\u2019s views.\n\u2018He is grateful to be here,\u2019 Van Peterson said. \u2018There are mixed\nfeelings about the apology. For Grandfather, it is the right thing to\ndo, but the first generation is mostly gone now, it is all too late.\u2019\nFor many families, the historical wound is not only about the treatment\nupon arrival in the Netherlands, but also about the unfulfilled promise\nof a possible return to their homeland. Fred Roos, 70, who was born and\nspent the first five years of his life in Westerbork, recalled his\nfather who was never allowed to work and spent his entire life angry\nabout the broken promise. \u2018Everything was always ready to go back home,\nbut it never happened,\u2019 he said. \u2018This is a moment laden with\nemotion.\u2019<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/dutch-pm-apologises-to-moluccan-soldiers-for-historical-wounds-1782093076",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}