A major historical review, conducted over a period of four years, has found that Dutch troops used systemic and excessive violence in Indonesia's war of Independence, which took place from 1945 to 1949.
The new findings completely contradict the official historical stance that the Netherlands has taken, which claims Dutch troops only engaged in 'sporadic' violence, which the government considered to be "excesses"; not something of major concern at the time.
War crimes untraced, uncounted, and not acknowledged.
IMAGE: Histori Bersama
The review, jointly conducted by three different institutions – the Royal Institute for Language, Land, and Ethnology (KITLV), the Netherlands Institute for Military History (NIMH), and the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies – concluded that the violence inflicted upon Indonesians by Dutch colonialists was widespread and deliberate.
"It does appear from the sources that extreme violence on the part of the Dutch armed forces was not only widespread but was often also deliberately used," the researchers said. "This was tolerated on all levels – political, military, and judicial."
"The vast majority of those responsible on the Dutch side – politicians, officers, civil servants, judges, and other involved parties – did or could have known about the systemic use of extreme violence, but were jointly prepared to tolerate it, justify it, disguise it, and leave it unpunished."
IMAGE: @PurePapua / Twitter
The apparent rationale for the violence, at least according to the Dutch, was to 'retake' Indonesia (after already declaring Independence on August 17, 1945) at all costs. But why?
Just to assert control and dominance – a pure ego game that was already part of the plan, a typical colonial mindset at the time. Of course, the Dutch government also used the same reasons other colonial powers peddled for centuries: It was an economic and geopolitical move.
"The Dutch underestimation and rejection of the widely supported Indonesian independence movement were based on a deeply rooted colonial mentality," said the researchers.
The violence that occurred came in the form of "extrajudicial executions, assault and torture, detention under inhumane conditions, setting houses and villages on fire, theft and destruction of goods and foodstuffs, disproportionate air raids and artillery fire, and often arbitrary mass arrests and internments."
Apologies upon apologies.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte walk during a 2019 meeting in Bogor, Indonesia. IMAGE: Reuters
Following the publishing of these findings, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte issued a formal apology to Indonesia on February 17, 2022. Aside from the atrocities committed in Indonesia, Rutte also apologized for the negligence shown by the Dutch governments that preceded his in acknowledging and apologizing for the violence.
"For the systematic and widespread extreme violence from the Dutch side in those years and the consistent looking the other way by previous governments, I apologize deeply to the people of Indonesia," Rutte said.
Despite the uncomfortable findings, Rutte believes the country needs to confront them, calling them "harsh, but unavoidable".
While this isn't the first time the Netherlands has apologized for the war in Indonesia, it certainly is the first acknowledgement of the deliberate and intentional violence that took place there.
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