Dutch mistakes: Things of the past

Dutch mistakes: Things of the past

Lately the name of Minister of Justice and Human Rights,
Yusril Ihza Mehendra, appears quite often in articles in
newspapers. Not without reason of course.

First he wants to change the visa system for tourists visiting
Indonesia. In short, tourists entering Indonesia have to pay a
fee and can only stay in Indonesia for one month, instead of two
months like it is now. A lot of people working in the tourist
industry understand that this will not benefit Indonesian tourism
figures.

Second, Yusril wants to approve a new criminal code that
implements parts of the Islamic law, sharia. One of The Jakarta
Post's readers already wrote a letter Return to dark ages.
Homosexuality, sodomy, living as a couple without being married
and oral sex are home affairs and not something that the
government should be involved with.

Third and last is the next point. It did not get so much
attention in the Indonesian media, but it did in the Netherlands.
And actually, the Indonesian government is not happy at all with
this point.

Recently there was this remarkable interview with Yusril for
Dutch television. He told the interviewer that he hated the Dutch
for what they had done during their colonial period. According to
Yusril, the Dutch attitude was still the same these days. For
that, he would give all European countries a visa on arrival,
except for the Dutch. They should apply at the Indonesian embassy
in The Hague.

As a Dutch citizen, I am really ashamed of what my country did
during the military actions in the years 1948 and 1949. We all
make mistakes, big or small. But do not blame people that did not
take part in these military actions. According to most Indonesian
people that I know it is just something of the past.

In the end I would like to draw your attention to the
following. Although your country is not the safest place in the
world, it is still the Dutch that come to Indonesia. Many of the
other countries that normally have tourists traveling around here
have negative travel warnings; The United States, Britain,
Australia. In relative numbers most visitors to Indonesia are the
Dutch. Just like me, they come, year in, year out, just because
they love Indonesia and its people.

N. SMIT, Jakarta