'Beatrix need not apologize'

JAKARTA (JP): Although one influential scholar has expressed disappointment over the absence of any formal apology in the speech of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands on Monday, most statesmen, politicians and scholars say the queen's presence in Indonesia in the month of August goes far enough towards recognizing Indonesia's independence as dating from Aug. 17, 1945.

International relations expert Amien Rais said he was "greatly disappointed" by Queen Beatrix's failure to offer an apology to the Indonesian nation for the nearly 350 years of Dutch colonial rule here, as well as by her failure to recognize 1945 as the year in which Indonesia became independent.

"This failure reflected the arrogance of the Dutch," Amien said. "She spoke about the moral lessons to be taken from history and how we should start afresh...But how can we turn over a new leaf if the 'old leaves' are discounted?"

"Apologize...recognize the independence day; only then can we establish an equal footing on which we can start afresh," said Amien, who chairs the 28-million-strong Moslem organization Muhammadiyah.

In her speech, Queen Beatrix admitted that the Dutch forces inflicted suffering on Indonesians when the Netherlands tried to reimpose colonial rule after Indonesia declared its independence. But she stopped short of apologizing or recognizing that Indonesia's independence dates back to 1945, as opposed to 1949, when the Netherlands formally acknowledged Indonesia's sovereignty.

Former home minister Rudini also warned that the absence of such an acknowledgement could pose a psychological barrier to future relations between Indonesia and the Netherlands.

"We have to realize that there is this psychological factor, despite some who say that it isn't a problem," Rudini said.

Rudini said Beatrix 's reference to Aug. 17, 1945 in her speech was a way of acknowledging this fact. "In a delicate way she actually recognized it," he said.

Emil Salim, the former environmental minister who heads the national committee for the 50th independence anniversary celebrations, said the arrival of the Dutch monarch only four days after Independence Day could be interpreted as a strong acknowledgement. "The arrival of the delegation in the month of August is in itself a strong indication," he said.

Meanwhile, in a joint statement yesterday Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas and his Dutch counterpart, Hans van Mierlo, said the timing of the visit "represents a milestone in the long-standing relations" between the two countries.

Legislator Aminullah Ibrahim of the Armed Forces faction in the House of Representatives said there was no need for Indonesia to demand, from the Dutch, an apology and a recognition of the advent of independence in 1945.

"What in the world for? We proclaimed our own independence, didn't we? Why should we force them to apologize? I don't think it's ethical. There's no need for that...All these years, we already have good relations with the Netherlands," he said.

Aminullah said that, in past years, Indonesia had received assistance from the Netherlands. "It would be funny if we, after receiving all that aid, insisted that they apologize," he said. "How could we do that to someone who has been helping us?"

Amien Rais dismissed that argument, however, saying that all the aid extended by The Hague to Indonesia since independence was "nothing" compared with Indonesia's natural wealth which was exploited by the Dutch during the centuries of its colonial rule here.

Two other observers, legal experts Muladi and Soehardjo S., adhered to the view that there is no need for Indonesia to press for a formal apology from the Netherlands.

"You can't force something like an apology...It has to come from a person's conscience, out of feeling of guilt," Muladi said in Semarang.

Historian Taufik Abdullah suggested that people re-examine certain historical facts.

Several occurrences after Indonesia proclaimed its independence, including the 1949 Round Table Negotiations with the Dutch, posed technical problems about whether Indonesia had the right to ask for apologies, he said.

It was during these negotiations that debates occurred over whether what was happening then was a "transfer of sovereignty" or a "recognition of sovereignty".

In the late 1950s, Taufik said, Indonesia decided to disregard the results of the Round Table negotiations. "So it's no longer relevant for us to debate whether there was a transfer or a recognition of sovereignty," he said.

Taufik said Beatrix's Monday speech was only a recounting of Indonesia's own stance on the issue. "She was approaching the question from a perspective of 'noncommittal history'," he said. "We cannot blame her, because that's the reality."

"Every age has its own logic. We cannot impose the logic of the present to make sense of what has happened in the past... It would be a hindrance for the future," he said. (swe/mds)

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