Portugal review Sukarno's visit to in 1960

Mehru Jaffer, Contributor, Jakarta

There is nothing like a quick peek into the past for getting a better perspective of the present. This is exactly what happens after a stroll through, Sukarno and Portugal, an on-going exhibition at the National Museum, that is a must.

The relationship between Indonesia and Portugal is at least half a millennium old. But like all relationships this one has been through some very rough times but has luckily survived several storms despite all the political blunders and quarrels caused in the past by authoritarian rulers of both countries.

Ana Gomes, the Portuguese ambassador to Indonesia, explains that the purpose of the exhibition is first and foremost a Portuguese tribute to the founding father of Indonesia at a time when the one hundredth anniversary of Sukarno's birth is being celebrated here.

But the project also aims at consolidating the new era of cooperation and dialogue that has been fully restored since the end of 1999. She hopes that the exhibition will overcome some of the ignorance, prejudice and distortions that people of both countries might have mutually formed of each other in recent times due to the shadow cast on the relationship by the East Timor problem.

The fascinating journey of Sukarno's association with the oldest European nation started in the far away island of Flores. Here in Ende, a remote fishing village chosen in 1936 as the open-air jail where the Dutch hoped to imprison his indomitable spirit, Sukarno admits that Flores had indeed felt like the end of the world for him at that time.

"Besides idleness, loneliness and friendlessness, I was also suffering from acute depression. I needed something stimulating, or I should kill myself. That's when I began playwriting. From 1934 to 1938 I wrote 12 plays," he is quoted in Sukarno, An Autobiography as told to Cindy Adams.

There is a picture on exhibit of the young Florinese princess whose life inspired Sukarno to write Rendo Ende, a play about her love for a Portuguese captain that ended in tragedy.

All Dutch and Indonesian officials were ordered to stay away from Sukarno in Flores. The only people with whom Sukarno came in close contact were Roman Catholic missionaries and the locals who provided him with the first feel of the legacy left here by the Portuguese.

He came across Portuguese family names adopted by the nobility in Flores and was shown relics left by the European maritime power from the 17th century. He listened to legends, both horrific and happy, about Portuguese presence on the island and tales of the local people's conversion to Christianity.

Although a born freedom fighter and one who grew up with a disregard for all European invaders, the beauty of Sukarno's soul was that it could be socialist and sage at the same time. He had the magnanimity to take the hand of even the worst antagonist and hold it together with other diversities from his homeland into one united fist. The art of guiding a revolution for him was to find inspiration in everything that he saw and experienced.

Sukarno's claim is that he acknowledged every trend, and tried to understand it and to make himself the meeting place of all ideologies. He is quoted as saying that he blended, blended and blended different ideologies until everything went into making the final Sukarno. This is why it is no surprise that the anti- colonialist, third world leader eventually became a good friend of Portugal.

There are letters on exhibit to show that Portugal was one of the few European countries to attend the ceremony of the transfer of sovereignty to Indonesia in 1949 and soon after that both countries signed a commercial treaty.

Sukarno, the hero of independence paid a flying visit to Portugal in 1959. But it is the May 1960 state visit of Sukarno that is at the heart of the exhibition really.

Sukarno is quoted in Portuguese newspapers as being deeply touched by his visit to the Monastery of Jeronimos where he stood before the tomb of Camoes who has eulogized the beauty of Indonesia in a poem, even reciting a few verses penned by the poet. Sukarno called Lisbon the most beautiful city in the world on this trip and promised to keep Portugal forever in his heart.

A clipping from the newspaper O Seculo, of May 7, 1960 reports that the lively and dynamic president of Indonesia repeated his country's intention not to claim territories that did not belong to it, such as the province of Timor since its republic, in geographic terms, occupies some of the territories previously known as the Dutch Indies, and it is only those territories that Indonesia claims.

On that trip Sukarno charmed the host country by breaking away from protocol, stepping down from the pedestal to rub shoulders with crowds that had flooded the streets of Lisbon to get a glimpse of the hero of the revolution.

Sukarno had unashamedly kissed children, embraced women and signed as many autographs as he could on that trip. This is the upside of the story. The downside is that Indonesian parliament passed a resolution in 1961 condemning Portugal's presence in Angola.

In 1964 the first news reports appeared of alleged attempts to integrate East Timor into Indonesia and by Jan. 1, 1965 diplomatic relations between the two countries were cut off.

But in the face of all the ups and downs Sukarno continued to acknowledge the Portuguese influence on the music, language and cuisine of Indonesia.

The ready acceptance by Sukarno that he was not only this or that but a colorful combination of multiple experiences both big and small, good and bad is one of the most enduring legacies left behind by the founding father and first president of Indonesia.

This is a legacy that the younger generation here needs never, ever to forget.

Sukarno and Portugal exhibition will travel later to Lisbon. In the meanwhile the fascinating exhibition will remain open here at the National Museum till June 30.