Talk of being undiplomatic

Talk of being undiplomatic

It is common knowledge among the Dutch themselves that their
most popular pastime is to point at the dirty laundry outside
their borders and to reduce critics from the people about
conditions in their country.

Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra was right mentioning the
unresolved Westerling affair where hundreds were massacred in
South Sulawesi as compared to the so-called human rights abuses
in Indonesia.

It is of course undiplomatic for a cabinet minister to tell
the truth, but in the meantime it caused considerable havoc in
the Dutch parliament.

I think it is quite healthy for the Dutch to hear these
accusations not from the 1945 generation but from the new
generation as well, who do not easily forget the Dutch
atrocities. Since the Dutch themselves acknowledge their weak
points, this uproar has probably not many consequences.

SUMARSONO SASTROWARDOYO, Tangerang, Banten