Dutch PM angers Maluku people by acknowledging to 1945 Indonesia independence date

The Netherlands recognizes “fully and without reservation” that Indonesia became independent on 17 August 1945, said Prime Minister Mark Rutte in a parliamentary debate on the country's decolonization. “We see the proclamation as the historical fact.” He will consult with the Indonesian president to see how this can be recognized and implemented together. The statement outraged the Malukan people, according to the government in exile of the Republic of South Maluku (RMS).

The Netherlands’ recognition of Indonesia’s independence in 1945 will change nothing legally, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister said after the debate. The Netherlands will continue to legally hold on to 1949, when the Netherlands handed over power after a bloody war. “Sovereignty was transferred in 1949. We cannot reverse that,” the spokesperson said.

Rutte said in the debate that the Netherlands has, in fact, already used 17 August 1945 as the date of Indonesia’s independence. He pointed out that, for example, the King already sends a congratulatory telegram to Indonesia on 17 August every year. In 2005, the Netherlands accepted in a “political and moral sense” that Indonesia became independent in 1945.

RMS response

According to the RMS, Rutte’s statements lead to “great unrest among the many Malukans who support the proclamation of the Republic of South Maluku. The RMS was proclaimed on 25 April 1950 and invoked, among other things, the provisions of the Transfer of Sovereignty to the United States of Indonesia Act which came into effect on 27 December 1949. That’s when the Netherlands transferred sovereignty to the United States of Indonesia. After the transfer of sovereignty, the Republic forcibly liquidated the federation. Following this, the Republic of South Maluku was proclaimed on 25 April 1950.”

According to the RMS, the acknowledgment that Indonesia became independent on 17 August 1945 means that “the Netherlands is acting contrary to the charter of the transfer of sovereignty on 27 December 1949 and is, therefore, violating international law.” The RMS said it experienced the recognition of 17 August 1945 as “another attack on the RMS’s right to exist.” And if the Netherlands actually proceeds to legal recognition, the RMS government will submit the matter to the court to assess whether such recognition is lawful.

Parliamentary debate

On Wednesday, the lower house of the Dutch parliament debated the independent investigation into the decolonization of Indonesia (1945-1950), published last year. It showed that the Dutch army used structural and widespread extreme violence in an attempt to regain power in this colony after the Japanese occupation.

Politicians and army commanders tolerated the violence. The crimes went virtually unpunished. Prime Minister Mark Rutte made “sincere apologies” to the Indonesians immediately after the investigation results were published. Parliament broadly supports the conclusions of the report and the apologies that have been offered.

However, there are concerns among several parties that the impression has arisen that all military personnel who served at the time committed war crimes. About 5,000 of those veterans are still alive. Minister Kajsa Ollongern of Defense said they are greatly appreciated, and the vast majority are not to blame.

The Cabinet does not want to call what happened war crimes, as GroenLinks, D66, SP, and ChristenUnie, among others, demanded. According to Rutte, the classification war crime has only been used for domestic disputes since 1949. “We continue to disagree about that, I’m afraid,” he said.

There will also be no collective restitution of honor for people who refused to go into military service at the time. But Ollongren acknowledged that they were treated “harshly” at the time. People who refused service because they knew about the extreme violence in Indonesia can get a restitution of honor, however. The Minister does not want to go any further.