Netherlands troubled by own dark colonial past<\/p>\n
AMSTERDAM (Reuter): The Netherlands, often quick to find fault
\nwith other countries' conduct, is currently preoccupied with a
\ndark episode from its own colonial past.<\/p>\n
Chechnya and Bosnia have had to take a back seat as media
\ncommentators focus instead on the ruthless Dutch campaign to
\nstamp out Indonesia's drive for independence 50 years ago.<\/p>\n
The Dutch mobilized 150,000 soldiers to try to reimpose their
\nrule over Indonesia after World War II when the sprawling Asian
\narchipelago was occupied by Japan.<\/p>\n
Villages were torched and nationalists were tortured and
\nexecuted before the Dutch finally withdrew from the region in
\n1949, due in part to pressure from the United States.<\/p>\n
The bloody colonial war claimed 100,000 Indonesian lives and
\n6,000 on the Dutch side.<\/p>\n
Some of the worst atrocities were later acknowledged and
\ncondemned by parliament but there has never been a public
\nexpression of regret about the war as a whole.<\/p>\n
Now, as the 50th anniversary of Indonesia's declaration of
\nindependence approaches, there are calls for a cathartic national
\ndebate to ease the country's troubled conscience.<\/p>\n
In a press interview Development Aid Minister Jan Pronk said
\nthe time had come for the Netherlands to admit it had been wrong
\nand had systematically violated human rights.<\/p>\n
\"We used violence against a state which had declared its
\nindependence. We did not have that right,\" he said.<\/p>\n
But Prime Minister Wim Kok has said he sees no need for the
\npresent government to apologize for the events of 50 years ago.<\/p>\n
\"I don't feel compelled to say retrospectively that the
\ngovernment of 1945, of 50 years ago, acted wrongly,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Kok said it was right to reflect on what had happened and to
\nsee what lessons could be learned. But he said it would be wrong
\nto judge the past on the basis of present knowledge and insight.<\/p>\n
Newspaper columnists argue similarly that the sad irony of the
\nNetherlands trying to restore colonial rule over Indonesia so
\nsoon after its own liberation from German occupation would not
\nhave been as obvious to the Dutch people then as it is now.<\/p>\n
Dutch veterans of the fighting, mostly young conscripts at the
\ntime, have felt anger, guilt and betrayal as public opinion
\nshifted towards condemnation of the war.<\/p>\n
Many of them were shocked when Pronk said that Dutch soldiers
\nwho deserted had been right to do so.<\/p>\n
Emotions<\/p>\n
Veterans' emotions were already running high after the
\ngovernment allowed a deserter who fought on the Indonesian side
\nto visit relatives in the Netherlands at Christmas.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of them turned out to protest in the northern city of
\nLeuwaarden this month where a writer was standing trial for
\nslander after saying that Dutch atrocities in Indonesia could be
\ncompared to those of Hitler's S.S. in occupied Europe.<\/p>\n
\"All wars are dirty. The Allies bombed Bremen but does that
\nmake the Americans and the English criminals? Of course not. They
\nwere our liberators,\" one veteran told reporters.<\/p>\n
Across the street a much younger group of demonstrators
\nchanted and waved banners bearing slogans such as \"No respect for
\nkillers\" and \"Indonesia: Our Vietnam\".<\/p>\n
The recent wave of Dutch soul-searching has puzzled Indonesian
\ndiplomats in this country who are more accustomed to hearing
\nDutch criticism of Indonesia's human rights record.<\/p>\n
Ambassador Johannes Soedarmanto said his government did not
\nexpect an apology from the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
\"Why should we rake up the past? Let's forgive and forget and
\nbegin with a clean sheet,\" he told Dutch television.<\/p>\n
Beatrix -- Page 2<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/netherlands-troubled-by-own-dark-colonial-past-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }