Dutch PM Apologises to Thousands of Former KNIL Soldiers from Maluku
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten has officially apologised for the “cruel” treatment of thousands of former Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) soldiers from Maluku, who fought for the colonial military during Indonesia’s struggle for independence.
The apology, delivered around 75 years after the arrival of 12,500 people—comprising Malukan men who served in the KNIL and their families—at the port of Rotterdam in 1951, was reported by The Guardian on Tuesday.
Most of them were given no choice. They believed it would only be a temporary evacuation after Indonesia gained independence. They hoped for a Republic of Maluku after staying for six months, but instead they were forcibly discharged from the KNIL, barred from working and voting, and placed in locations such as the former Nazi transit camp Westerbork.
The Republic of Maluku they longed for never materialised, and some of them never even unpacked their suitcases, hoping to return to Indonesia.
During a ceremony to inaugurate a crowdfunded national monument at the port of Rotterdam, where the last ship carrying the ex-KNIL soldiers arrived, Jetten delivered the apology on behalf of the Dutch government.
“For the heartless and dishonourable discharge as soldiers, for the unworthy reception and accommodation, for the indifference and neglect towards them, for the unfulfilled longing for their homeland, for the sorrow and suffering in many Malukan families … for all this, I offer my apologies today on behalf of the Dutch government,” Jetten said.
“It is not only overdue, but also necessary if we want to move forward,” he added.
There has been some criticism that the apology is long overdue, given that most of the first generation of ex-KNIL soldiers from Maluku have long since passed away. The Malukan community of descendants of the KNIL soldiers in the Netherlands now numbers around 70,000 people.
“The apology should have addressed the paternalistic attitude of the Dutch government at the time, and the fact that the government did not consider how they could return. That is why the suffering continues,” said Fridus Stejlen, a historian of the Malukan community in the Netherlands, recently.