Portugal review Sukarno's visit to in 1960

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.