Bot's planned visit reflects changing Dutch attitude

Bot's planned visit reflects changing Dutch attitude

Aboeprijadi Santoso, Amsterdam

It seems as if World War II has just ended for the Dutch. Six
decades on, few of the legacies of the war and the independence
of its former colony linger on. At the same time, the
relationship between the Netherlands and Indonesia, at the
diplomatic level and between the two civil societies, has never
been better.

Why, then, is Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot's plan to
attend Indonesia's commemoration of the 60th anniversary of
declaration of independence on Aug. 17, 1945 -- thus, the first
official recognition by the Netherlands of Indonesia's
independence date -- being prepared so discreetly?

The impact of Indonesia's independence struggle has indeed
taken a long time to recede in the Netherlands -- just as, for
example, it took the French great pains to resolve the crises
following Algerian independence. However, while it is not unusual
for independence struggles to cause enduring consequences on the
part of the loser at home, there appear to be peculiar changes in
the Dutch government's approach to its problems.

The Dutch postwar problems mainly arose from the fact that the
Netherlands simultaneously faced the consequences of the war in
Europe and in Asia. Whilst Dutch successive administrations have
been preoccupied with the first, they grossly neglected the
second. War victims in Europe (Dutch Jewish victims were
proportionally the greatest in Europe) were honored and
remembered much earlier and more conspicuously than any of the
similar groups from the former Dutch East Indies. Only very
recently, the government paid tribute and offered mea culpa to
former Dutch prisoners of Japan and ex-soldiers, who had fought
in Indonesia.

Among the most painful experience for the latter groups were a
series of publications in the late 1970s, including official
papers and government sponsored books on World War II, which
accused the Dutch royal troops, the KL, of war crimes in Java in
the 1940s (ironically, similar acts by the colonial troops, the
KNIL, were not discussed). The author, Prof. L. de Jong, a
historian sympathetic to the Indonesian cause, had apparently
been intimidated so that he would change the text and remove the
term "war crime" following a gulf of strong protests from groups
of these ex-soldiers -- known as the Indie veterans.

In other words: Put in the European context, to charge the
Indie veterans with being aggressors, who committed war crimes,
would have put them on the same moral footing as the hated Nazi-
Germans -- an unacceptable situation for soldiers who fought the
war in the name of the Dutch Queen.

What is more, de Jong's books have actually became a standard-
bearer. Although only two of its 12 parts deal with Indonesia,
the Indie veterans' anger was great. When they were finally
offered financial compensation for their sufferings in Japan-
occupied Indonesia, it was far too little and too late, compared
to what Nazi victims received. But, "truly, our objection," some
of them told this writer in 1987, "is that de Jong's stories
became official".

It was this hurt esprit de corps and great sensitivity among
the Indie veterans that the Dutch government has had to carefully
consider ever since dealing with its past in Indonesia.

For, these veterans had meanwhile found consolation,
protection and political strength in the liberal-conservative
party VVD and, in particular, in the person of Prince Bernhard,
Queen Beatrix's father, who was also a general and World War II
hero. The 1980s and 1990s were thus their heydays. Even Queen
Beatrix's wish to visit Jakarta on the very anniversary of
Indonesia's independence on August 17, 1995, was heavily
resisted. Her state visit only took place four days later.
Similarly, the idea of then Minister Jan Pronk, the enfant
terrible of Dutch politics, to recognize Aug. 17 as Indonesia's
independence day -- instead of Dec. 27, 1949 -- has never met
with any success.

So, why is Foreign Minister Bernard Bot now trying to do just
that -- albeit more cautiously and prudently?

The obvious answer is that the Indie veterans have now become
older, their number smaller, and are much less active. Crucially,
with the death of Prince Bernhard on Dec. 1, 2004, they have lost
their great patron.

Other factors include Bernard Bot's personal aspects. Born in
Batavia (now Jakarta), he went through the Japanese prison camp
in Cideng -- a factor the Indie veterans must consider before
anything else. Bot, who has got along well with the present day
Jakarta leaders, seems well equipped to start a course toward
rectifying the historic Dutch mistake. Presumably, he has the
full support of Prime Minister J.P. Balkenende, who is also his
party colleague. Since Balkenende, the first post-war born Dutch
PM, is free from any wartime issues, he and Bot are viewed as a
good duo to accomplish the mission of a former colonial master.

Nevertheless, Indie veterans' sensitivity still has to be
reckoned with. Just hours before he flies to Jakarta on Monday
Aug. 15, Ben Bot, accompanying the Queen and the Prime Minister,
will attend the commemoration of Dutch servicemen and families,
who died during the war in Indonesia. In doing so, he will thus
pay his respects to the Indie veterans while paving the way for
his mission in Jakarta.

Next, what could be a better moment for such a mission than
now with Indonesia's new democracy and its first directly elected
president? And in keeping with its tradition as a salesman, the
Netherlands is likely to be interested in improving its
investment here while looking at new business.

Finally, perhaps the most significant in terms of its domestic
politics, for the first time there appears to be a willingness
among the broad spectrum of political parties, including the
former patron of the Indie veterans, the VVD, to officially
recognize Aug. 17, 1945 as the day Indonesia gained independence.

At least five parties, including the major ones, have
specifically told the Indonesian Section of Radio Netherlands
that they are willing to support if the Dutch government is to
embark on such a course. Which indicates that, for them, too, the
war is indeed really over.

Minister Bot is expected to take the first significant step.
More should follow.

The writer is a journalist with Radio Netherlands.