On colonialism I<\/p>\n
We now, at least, have an admission of colonial malpractice
\nfrom Mr. de Kort (The Jakarta Post, Nov. 5, 1994).<\/p>\n
However, it is less than reassuring that, for murdering 40,000
\nIndonesians, Kapitein Westerling received a severe rap over the
\nknuckles from the Dutch public and was duly granted his freedom.
\nThe reason why Westerling was not tried for crimes against
\nhumanity (or as Mr. de Kort has put it, "never charged with
\nmisconduct and court martialled") is perhaps because, for all the
\nsoul-searching Mr. de Kort claims went on in the Dutch media,
\nmuch of the truth about Dutch colonialism in Indonesia is still
\nleft suppressed. This is also the considered view of the eminent
\npolitical scientist and philosopher, Professor Noam Chomsky of
\nthe Massachussets Institute of Technology and author of such
\nbooks as Deterring Democracy and Necessary Illusion: Thought
\nControl in Democratic Societies.<\/p>\n
The dates Mr. de Kort has given for the official incorporation
\nof various parts of Indonesia into the Dutch East Indies in the
\nlate nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, bear little
\nrelationship to the dates when Dutch forts, settlements,
\nfactories and trade monopolies (the ingredients of colonialism)
\nwere first established, up to centuries before, even in far flung
\nplaces like Banda Islands (e.g. the Dutch had built forts on the
\nisland of Neira by 1610).<\/p>\n
A little less of the dry, old, bare bones of history and a
\nlittle more flesh, Mr. de Kort, would be appreciated.<\/p>\n
FRANK RICHARDSON<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/on-colonialism-i-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }